Competition For The Best User Interface Begins; Stardock Graphical User Interface Olympics 2004 Starts; Let the Games Begin!

Business Wire, March 3, 2004

Business Editors

CANTON, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 3, 2004

Stardock, in partnership with some of today's foremost technology companies, is sponsoring the 2004 Graphical User Interface (GUI) Olympics (www.guiolympics.com). This series of events provides a forum for the world's best graphical artists to compete and for users to download the resulting entries. There are 16 events, focusing on 3 major areas. Artists submit designs for best WindowBlinds visual styles, for the best collections of desktop icons and for the best Winamp skins.

Corporate sponsors of the 2004 GUI Olympics include ATI Technologies Inc., Nullsoft, the developers of the Winamp program, NVIDIA and Eclipsit Corp., the developers of the Microangelo program. Websites providing sponsorship and links include WinCustomize.com, BetaNews.com, DeviantART.com and Neowin.net.

"It is very exciting having so many of the leading technology companies and websites working together for a common goal," said Larry Kuperman, Sales Manager at Stardock. "With over $15,000 in prizes and the chance to get world-wide exposure, we know that we will attract the best artists. All the submissions must be original and most are created especially for these contests. Once a visual style, an icon pack or a Winamp skin has been submitted, however, fans can download it and use it for free. It is the fans who are the real beneficiaries of these contests."

"ATI is proud to be a sponsor of the 2004 GUI Olympics," added Michael Smith, Group Manager, Worldwide ISV Relations at ATI Technologies. "We have worked with Stardock for several years now and we are glad to be able to support the growing Windows customization community. ATI believes that competitive events such as the GUI Olympics bring out the best that artists can do and are fun for the spectators."

Steve Gedikian of Nullsoft concluded "At Nullsoft, we appreciate the tremendous contributions made by the skinning community. We're thrilled to be involved with the GUI Olympics and to show our support for the hundreds of extremely talented skinners out there."

The GUI Olympics homepage is http://www.guiolympics.com. The contests run through April 29th, 2004.

About Stardock:

Stardock Corporation is the leader in the development and sales of award-winning Windows desktop customization solutions such the Object Desktop software suite, including components such as WindowBlinds, DesktopX, IconPackager, and more. Stardock also develops best-selling computer games, including Galactic Civilizations. For more information, please visit the Stardock home page at http://www.stardock.com or contact lkuperman@stardock.com.