REDMOND, Wash., Aug. 21, 1996 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that for the one-year anniversary of the Windows® 95 operating system on Saturday, Aug. 24, it will host an interactive online Web party to thank customers and to celebrate the success of the most popular operating system product ever released. Earlier this month, Microsoft confirmed that 40 million units of Windows 95 have shipped worldwide, making it the most successful operating system in its first year.
As part of the anniversary celebration for Windows 95, Microsoft is hosting a
“virtual birthday party”
on its Web site ( http://microsoft.com/windows/ ) with participation from 80 third-party vendors and corporate customers. There will be online interviews with the following industry executives:
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Dr. John Warnock, chairman and CEO of Adobe Systems Inc.
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Michael Dell, president and CEO of Dell Computer Corp.
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Ted Waitt, chairman and CEO of Gateway 2000 Inc.
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Bill Gates, chairman and CEO of Microsoft
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Gordon Eubanks, president and CEO of Symantec Corp.
Everyone who attends the party is welcome to download a special-edition,
“organic art”
Windows 95 anniversary screen saver, which was created by computer artists William Latham, Mark Atkinson and their company, Computer Artworks Ltd.
“We really want to thank our customers and partners for such great support over the last year,”
said Bill Gates, chairman and CEO of Microsoft.
“Windows 95 has helped millions of users get more out of personal computing, and we owe a big thank you to the entire PC community.”
Industry Momentum
Momentum for the Microsoft® 32-bit Windows operating systems is at an all-time high and is a broad signal that now is the time to migrate, according to Microsoft. The latest versions of best-selling consumer products, VAR and retail business applications are written for 32-bit Windows (source: Merisel’s Hot List). In addition, more than 20,000 PC manufacturers and assemblers ship Windows 95 and more than 3,000 Plug and Play devices are now available. Customers are taking advantage of the ease of use, reduced support hassles and increased end-user productivity of Windows 95.
“We’re just getting started,”
said Jim Allchin, senior vice president of the desktop and business systems division at Microsoft.
“Windows 95 has been a very important milestone, but it’s not our end destination. Microsoft will continue to innovate in three key areas: making its operating systems even more Internet-enabled; making computers even simpler, with innovations such as ‘instant on’ capabilities similar to those of television sets; and enabling new technologies that make PCs even more interactive.”
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 and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
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Windows 95 Milestones
August 1996
The Microsoft
® Windows® 95 operating system is very successful, thanks to millions of users and our industry partners.
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Windows 95 will surpass 40 million units sold by its one-year anniversary on Aug. 24, 1996. (Interested in other 40-million sellers? See below.)
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IDC expects the installed base of Windows 95 to grow to 70 million in 1996 and to 132 million in 1997.
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More than 400 PC manufacturers worldwide have licensed and are shipping Windows 95.
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All of the top 100 manufacturers of Intel® -based PCs ship Windows 95 on systems today.
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IDC forecasts that 67 percent of the PCs shipped in 1996 will include Windows 95.
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Twenty-five percent of adult computer users run Windows
95, 30 percent of users of Intel-based computers run Windows 95, and 35 percent of users of Windows run Windows
95 (source: June PC Watch call-downs to U.S. households).
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In all, 4,406 software applications run on Windows 95 (source: Computer Select).
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The latest versions of best-selling consumer products, VAR and retail business applications are written for 32-bit Windows (source: Merisel’s Hot List).
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Ninety-five percent of the leading education software publishers are developing Windows
95-based applications (source: SIMBA Information).
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Ten of the 11 publishers of the top 20 PC game titles in May (source: PC Data) currently have Windows 95-based titles or have advertised upcoming Windows 95-based games.
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Some of the awards Windows 95 has won:
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1995 Most Valuable Product of the Year Award from PC Computing magazine
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Most Important Product of 1995 Award from Information Week magazine
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1995 Technical Excellence Award from PC Magazine in the operating systems category
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Best of 1995 Award from PC Magazine in the operating systems category
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Product of the Year WIN 100 Software Award from Windows Magazine
Windows 95 improves customers’ computing experience.
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Nine of 10 customers are satisfied and would buy the product again (source: customer satisfaction surveys).
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Customers can choose from 348 hardware vendors, 267 software vendors and 273 PC manufacturers that have earned the Designed for Windows 95 logo.
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Three thousand plug-and-play devices are now available. Windows 95 will be supporting hardware advances such as larger hard drives and USB 1394 (in forthcoming updates).
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Windows 95 reduces the total cost of PC management. Compared with Windows 3.1, help-desk calls can be reduced up to 14 percent, and on-site help-desk visits can be reduced up to 56 percent (source: Technology Business Research Inc.).
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Users are substantially more productive using Windows 95. They are 91 percent more productive compared with users of Windows 3.1, and they were more satisfied in 20 of 21 categories than users of Windows 3.1 (source: Usability Sciences).
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Forty percent of users of Windows accessing the Web are using Windows 95. Both Netscape and Microsoft released their new browsers on 32-bit Windows.
What else sold 40 million?
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”
Les Mis
érables”
total worldwide ticket sales -
“Snow White,” “Jurassic Park,” “Batman”
and
“Bambi”
total video sales -
Japanese cars sold in the United States in the past 25 years
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Michael Jackson’s
“Thriller”
total worldwide sales -
“Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care”
book total worldwide sales -
Records the Moody Blues have sold in 20 years
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Total number of Tetris sold worldwide
Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corp.
