AOL and TopCoder Announce Web AIM Mashup Competition.Top Prize of $5,000 for Developer With Most Innovative Web AIM Mashup Concept DULLES, Va. -- AOL (A division of Time Warner, Inc., New York, NY, www.aol.com) The world's largest online information service with access to the Internet, e-mail, chat rooms and a variety of databases and services. and TopCoder, Inc., a leader in online programming competition, skills assessment and competitive software development, today announced a call for entries for the Web AIM Mashup Competition. Developers submit original concepts for Web applications based on Web AIM, AOL's new APIs New API (also referred to as NAPI) is an interface to use interrupt mitigation techniques for networking devices in the Linux kernel. Such an approach is intended to reduce the overhead of packet receiving. that enable users to mashup and integrate Web-based instant messaging Exchanging text messages in real time between two or more people logged into a particular instant messaging (IM) service. Instant messaging is more interactive than e-mail because messages are sent immediately, whereas e-mail messages can be queued up in a mail server for seconds or functionality for the popular AIM service directly into their Web sites and online communities. Developers are asked to design a graphical user interface graphical user interface (GUI) Computer display format that allows the user to select commands, call up files, start programs, and do other routine tasks by using a mouse to point to pictorial symbols (icons) or lists of menu choices on the screen as opposed to having to or submit a written explanation in order to clearly convey their mashup concept using the new Web AIM APIs. Contest entries will be judged on creativity, ease of use, market potential and ability to be shared with other users online. All submissions are due by December 6, 2006. Finalists will be selected on December 13, 2006. AOL will choose the winner from the finalists who participate in the Review and Revision phase, in which AOL works with each designer finalist to refine their idea. The winner will be announced on January 9, 2007 and will receive a grand prize of $5,000. For contest details and rules, visit: http://studio.topcoder.com/. Web AIM[R] provides developers with the tools they need to create new and innovative experiences on the Web. The Web AIM APIs enable developers to mashup and integrate the following services and functionality directly into their Web sites: * Presence, to let AIM[R] users get and set their availability, away message and profile. Friends visiting their site can view users online, idle and away times. * IM Window, to enable AIM users to send and receive IMs right from their Web page. * Buddy List A list of colleagues, workgroup members, friends, etc., that you might wish to communicate with via instant messaging. See instant messaging. , to let AIM users view their own Buddy List[R] feature. * Expressions, to let AIM users access and edit their buddy icons, wallpaper, smileys, and sounds. Entrants may also create mashup concepts using the new AIM[R] Whimsicals[TM], embeddable Web-based AIM widgets, which enable developers and AIM users to easily integrate AIM functionality into their Web sites with just a few lines of HTML HTML in full HyperText Markup Language Markup language derived from SGML that is used to prepare hypertext documents. Relatively easy for nonprogrammers to master, HTML is the language used for documents on the World Wide Web. . These include: * IM Window, which enables users to send and receive IMs. The sender's online presence is indicated to the recipient only. * Buddy List, which enables AIM users to create mashups with their Buddy List based on user-defined criteria. In addition, this widget Pronounced "wih-jit," for decades, the term has been a popular word for a generic "thing" when there is no real name for it. It is often used to describe examples of made-up products along with other fictitious names; for example, "10 widgets, 5 frabbits and 2 dingits. allows AIM users to see buddy info, including online, idle and away time, user profile and away message on screen name mouse-over. * Get Info See properties. , which displays the AIM user's availability, away message, profile and buddy icon via a separate window. Made available earlier this month, the new Web AIM APIs are an extension of AOL's Open AIM program, which launched in March 2006. They are available at http://developer.aim.com. The Open AIM[R] program empowers companies, communities and independent developers to build customized plugins, communications clients and mashups that access AOL's global instant messaging network. To date, more than 50,000 developers have registered for the Open AIM[R] initiative. AOL provides a range of resources for developers to build customized third-party applications, plug-ins and mashups based on its leading products and services. For more information about available open APIs, tools and documentation for services such as Open AIM[R], AIM[R] Pages, AIM[R] Phoneline, AOL[R] Video Search, MapQuest[R], Winamp[R] and others, please visit http://dev.aol.com/. About the AIM[R] Service The AIM[R] service (http://www.aim.com) is at the center of one of the largest and most dynamic online and mobile communities. It provides developers with an open and modular platform for development and access to more than 42 million Americans at http://developer.aim.com. The AIM service is where users go to find their friends and manage their social lives through instant messaging, email and mobile texting as well as robust voice and video services. About AOL AOL is a global Web services (1) Loosely, any online service delivered over the Web. Such usage appears in articles from non-technical sources, but not in IT-oriented publications, because definition #2 below describes the correct use of the term. company that operates some of the most popular Web destinations, offers a comprehensive suite of free software and services, runs the country's largest Internet access See how to access the Internet. business, and provides a full set of advertising solutions. A majority-owned subsidiary majority-owned subsidiary A firm in which more than 50% of outstanding voting stock is owned by the parent company. of Time Warner Inc. AOL LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control is based in Dulles, Virginia Dulles, Virginia is an unincorporated census-designated place located in Loudoun County, Virginia, part of the Washington Metropolitan Area. The headquarters of AOL, Orbital Sciences Corporation and ODIN technologies and the former headquarters of MCI Inc. are located in Dulles. . AOL and its subsidiaries also have operations in Europe, Canada and Asia. Learn more at AOL.com. About TopCoder, Inc. TopCoder is the recognized leader in identifying, evaluating and mobilizing effective software development resources. Through its proprietary programming competitions and rating system, TopCoder recognizes and promotes the abilities of the best programmers around the world. TopCoder Software harnesses the talent of these developers to design, develop and deploy software through its revolutionary competitive development methodology. TopCoder's methodology emphasizes thorough specification and design, distributed development This article has multiple issues: * It does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by citing reliable sources. * Very few or no other articles link to this one. using reusable components, and a rigorous quality assurance review process and results in higher quality, lower cost software solutions than traditional software development methodologies. For more information about sponsoring TopCoder Events, recruiting TopCoder members and utilizing TopCoder Software, visit http://www.topcoder.com/. |
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