Microsoft Formally Launches Windows NT Platform at Windows World

Hundreds of New Applications Demonstrate Power of Client-server Business
Solutions

ATLANTA--May 24, 1993--Microsoft Corporation today formally launched the
Microsoft Windows NT operating system for client-server computing at the
Windows World trade show. Hundreds of software developers previewed
high-end business solutions, applications and tools based on Windows NT to
more than 55,000 attendees. Windows NT is the first operating system to
combine high-end client-server business applications with the industry's
leading personal productivity applications.

In addition to the existing base of applications for the MS-DOS and
Microsoft Windows operating systems that run out of the box on Windows NT,
new commercial and custom applications being shown here this week are
demonstrating that Windows NT is the strategic platform on which companies
can cost-effectively build, deploy and manage a new generation of
applications powerful enough to run their businesses. Because Windows NT
has been explicitly designed to be compatible with, and complementary to,
the 1.5 million copies of Windows that ship every month, customers can
introduce these solutions incrementally, without having to retrain their
users.

The Windows NT operating system, the Windows NT Advanced Server and related
server products together comprise the most powerful, reliable and open
client-server system in the world. Complementing the existing Windows
operating system version 3.1 and Windows for Workgroups products and
exploiting powerful new hardware systems, Windows NT extends the Windows
family of operating systems into new high-end desktop, workstation and
server markets.

"Windows NT represents nothing less than a fundamental change in the way
that companies can address their business computing requirements," said
Bill Gates, chairman and CEO of Microsoft, in remarks prepared for today's
keynote address at Windows World. "Businesses now have a single platform
on which to deploy client-server solutions and personal productivity
applications. They can downsize business-critical applications, provide
high-performance personal computing and integrate their existing desktop
applications. They will be able to pull together corporate data from all
over the company to solve business problems and meet competitive demands
quickly."

Baxter Healthcare Corporation, a part of Baxter International, the world's
largest healthcare supplier with worldwide sales totaling more than $8
billion, is developing an innovative Warehouse Management System built
around Windows NT, Windows NT Advanced Server and Microsoft SQL Server for
Windows NT. Don Schoen, manager of distribution operating systems at
Baxter Healthcare Corporation, said, "We believe the system will allow us
to provide improved service and enhanced flexibility to meet unique
customer requirements, while lowering our operating and facility costs in
an environment where healthcare costs are coming under even closer
scrutiny during the push for healthcare reform."

Applications at Windows World Illustrate Range of Windows NT-based
Solutions

Well in advance of the first official customer shipment, Windows NT already
has an unparalleled level of application support needed to meet a broad
range of customer needs.

Windows NT runs more than 5,000 existing MS-DOS- and Windows-based
applications already on the market. More than 75 new 32-bit commercial
application development tools are already available to software developers
for building applications for Windows NT and more than 250 are expected by
year's end. More than 100 32-bit applications for Windows NT are expected
to be shipping within 90 days after Windows NT ships. More than 500
applications are expected to be released by year's end, and another 1,500
are under development. In addition applications are being developed by
corporate users for their in-house needs. Many software products are being
moved from UNIX, VMS, AS/400, IBM mainframe and other high-end systems.

Nationwide Building Society, the second largest financial institution of
its kind in the United Kingdom with assets of more than $50 billion (34
billion pounds), has made an organization-wide commitment to Windows NT.
"In essence, all of Nationwide's core business systems will either Run
within, or interface to, Windows NT," said Dr. Paul Feldman, Nationwide's
head of technology management services. "Windows NT's power enables
reliable access of up-to-the minute business information by all employees,
which allows Nationwide to handle more customers more efficiently and
reduces costs by streamlining business processes."

Windows NT Exploits New Hardware Systems

Windows NT has been tested and certified on more hardware platforms than
any other high-end operating system in the world--on more than 1,000
different Intel and RISC-based hardware platforms, including more than 20
symmetric processing machines. Windows NT supports 650 printers, 50 SCSI
peripheral devices, many network adapters and most popular display
adapters supporting VGA, SuperVGA and XGA video modes with resolutions up
to 1280x1024 and up to 16 million colors.

Windows NT provides a PC operating system capable of running on today's
Intel 386 and 486 systems and exploiting an entirely new generation of
microprocessor systems, including Intel Pentium designs, RISC designs and
multiprocessor designs.

"We are very encouraged by Microsoft's announcement of Windows NT," said
Dr. Andrew S. Grove, president and CEO of Intel Corporation. "The
combination of Windows NT and Intel's Pentium processor will accelerate
the use of microprocessor-based systems as the core technology for
enterprise computing."

"Silicon Graphics is pleased to work with Microsoft and several leading PC
vendors to offer technology that allows the industry-leading open RISC
technology--the MIPS processor family--to run Windows NT," said Edward R.
McCracken, president and CEO of Silicon Graphics, Inc. "MIPS RISC
processors deliver unparalleled CPU power to fuel Windows NT and
leading-edge, power-hungry applications."

"Windows NT on the Alpha/AXP processor will provide tremendous power and
scalability for our customers," said Robert Palmer, president and CEO,
Digital Equipment Corporation. "Alpha/AXP is the world's fastest
microprocessor and is the perfect match to the advanced, 32-bit,
multithreaded architecture of Windows NT. Together, Windows NT and
Alpha/AXP are a powerful solution for Windows-based client-server
computing."

