MONTVALE, NJ, September 16, 2002 - SYS-CON Media (www.sys-con.com), the world's leading i-technology publisher, announced today that it will unveil a sneak preview issue of its latest i-technology publication, .NET Developer's Journal, at the Web Services Edge 2002 International Web Services Conference & Expo in San Jose, California, October 1-3 (www.sys-con.com/webservicesedge2002west).

"This new magazine, with its developer focus, is yet another tangible indication of the systematic momentum among developers that the .NET Framework is gathering," said John Montgomery, group product manager of Microsoft's .NET Framework.

".NET Developer's Journal will be focusing on all aspects of the .NET infrastructure, enabling technologies, business process management, and collaborative business," said Jeremy Geelan, editorial director of SYS-CON Media. "Our goal is to provide accurate, insightful information to the information technologists working with .NET, from developer to CIO - and to be the number one source for .NET information."

"Initial market projections estimate that the number of .NET developers will reach 2.5 million by February 2003," said Derek Ferguson, world-renowned author, speaker, technology evangelist, and editor-in-chief of .NET Developer's Journal, "With the i-technology industry again on the cusp of a major shift in the way it operates, it has come as little surprise to developers to find that Microsoft Corporation is once again in the vanguard of change, with its comprehensive .NET initiative."

What's in the Preview Issue?

.NETDJ's 30-page preview issue features an in-depth interview by Ferguson with David Treadwell, general manager of Microsoft's .NET developer platform team, responsible for the .NET Framework and Common Language Runtime (CLR), the core runtime platform of .NET, as well as the .NET Compact Framework, which brings the platform to small devices, and the Microsoft Shared Source Common Language Infrastructure (CLI). The other articles in this issue include: "Enterprise .NET for Smart Devices," by Christian Forsberg and Andreas Sjöström, both Microsoft MVPs (Most Valuable Professionals) for mobile devices and joint authors of the bestselling book Pocket PC Development in the Enterprise; on .NET Security, "Tamper-Proofing Your Assembly," by Kevin Hoffman; and an introduction to .NET data access and SQLXML Web services by Bob Beauchemin, senior staff instructor at DevelopMentor. Also coming in the premier issue are "VS.NET: Customizing the PictureBox Control" by Erik Brown, "Migration: Common Pitfalls that Foil .NET Migration" by Matthew MacDonald, and and article by Brian Noyes, "Migration: Migrate Your COM Applications."

"I'm looking forward to helping launch this new publication as it secures its position as the leading .NET magazine targeted at developers," said Dean Guida, CEO of Infragistics and a member of the .NET Developer's Journal advisory board. "By taking an in-depth approach to explaining the issues related to pioneering .NET development and what it takes to develop industry-first Web services for IT management, .NETDJ is sure to provide answers to questions the development community is asking."

The magazine's editorial advisory board includes Dean Guida, CEO of Infragisitics; Gary Cornell, co-founder and the publisher of Apress, the leading publisher of .NET books for programming professionals; Peter Drayton, an independent consultant, author, and instructor for DevelopMentor; and Keith Franklin, a founding board member of the International .NET Association, a well-known speaker, and author of VB.NET for Developers.

"The preview issue of .NET Developer's Journal will receive a distribution of more than 50,000 copies in print with a reach of more than 80,000 i-technology professionals," said Robyn Forma, advertising sales director for the publication. ".NETDJ will launch as a leading monthly publication in January 2003."

Domestic charter subscription price for .NET Developer's Journal is $69.99 for one year, 12 issues. For subscription inquiries and to find out more about .NET Developer's Journal, please visit: www.sys-con.com/dotnet. For all advertising inquiries, please contact Robyn Forma at robyn@sys-con.com, or 201-802-3020.

Derek Ferguson's Editorial Column

"Welcome to the preview issue of SYS-CON Media's new .NET Developers Journal. We've started this magazine because we're excited about .NET. We're excited about Visual Studio .NET's ability to bring the power of drag-and-drop, GUI-based development to even the most complicated kinds of development. We're excited about the .NET Framework's potential for radically decreasing the amount of custom code developers must write. Finally, perhaps most of all, we're excited about .NET's potential to become the industry's platform of choice for XML Web services development - not just on Windows, but on all manner of devices and operating systems.

