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- March 20, 1992 (Seattle, WA) - After 6 months of suspense and campaigning,
- the Software Publishers Association (SPA) last night announced the winners
- of their 1991 SPA Excellence in Software Awards. Over 330 products were
- nominated for the 23 industry awards recognizing outstanding PC software
- products introduced in 1991. The top computer programs were nominated and
- chosen by the software publishing community itself, truly making the
- Awards "the Oscars of the personal computer software world."
-
- "While no one product or company 'swept' this year's Awards, the winners'
- circle reflects an industry that is maturing and consistently releasing
- innovative and sophisticated products," said Ken Wasch, Executive Director
- of the SPA.
-
- Five products were winners in multiple categories, including Quicken 5.0 by
- Intuit (Best Business Application: Numeric or Data and Best Personal
- Productivity/Creativity Program); SimAnt by Maxis (Best Educational Tool
- and Best Simulation Program); Sid Meier's Civilization by MicroProse
- Software, Inc. (Best Entertainment Program [tie] and Best Strategy
- Program); Kid Pix by Br0derbund Software, Inc. (Best Early Education
- Program and Best User Interface); and Lemmings by Psygnosis, Ltd. (Best
- Entertainment Program [tie] and Best Action/Arcade Program).
-
- In addition, five companies received honors for multiple products,
- including Apple Computer, Inc., for Macintosh System Software 7.0 (Best
- New Business Software Product [tie]) and QuickTime (Best New Use of a
- Computer); Borland International, Inc., for ObjectVision 2.0 for Windows
- (Best New Business Software Product [tied] and Borland C++ and
- Applications Frameworks 3.0 (Best Programming Tool); Access Software,
- Inc., for Martian Memorandum (Best Fantasy Role-Playing/Adventure Program)
- and Links Championship Courses (Best Sports Program); Br0derbund Software,
- Inc., for Kid Pix (Best Early Education Program and Best User Interface)
- and Where in America's Past is Carmen Sandiego? (Best Home Learning
- Program); and Scholastic, Inc., for Bank Street Writer for the Macintosh
- (Best School Productivity/Creativity Program) and Interactive NOVA: The
- Miracle of Life (Best Secondary Education Program [tied].
-
- Critics' Choice Awards, selected by members of the press, were presented
- for Best Business Program, Best Consumer Program, and Best Education
- Program. Microsoft Visual Basic 1.0 won the Critics' Choice Award for Best
- Business Program. There were ties for both the Critics' Choice Awards for
- Best Consumer Program and for Best Education Program. Secret Weapons of
- the Luftwaffe by Lucasfilm Games and Sid Meier's Civilization by
- MicroProse tied for the Critic's Choice Award for Best Consumer Program;
- and Key Curriculum Press' The Geometer's Sketchpad and Scholastic Inc.'s
- Interactive NOVA: The Miracle of Life both captured the Critics' Choice
- Award for Best Education Program.
-
- Comedian Jon Lovitz presided over the black-tie ceremony attended by over
- 1100 software industry executives. The evening was a highlight of the
- SPA's Annual Spring Symposium, held in Seattle. Lovitz regaled the crowd
- with many Saturday Night Live take-offs, often spoofing the software
- industry.
-
- The Software Publishers Association is the principal trade association of
- the PC software industry. Its 900 members represent business, consumer,
- and education software firms around the world. The SPA has offices in
- Washington, DC, and Paris La Defense, France.
-
- --------------------------------------------------------
-
- 1991 SPA Excellence in Software Awards
-
- Business Software Awards
- ========================
-
- Best New Business Software Product
- Macintosh System Software 7.0
- Apple Computer, Inc.
- ObjectVision 2.0 for Windows
- Borland International, Inc.
-
- Best Business Application: Graphic or Display
- The Far Side Computer Calendar
- Amaze, Inc.
-
- Best Business Application: Numeric or Data
- Quicken 5.0
- Intuit
-
- Best Business Application: Word or Text
- Microsoft Word for Windows 2.0
- Microsoft Corporation
-
- Best Programming Tool
- Borland C++ and Applications Frameworks 3.0
- Borland International, Inc.
-
- Best Utility
- Norton Desktop for Windows 1.0
- Symantec Corporation/Peter Norton Group
-
- Best Vertical Application
- TurboTax for Windows
- ChipSoft, Inc.
-
- Consumer Software Awards
- ========================
-
- Best Action/Arcade Program
- Lemmings
- Psygnosis Limited
-
- Best Entertainment Program
- Sid Meier's Civilization
- MicroProse Software, Inc.
- Lemmings
- Psygnosis Limited
-
- Best Fantasy Role Playing/Adventure Program
- Martian Memorandum
- Access Software, Inc.
-
- Best Personal Productivity/Creativity Program
- Quicken 5.0
- Intuit
-
- Best Simulation Program
- SimAnt-The Electronic Ant Colony
- Maxis
-
- Best Sports Program
- Links Championship Courses
- Access Software, Inc.
-
- Best Strategy Program
- Sid Meier's Civilization
- MicroProse Software, Inc.
-
- Education Software Awards
- =========================
-
- Best Early Education Program
- Kid Pix
- Broderbund Software, Inc.
-
- Best Elementary Education Program
- Reader Rabbit 2
- The Learning Company
-
- Best Home Learning Program
- Where in America's Past is Carmen Sandiego?
- Broderbund Software, Inc.
-
- Best School Productivity/Creativity Program
- The Bank Street Writer for the Macintosh
- Scholastic, Inc.
