NEW YORK, July 8, 1998 — At the opening keynote address today at MacWorld Expo New York, Apple Computer Inc. and Microsoft Corp. celebrated the progress made since the two companies announced their milestone alliance one year ago at MacWorld Expo Boston. The new spirit of cooperation brought on by the agreement resulted in the unprecedented success of Microsoft® Office 98 Macintosh® Edition, integration of the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser in Apple’s new iMac and Mac OS 8.1, and convergence of Java technologies on the Macintosh platform. All of this has contributed to the renewed vitality of the Macintosh platform over the past year.
“Although our partnership was first met with boos at MacWorld a year ago, it has blossomed and is delivering some really great products to our joint customers,”
said Steve Jobs, Apple’s interim CEO.
“Our colleagues at Microsoft continue to demonstrate that they’re genuinely interested in creating great Macintosh products such as Microsoft Office 98 and Internet Explorer 4.0.”
Ben Waldman, general manager of the Macintosh business unit at Microsoft, added,
“Microsoft believes that Macintosh is a great platform for applications and leading-edge Internet technologies, and we’re especially excited about Apple’s new iMac, which complements our efforts to make Microsoft products easier for consumers to use.”
“The agreement made between Apple and Microsoft nearly one year ago has truly impacted the Macintosh industry in a positive way,”
said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies Inc.
“The new spirit of cooperation between the two companies has been a key factor in Apple’s comeback and successful product introductions over the past year. As a long-time Apple follower and supporter of the Macintosh platform, I look forward to additional progress in the coming year.”
The collaboration between Apple and Microsoft has delivered the following key results.
Microsoft Office 98 Macintosh Edition
Launched in January, Office 98 sets a new standard for applications for the Macintosh by providing deep integration with the operating system and support for key Apple technologies such as QuickTime. With features unique to Macintosh, Microsoft Office 98 continues to gain broad customer support, already outshipping its predecessor by 36 percent in comparable quarters.
As a continued result of their reinvigorated relationship, Apple and Microsoft today announced a new promotion enabling every Apple iMac customer in the United States to receive a $100 rebate when they license Microsoft Office 98 Macintosh Edition.* The promotion brings added benefit to Apple and Microsoft’s mutual Macintosh customers by jointly addressing the technology needs and cost sensitivities of consumers. The promotion will begin Aug. 15, 1998, and run through Dec. 31, 1998.
Microsoft Internet Explorer Integrated in Apple’s New iMac and Mac OS 8.1
Mac OS 8.1, released in January 1998, includes Microsoft Internet Explorer as the default browser. Since the companies began collaborating last August, users of Internet Explorer on the Macintosh platform increased by 28 percentage points. Today, Apple also announced that Internet Explorer 4.01 and Outlook
™
Express 4.01 will come with iMac.
Single Java VM for Macintosh
This March, both companies announced plans to converge their Java technologies to create a single Java virtual machine (VM) for Mac OS. The unified VM will be based on Apple’s Mac OS Runtime for Java (MRJ) and will incorporate a variety of Microsoft technologies for Java.
Apple Computer Inc. ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II, and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Apple is now recommitted to its original mission – to bring the best personal computing products and support to students, educators, designers, scientists, engineers, businesspersons and consumers in more than 140 countries around the world.
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.
*Customers will receive an in-box rebate coupon for $100 on the full packaged new user version of Microsoft Office 98 Macintosh Edition from Aug. 15 through Dec. 31, 1998. Customers licensing the full packaged academic edition will receive an in-box rebate coupon for their choice of obtaining either Microsoft Encarta Deluxe or Microsoft Bookshelf for Macintosh free of charge. Offer good in the United States only.
Microsoft and Outlook are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Macintosh is a registered trademark of Apple Computer Inc. used under license.
Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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