Windows NT Combines Power, Familiar Ease of Windows

By being able to run existing MS-DOS- and Windows-based applications, and
to coexist with existing MS-DOS- and Windows-based machines, Windows NT
allows customers to install new high-end business applications easily in
their existing work environment. Windows NT delivers a powerful, reliable
and open platform for client-server solutions--business applications
ranging from inventory management to sales automation to financial
analysis. Windows NT also has the power to serve as a business workstation
to integrate these client-server applications with existing Windows-based
desktop applications or as a technical workstation to run high-end
engineering or scientific applications.

As a superset of Windows 3.1 and Windows for Workgroups, Windows NT makes
users immediately productive through the familiar Windows user interface
and technology--such as object linking and embedding and dynamic data
exchange--currently used by 25 million customers of Windows. Additional
productivity comes through integrated networking and mail, pre-emptively
scheduled multitasking and support for background communication sessions
Windows NT also provides automatic installation, even on networks, with
automatic migration of information from previously installed versions of
Windows 3.1.

Windows NT can scale to meet a company's increasing processing needs
because it has no internal system constraints on resources and provides
consistent support for Intel, RISC and multiprocessor systems.

High-end business applications require a reliable operating system.
Customers deploying solutions on Windows NT-based desktops will benefit
from its memory protection and application isolation, which prevent any
application from crashing other applications or the system itself The
quick recoverability in Windows NT includes support for uninterruptible
power supplies and the Windows NT file system, a transaction-based
recoverable file system. Windows NT has integrated security designed to
meet U.S. Government C2 requirements--to guard against inadvertent or
malicious tampering with the system, applications or company data.
Built-in graphical management tools allow systems managers to monitor
systems and quickly respond to any problems they might encounter.

Deploying client-server solutions today requires an open system. Windows NT
provides customers with the widest software choice--new 32-bit
applications for Windows, 16-bit applications for MS-DOS and Windows 3.1,
16-bit OS/2 character applications and POSIX applications--and also
integrates with their existing environment, including Novell NetWare,
VINES, UNIX, and SNA systems.

"Windows NT represents a synthesis of the best of PC computing,
minicomputer and mainframe computing, and network computing," said Paul
Maritz, senior vice president of the systems division at Microsoft.
"Windows NT presents a foundation on which organizations can build for
many years to come, while preserving customer investments in software. It
also represents an incredible technical achievement of three-and-a-half
million new lines of code--a testament to the dedication and
self-discipline of 300 people with diverse skills and backgrounds who have
worked as a team for more than four years."

Windows NT Advanced Server

The Windows NT Advanced Server is designed to be a dedicated server in a
client-server environment. With its power, scalability, enhanced fault
tolerance and standards-based openness, the Windows NT Advanced Server
will make an excellent applications server on Novell NetWare, Banyan VINES
and Microsoft networks, providing a platform for sophisticated business
solutions such as financial, accounting and vertical applications. As an
application server, it provides a powerful platform for the following:

* Database servers, such as Microsoft SQL Server and ORACLE
  Server, on top of which customers can build retail, banking,
  insurance and similar business solutions
* Communications servers such as Microsoft SNA Server 
* Mail servers such as Microsoft Mail

For network management, the Windows NT Advanced Server also provides
customers with centralized security and Server management, along with
graphical tools to manage multiple systems, and gives users a single log
on for the enterprise.

A superset of the Windows NT operating system, Windows NT Advanced Server
provides additional reliability by supporting advanced fault tolerance
including RAID 5. It also delivers Macintosh connectivity and the Remote
Access Service--providing network and client-server connections to
telecommuters, traveling executives and remote system managers over phone
lines, X.25 and ISDN networks.

Windows NT Momentum Includes Development of Infrastructure

"From the many tens of thousands of developer kits we have sold to the
hundreds of tools and business solutions already available in some form,
it is clear that Windows NT has significant market momentum," said Dwayne
Walker, director of Windows NT and networking products at Microsoft.
"Through initial training of more than 8,000 people on the Windows NT
platform and work with our partners, we have already laid a solid
foundation for Windows NT as the premier client-server platform. We will
continue to work with others in the industry to help customers design,
build and deploy Windows NT-based business solutions that exploit the most
powerful hardware and software to meet customer needs."

Availability

Subject to final feedback from customer test sites, Microsoft is scheduled
to release Windows NT within the next 60 days. Other Windows NT-based
products--Windows NT Advanced Server, SQL Server for Windows NT and SNA
Server for Windows NT--are scheduled to follow shortly thereafter.

Windows NT will be available from value-added resellers, systems
integrators, computer manufacturers and other participants in Microsoft's
Solution Providers program, as well as from normal retail software
outlets. For support, customers can choose from a range of services
provided by some of the industry's leading support vendors, including
Digital Equipment Corporation, Hewlett-Packard Company, NCR Corporation
and others, as well as directly from Microsoft. Support vendors will offer
design, installation, development and training support for Windows NT.

Pricing

The following are suggested retail prices for the Windows NT products:

* Windows NT, $495, with a special offer of $295 for users upgrading from
Windows or OS/2

* Windows NT Advanced Server, $2995, with a six-month promotional price of
$1495 and an upgrade price of $595 for users of Microsoft LAN Manager for
OS/2

* SQL Server for Windows NT, $995 (single user), $2995 (10 users), $7995
(64 users) or $14,995 (1,000 users), with a variety of upgrade options
depending on configuration

* SNA Server for Windows NT, $1495 (20 users) or $5995 (250 users), with
upgrade pricing of $595 for users of the DCA/Microsoft Communications
Server for OS/2 See the pricing chart for details and system
requirements.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in
software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of
products and services for business and personal use, each designed with
the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take
advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.

Microsoft Corp, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399
206-882-8080,  fax: 206-93MSFAX

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