-
- Best Secondary Education Program
- What's My Angle?
- Davidson & Associates
- Interactive NOVA: The Miracle of Life
- Scholastic, Inc.
-
- Best Special Needs Program
- Talking Typequick for the Blind
- TypeQuick Pty, Ltd.
-
- Best Education Tool Program
- SimAnt- The Electronic Ant Colony
- Maxis
-
- General Software Awards
- =======================
-
- Best New Use of a Computer
- QuickTime
- Apple Computer, Inc.
-
- Best User Interface of a New Program
- Kid Pix
- Br0derbund Software, Inc.
-
- Critics' Choice Awards Winners
- ==============================
-
- Best Business Program
- Microsoft Visual Basic 1.0
- Microsoft Corporation
-
- Best Consumer Program
- Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe
- Lucasfilm Games
- Sid Meier's Civilization
- MicroProse
-
- Best Education Program
- The Geometer's Sketchpad
- The Curriculum Press
- Interactive NOVA: The Miracle of Life
- Scholastic, Inc.
-
- --------------------------------------------------------
-
- March 20, 1992 (Seattle, WA)- The SPA (Software Publishers Association)
- yesterday recognized four journalists for their outstanding work. The
- awards were presented at the annual SPA Excellence in Software Awards
- ceremony to honor those individuals who cover the PC software industry in
- an accurate and insightful manner. Journalists honored included: Keith
- Ferrell and Jim Seymour, Best Industry Analysis Editorial; Dan Muse, Best
- Software Reviewer, Nancy Trespasz, Best News Reporting.
-
- Members of SPA's Marketing and PR Special Interest Groups nominated and
- selected the recipients. Past winners have included such well-known
- journalists as Peter Lewis, Johnny Wilson, Jeff Tarter, Lonnie Brown,
- Larry Magid, Michael Rodgers, Stewart Alsop, and Michael Miller. Keith
- Farrell, one of this year's recipients, is also among the list of past
- honorees.
-
- Dan Muse, Editor-in-Chief of inCider/A+ and PC Games, was recognized as
- Best Software Reviewer, a category that honors the writer who most
- consistently presents accurate, fair and thorough representations of
- software products in their reviews published in industry or non-industry
- publications. With over ten years experience in computer journalism,
- Muse's recent focus has been on the Macintosh and Apple II platforms, as
- well as computer entertainment software.
-
- The second Journalism Recognition Awards was presented for Best Industry
- Analyst/Editorial, which honors the analyst who most consistently presents
- insightful and articulate reflections of the software industry's evolution
- in either editorial or industry trend analysis columns for the trade or
- general press. Two journalists were recognized in this category: Keith
- Ferrell, editor of Omni and Compute magazines, and Jim Seymour, columnist
- for PCMagazine, PCWeeks, PC Sources, MacUser, and others. Ferrell is a
- writer of wide-ranging interest and has penned diverse fiction and
- non-fiction works, including literary and historical biographies and
- thrillers. Jim Seymour is a recognized expert on the impact of technology
- in business. In addition to his widely read commentaries, Seymour is of
- considerable influence as a consultant to Fortune 500 companies.
-
- The third Journalism Recognition Award was presented in the category of
- Best News Reporting to Nancy Trespasz, Deputy Managing Editor of Computer
- Retail Week. This category honors the journalist who best covers the
- industry's important issues in a timely, objective manner for either an
- industry trade publication, the general business press, or a technology
- column in a non-industry publication. Trespasz, who has been part of the
- CRW editorial team since the publication's launch, is a product-oriented
- news writer who specializes in software.
-
- The Software Publishers Association is the principal trade association of
- the PC software industry. Its 900 members represent business, consumer,
- and education software firms around the world. The SPA has offices in
- Washington, DC, and Paris La Defense, France.
-
- --------------------------------------------------------
-
- March 20, 1992 (Seattle, WA)- Rear Admiral Grace Hopper received
- posthumously the Software Publishers Association (SPA) Lifetime
- Achievement award yesterday at the annual SPA Excellence in Software
- Awards ceremony. Admiral Hopper (1906-1992) was a legendary figure in the
- world of computer science. She made many important contributions to the
- development of modern computing systems, including co-inventing COBOL, a
- business programming language still in widespread use today.
-
- A professor of mathematics, her work also led to the first practical
- compiler for computers. A compiler is a program that translates
- instructions written by a programmer into code that can be read directly
- by a computer. Admiral Hopper is also known for coining the term "bug,"
- which is widely used to refer to software failures. The first bug was a
- real moth found inside the Mark I computer in 1945, which causes the
- system to malfunction.
-
- Commenting on the award, SPA Executive Director Ken Wasch, said "Grace
- Hopper truly was a pioneer in the development of computer programming
- languages. During her lifetime, she contributed to expanding the use of
- computers in business and in school. The PC software industry is proud to
- recognize her remarkable contributions to our industry."
-
- The prestigious SPA Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to an
- individual who has, during his or her lifetime, made outstanding
- contributions to the development and growth of the PC software industry.
- Past recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award include Bill Gates of
- Microsoft Corp., Steve Jobs of NeXT, Alan Kay of Apple Computer, and Steve
- Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer. Individuals are nominated by
- members of the trade and general press, and the SPA membership selects the
- distinguished recipient of this award.
-
- The Software Publishers Association is the principal trade association of
- the PC software industry. Its 900 members represent business, consumer,
- and education software firms around the world. The SPA has offices in
- Washington, DC, and Paris La Defense, France.
-
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