Original Kurzfassung: We have investigated the component models JavaBeans and COM/ActiveX, their support for component-based software development as well as their commonalties and differences.The main objective has been to find out the component models' usefulness in building real-world applications and to compare the underlying component models based on a concrete sample application. In this paper we introduce the component models JavaBeans and COM/ActiveX, present a simple application with two different implementations based on these models. Finally, we make a comparison of the component models, using a qualitative approach based on our experiences.