Windows Terminal Server Receives Broad Customer and Industry Support

Windows Terminal Server Receives Broad Customer and Industry Support

REDMOND, Wash., March 11, 1998 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that American Floral Services Inc., Fastenal Co., Federal Express Corp., House of Blues Entertainment Inc. and Sony Electronics have selected Windows® Terminal Server to provide thin-client solutions for their organizations to complement their existing base of Microsoft® Windows operating system-based PCs. Axil Computer Inc., Boundless Technologies Inc., Cruise Technologies Inc., Data General Corp., Network Computing Devices Inc., Unisys Corp. and Wyse Technology also announced support for Windows Terminal Server and Windows-based terminals. In addition, Microsoft released the second beta version of Windows Terminal Server for the Windows NT® Server operating system version 4.0 to 1,100 beta testers for technical evaluation.

Windows Terminal Server Beta 2

A member of the Windows operating system family, Windows Terminal Server delivers the Windows experience to users with desktops that cannot run Windows today, and enables a new generation of Windows-based applications for terminal users. In addition to a more reliable and robust platform, Windows Terminal Server Beta 2 includes significant performance improvements in the remote desktop protocol (RDP, formerly referred to as T.Share) and core functionality such as bandwidth utilization, improved application support, expanded encryption, improved administration tools and user management of domain profiles. In addition, Beta 2 provides support for Windows-based terminals running the Windows CE embedded operating system and RDP. A Windows-based terminal is a Windows-compatible device that connects to Windows Terminal Server and allows customers to use Windows-based applications.

“Customers have told us that traditional 32-bit Windows-based PCs provide the greatest flexibility and functionality for their business, but have also asked for a way to capture some of these benefits to legacy desktops and terminals,” said Mike Nash, director of marketing for Windows NT Server and infrastructure products at Microsoft. “The Windows Terminal Server was designed to extend the benefits of 32-bit Windows computing to a broader set of desktops. We are excited to deliver Beta 2 as the next milestone in developing Windows Terminal Server.”

Support for Windows Terminal Server and Windows-Based Terminals

Windows Terminal Server will enable customers to extend the benefits of Windows into new usage scenarios and application deployments. Based on evaluation of Beta 1, American Floral Services, Fastenal, FedEx, House of Blues Entertainment and Sony Electronics have chosen the Windows Terminal Server. These customers will implement Windows Terminal Server for a variety of user scenarios, including text-based terminal replacement, point of sale and delivering Windows-based applications to non-Windows-based desktops.

Industry support for Windows Terminal Server is growing. In addition to the vendors that announced support for Beta 1 in November (see http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/guide/hydra.asp for the complete list), vendors including Axil Computer Inc., Cruise Technologies, Data General and Unisys have announced their support and commitment to develop products leveraging Windows Terminal Server. Also, Boundless Technologies, Network Computing Devices and Wyse have announced progress on delivering Windows-based terminals based on the Windows CE operating system and using RDP.

Citrix’s “pICAsso” Beta 2

Citrix Systems Inc. today also announced the second beta release of the “pICAsso” Project thin-client/server system software for Microsoft Windows Terminal Server for Windows NT 4.0. “pICAsso” Beta 2 includes new server, client and ICA protocol features that further extend and enhance Windows Terminal Server, making it a valuable addition for organizations seeking to deploy and manage Windows-based applications throughout the enterprise. Citrix’s “pICAsso” Project thin-client/server software will be timed to ship with Microsoft Windows Terminal Server.

Product Availability

The final version of Windows Terminal Server for Windows NT Server 4.0 is scheduled to ship in the first half of 1998. Pricing and packaging will be announced at a later date.

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