NEW YORK, Oct. 24, 2001 — Today more than 50 companies representing a who’s who in the technology industry will take part in the launch of the Microsoft® Windows® XP operating system. They will showcase hundreds of new products and applications — from the latest Intel Pentium 4 processor-based personal computers to the coolest digital cameras and wireless technology — designed to work with the best operating system Microsoft Corp. offers beginning at 1 p.m. in the Partner Pavilion at the Marriott Marquis in New York’s Times Square.
Technology companies from every corner of the PC industry will display their hardware and software solutions built for the Windows XP platform. The entire industry is incredibly excited about the arrival of the new Windows operating system. Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates and Microsoft Group Vice President Jim Allchin will participate in Partner Pavilion festivities to share their enthusiasm for the opportunities offered by Windows XP to partners across the industry.
“It is really exciting for me to see so many partners offer such a wide range of Windows XP solutions,”
Allchin said.
“But the customers will be the real winners, since they will now fully realize the potential of their PCs through great end-to-end experiences.”
“The Intel Pentium 4 processor and Microsoft Windows XP bring unprecedented performance and capability to today’s home and business PC user,”
said Craig R. Barrett, president and chief executive officer of Intel Corp.
“Together with Microsoft, we have created an innovative platform for the home user to take advantage of the most demanding digital media applications. The combination of Windows XP Professional and the Pentium 4 processor provides business users with the stability and headroom required by new and evolving business usage models.”
Computer manufacturers and independent software and hardware vendors will be showing their Windows XP-compatible products — including solutions for digital photography, music and video; mobile devices and wireless support; home networks; and real-time telephony — at the Partner Pavilion.
“We believe the introduction of Windows XP is the most significant milestone for the consumer PC industry this year,”
said Mike Larson, senior vice president and general manager for Compaq’s Access Business Group.
”
The combination of Windows XP and Compaq’s PCs is going to transform our customers’
computing experience — whether they are at home, at work or on the road — so
we are anticipating one of our most significant holiday sales seasons ever.”
The hundreds of new products demonstrated today are among the more than 12,000 compatible scanners, printers, external drives and add-in cards available for Windows XP — nearly twice the number of compatible products that were available for Windows 2000 at its launch. Windows XP also supports the vast majority of existing Windows-compatible software products, including 90 percent of the 1,500 most popular applications.
“Windows XP is one of the most important operating system releases in years,”
said Kinya Uchida, president and CEO of Canon U.S.A. Inc.
”
As users rely more for business and pleasure on the operating system of their personal computer and peripherals such as
digital cameras, camcorders, printers and scanners, our leadership in these key areas will bring even greater power and utility to our customers than ever before.
“
In addition to the partner event, CompUSA Inc. and Gateway Country will join in the Windows XP celebration by hosting Windows XP Madness events at their Columbus Circle retail stores in New York beginning at 9:30 tonight. The celebration continues tomorrow with Morning Madness across the country in 20 retail locations.
Windows XP dramatically improves the computer experience for home and business users with revolutionary stability, reliability and holistic digital experiences. With Windows XP, consumers can create, play and interact using digital media, home networking, instant messaging, voice and video to do things they have never done before with a PC. Business users can work smarter and faster, employing productivity and connectivity features ranging from remote access to multilingual communication to meet the demands of any size company.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
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