Microsoft Outlook 98 Scheduled to Ship by End of March

Microsoft Outlook 98 Scheduled to Ship by End of March

REDMOND, Wash., Feb. 11, 1998 — Microsoft Corp. today announced new details regarding the availability of Microsoft® Outlook
™
98, Microsoft’s premier messaging and collaboration client for Internet-based messaging servers, including Microsoft Exchange, and a member of the leading desktop productivity suite family, Microsoft Office.

The final version of Outlook 98 is scheduled to be available by the end of March 1998. Since its initial beta release via the Web http://www.microsoft.com/outlook/ in November of last year, Outlook 98 beta versions have been downloaded by more than 250,000 users.

“Outlook 98 offers major improvements in the critical areas of Internet standards support, performance and simplicity,” said Jon DeVaan, vice president of the desktop applications division at Microsoft. “The wide variety of users who have downloaded and tested the beta demonstrates that both large and small businesses are finding Outlook 98 to be a great improvement and a useful tool for both Internet e-mail and information management.”

The new version of the Outlook messaging and collaboration client has already received widespread praise from reviewers, industry analysts and customers. Outlook 98 has been described as simply “as good as they come” for an e-mail program, and others have stated that Outlook “redefines the standard for usability in an e-mail client” and offers “a level of finish that the competition just can’t match.” During the beta phase, the Outlook development team kept in close contact with its test sites and communicated with users on Outlook newsgroups to solicit early user feedback on the new version.

“Outlook 98 builds on a product that was already very good,” said Ben M. Schorr, director of information services at Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert in Hawaii. “The Outlook Today feature is a nice concept that should prove useful in helping users stay organized, and the Find Tool is much easier to use. I also like the fact that junk mail filtering is now built into the product – that’s going to be a great timesaver in helping users sift through unsolicited e-mail messages.”

“I use Outlook not only to manage my e-mail, but to manage my client contacts and tasks,” said Lenny Charnoff, managing partner of Ultimate E-Mail. “The integration between modules is superb. Outlook 98 also manages multiple mail accounts better than any other e-mail client; the filtering system uses sophisticated qualifiers to route my e-mail. Outlook 98 goes to the head of the class as a dynamic program that can seamlessly integrate tasks, meetings and group communication – in short, it’s great for anyone who puts a premium on their time.”

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, Outlook and Windows NT are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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