As editor-in-chief, I want to make two promises to you regarding our content. The first is that we'll always be a truly independent voice on .NET technologies. We'll give you the whole story: the good, the bad, and the ugly…regardless of the players involved. My second promise is that we'll always serve up technically in-depth content. Developers don't need another publication that's long on opinion and short on code. We aim to bring you the in-depth information you need to succeed as a .NET developer.

To help us deliver on these promises, we've rounded up some of the best people in the industry for our editorial advisory board and to be our regular columnists. Industry leaders such as Gary Cornell from Apress, Peter Drayton from DevelopMentor, Dean Guida from Infragistics, and Keith Franklin from Empowered Software Solutions have already joined our editorial board. Meanwhile, for columnists, we've already gathered together such respected names as Christian Forsberg and Bob Beauchemin - with more of similar caliber soon to follow!

As for myself, I had the honor to be one of the first to see a sneak preview of .NET nearly three years ago at Microsoft's corporate headquarters - before they'd even decided to call it .NET. But even then, with flaky technical preview code, it was love at first sight! Even then it was easy to see how the tools that now make up the .NET platform were going to vastly improve developers' lives - particularly those of us who were wrestling with the difficulties of COM programming on a day-to-day basis.

When I'm not editing this journal, I work as CTE for Expand Beyond Corporation, makers of wireless enterprise management software products such as PocketDBA and PocketAdmin. For this reason, I have a particularly keen interest in the mobile aspects of .NET technology. Last year, I even wrote a book for Apress called Mobile .NET.

Whether you're doing mobile computing or more traditional desktop and Web-based development, you're sure to find plenty of interest in every new issue of .NET Developer's Journal. To this end, we've divided it into four main sections:

"Home" is where you'll find book reviews, news items, and editorials. In "Desktop," GDI+, Visual Studio .NET tips and tricks, and general language discussions are just some of the many topics. In our "Server" section, technologies such as ASP.NET, Serviced Components, and other enterprise-computing topics will be given the spotlight. Last, but not least, "Everywhere" covers such cutting-edge topics as mobile computing, .NET on other platforms, and Web services.

Finally, as you read this or future issues, please feel free to send whatever comments, complaints, or suggestions directly to me at derek@sys-con.com. Happy coding!"

About SYS-CON Media

SYS-CON Media, twice named the fastest growing, privately held publishing company in America by Inc 500, is the world's leading publisher exclusively serving i-technology markets. SYS-CON publications include: Web Services Journal (www.WSJ2.com), Wireless Business & Technology (www.WBT2.com), Java Developer's Journal (www.JavaDevelopersJournal.com), XML-Journal (www.XML-Journal.com), ColdFusion Developer's Journal (www.ColdFusionJournal.com), PowerBuilder Developer's Journal (www.PowerBuilderJournal.com), WebSphere Developer's Journal (www.WebSphereDevelopersJournal.com), BEA WebLogic Developer's Journal (www.WeblogicDevelopersJournal.com), and .NET Developer's Journal (www.DotNETDevelopersJournal.com).

About SYS-CON Events, Inc.

SYS-CON Events, Inc. is the world's leading producer of international i-technology developer conferences and expositions. SYS-CON Events' annual developer conference calendar includes: Web Services Edge 2002 East - International Web Services Conference & Expo, colocated with JDJEdge 2002 East - International Java Developer Conference & Expo and XMLEdge 2002 East - International XML Conference & Expo, which took place June 24-27 at Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City; and Web Services Edge 2002 West - International Web Services Conference & Expo, colocated with JDJEdge 2002 West - International Java Developer Conference & Expo, XMLEdge 2002 West - International XML Conference & Expo, and Wireless Edge 2002 - International Wireless Business & Technology Conference & Expo, to take place October 1-3 at San Jose Convention Center in California.

Contact: Jeremy Geelan (editorial)
Company: SYS-CON Media
Voice: 201 802-3083
Email: jeremy@sys-con.com

Contact: Robyn Forma (advertising)
Company: SYS-CON Media
Voice: 201 802-3022
Email: robyn@sys-con.com