Microsoft Launches Worldwide Campaign To Upgrade Developer Workstations and Servers

Microsoft Launches Worldwide Campaign To Upgrade Developer Workstations and Servers

REDMOND, Wash., March 9, 1998 — Microsoft Corp. today announced a worldwide campaign to upgrade professional developer workstations and servers to provide developers with more power, reliability and security as they build world-class applications. Until June 30, 1998, developers who acquire Professional and Enterprise editions of products in the Microsoft® Visual Studio
™development system are eligible to receive the Microsoft Windows NT® Workstation operating system Developer Edition or the Microsoft BackOffice® Server Developer Edition for free. The number of developers targeting the Windows NT platform has grown by nearly 40 percent in the past year, so Microsoft is making it very easy for developers to take full advantage of the Windows NT and BackOffice platforms.

“Microsoft greatly values the developer community, and we wanted to ensure that developers have everything they need to write world-class applications: a powerful, reliable and secure platform and great tools with which to take advantage of it,” said Paul Gross, vice president of the developer tools division at Microsoft. “Visual Studio combined with Windows NT Workstation provides the most powerful developer workstation available, and Visual Studio and BackOffice are the most powerful development platform for enterprise development.”

The Campaign

Developers who acquire a Professional Edition of the Visual Basic® or Visual C++® development system or Visual Studio are eligible for a free Developer Edition of Windows NT Workstation 4.0. Developers who acquire the Enterprise editions of these same tools are eligible for a free Developer Edition of BackOffice Server, 4.0. The Developer editions of Windows NT Workstation and BackOffice Server include the full feature set found in full packaged product editions. However, the Developer editions include a limited license for developers’ use in design, development and testing of software applications. In addition, the BackOffice Server Developer Edition license is limited to 10 simultaneous connections. Developers pay no shipping or handling charges to receive their free product. For additional details of this promotion, developers can visit http://www.microsoft.com/developer/offer/.

Developers Need Windows NT as a Host Workstation

Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 Developer Edition is the most powerful 32-bit desktop operating system for development and testing purposes, with a focus on performance, reliability, security and networking. Advantages for developers offered by Windows NT include the following:

  • Runs 20 percent faster than a Windows® 95 operating system-based machine with
    32 MB or more of RAM.

  • Multiprocess or configurations support for scalable performance is provided without changing the operating system or applications.

  • High performance across Intel and RISC-based architectures provides maximum flexibility in hardware platforms.

  • Thirty-two-bit Windows-based applications run more reliably and securely than other Windows operating systems; a stable development environment prevents failures in applications from bringing down the system.

  • TCP/IP components are supported so developers can work with other applications during downloads from the Internet.

  • Internet and intranet applications can be developed and tested easily with Peer Web Services.

  • Integrated security is provided to ensure that line-of-business applications, critical data and the base operating system are safe from tampering or user error.

BackOffice Provides Robust Enterprise Development Platform

Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Developer Edition offers a powerful, stable, multipurpose foundation for a wide range of enterprise solutions created with BackOffice Server version 4.0 Developer Edition. Its ease of use, expanded Internet, intranet, applications and communications services, and tight integration with BackOffice application servers enable organizations to share information, collaborate, and manage and deploy business-critical applications. BackOffice Server Developer Edition includes a limited license for these components:

  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0

  • Microsoft Windows NT Server Option Pack, which includes the following:

  • Microsoft Internet Information Server 4.0

  • Microsoft Transaction Server 2.0

  • Microsoft Message Queue Server 1.0

  • Microsoft SQL Server
    ™
    6.5, Service Pack 3

  • Microsoft Site Server 3.0

  • Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5

  • Microsoft SNA Server 4.0

  • Microsoft Systems Management Server 1.2, Service Pack 3

  • Microsoft Proxy Server 2.0

  • Integrated setup, integrated administration, and the BackOffice intranet starter sites

Pricing and Availability

All the Visual Tools included in the promotion are widely available today. The full package versions of Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 and Microsoft BackOffice Server 4.0 are also widely available, although the Developer editions of these products are offered only through this promotion.

* Additional $50 rebate available to licensees of previous version

** Additional $100 rebate available to licensees of two or more previous versions of Visual Tools

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, Visual Studio, Windows NT, BackOffice, Visual Basic, Visual C++ and Windows 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.

Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages.

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