REDMOND, Wash., May 29, 1996 — The Internet became more accessible to institutions of higher education today as Microsoft Corp. made available 10,000 copies of a specially created CD at no charge.
The Internet Jump Start CD for Education provides college technical administrators with tools that will enable them to set up, explore and publish on the Internet or World Wide Web. The CD assembles in one package a set of fundamental products including two of Microsoft’s most powerful server products: the Windows NT® Server network operating system and the new Microsoft®
Internet Information Server. Jeff Raikes, senior vice president of Microsoft North America, said,
”
Microsoft is investing heavily in resources focused on the education market, including formation of the new Microsoft education customer unit.
“The Jump Start CD is one of many examples of Microsoft’s commitment to education. The CD will help thousands of colleges and universities worldwide by providing information technology specialists with everything they need to fully integrate Web technology into the classroom or administrative areas of their campus.”
The CD, which can be obtained by calling the Jump Start CD for Education Hotline at (800) 867-6824, features an easy-to-use graphical interface, including an informational wizard that helps users establish a Web server. Using Windows NT Server and Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS), institutions can customize their Web server to suit their academic or administrative purposes, and even set up a campus intranet.
In conjunction with the Jump Start CD offer, Microsoft today also announced a contest for colleges and universities that demonstrate innovative use of Microsoft IIS in academic or administrative computing.
The contest will run until Oct. 9, 1996. The top 50 entries will receive, at no charge, a one-year subscription to Microsoft TechNet – worth $699 – as well as a direct link to the Microsoft higher education Web site. TechNet is a database that provides in-depth information on an array of Microsoft products and is the resource used by Microsoft product support staff.
Details of the contest will be available from the Microsoft Higher Education Web site.
The Jump Start CD features technical information (including how to migrate to
Windows NT Server from UNIX®
and other proprietary servers), examples of colleges and universities that have set up Web pages, white papers and links to other home pages – all in a simple point-and-click format. Information on the CD can be viewed through an existing Web browser or Microsoft Internet Explorer, which is included on the CD.
The Internet Jump Start CD for Education includes Windows NT Server, Microsoft Internet Information Server and Microsoft Internet Explorer, plus Internet Assistants and Viewers for Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and the PowerPoint®
presentation graphics program.
The CD also features easy integration with existing databases. The Internet Database Connector is an easy and fast way to publish databases on the Internet and connects to industry-standard databases such as Microsoft SQL Server
™(Microsoft IIS includes SQL Server drivers), Microsoft Access, Oracle® , Informix® , SYBASE®
and other ODBC-compliant databases.
Windows NT Server and Microsoft Internet Information Server are already in use at several universities and colleges nationwide, including the University of Vermont, where the School of Business Administration uses Microsoft Internet tools to maximize its recruiting efforts and administrative efficiencies.
“We were amazed at how easy it was to connect Microsoft IIS to our database and Microsoft SQL Server,” said Jim Kraushaar, an associate professor of management information systems at the school. Kraushaar said that a suite of Microsoft solutions, including the Windows®
95 operating system, Office, Windows NT Server, Microsoft IIS and Microsoft Exchange, created efficiencies that enabled the school to increase its recruiting efforts, leading to a 25 percent surge in enrollment for next fall.
The Jump Start pack can also help campus organizations manage tremendous numbers of
“hits”
to their Web pages. For example, CAUSE, based in Boulder, Colo., is an association whose members are charged with managing information technology and resources on college campuses. The association recently switched its Web server to Microsoft IIS.
“The old hardware we had was crashing almost daily during peak times due to the sheer volume of simultaneous hits to the server,”
said Randy Richter, director of information resources for the 1,400-member campus association.
“But with Microsoft IIS, we haven’t even rebooted the machine since we started it up, so it’s very reliable that way. And I’m extremely impressed with the speed of the system. We have 3,000 documents and videos on our Web page, and with not even the blink of an eye you can search those using keywords.”
The new Microsoft IIS also allows CAUSE members to register for conferences online and search the CAUSE database for information, a task previously possible only by switching to a Gopher server.
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, Windows NT, PowerPoint and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company Ltd.
Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corp.
Informix is a registered trademark of Informix Software Inc.
SYBASE is a registered trademark of Sybase Inc.
For more information on institutions mentioned in this release:
Jim Kraushaar, (802) 656-8327
Associate professor of management information systems in the University of Vermont’s School of Business Administration
E-mail, [email protected]
University of Vermont home page: http://www.bsad.emba.uvm.edu/
Randy Richter, (303) 939-0314
Director of information resources for CAUSE, the association for managing and using information resources in higher education
E-mail, [email protected]
CAUSE home page: http://www.educause.edu/
