REDMOND, Wash., Oct. 19, 1998 — Nearly half of American households own a PC, and increasing numbers of consumers are searching for software to meet a variety of needs at a reasonable price. Microsoft Corp. today introduced a $109 suite featuring six essential software applications to give consumers the value and functionality they are seeking. Microsoft® Works Suite 99 includes Microsoft Works 4.5, Microsoft Word 97, Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 99, Microsoft Money 99 Basic, Microsoft Graphics Studio Greetings 99 and Microsoft Expedia
™
Streets 98.
“Everyone is talking about sub-$1,000 PCs,”
said Robert Bach, vice president of learning, entertainment and productivity at Microsoft.
“Consumers are looking for good values, both with their hardware and their software. With Works Suite 99, they can walk out of the store with the key software applications they need for a great price.”
Varied Software for Varied Computing Needs
Families have diverse computing needs, and often children have different PC needs from adults. Adults may write letters, manage household finances, maintain address books, track household activities, communicate with friends and family, and plan trips. School-age children are more likely to conduct research and write school reports or create cards for their friends. Some tasks may even require multiple applications. For example, a consumer planning a party can use an address book created in Works to print mailing labels, personalize each invitation using Greetings, and add a customized map to the invitation using Streets.
Works Suite 99 features a broad range of software to meet consumers’ diverse computing needs:
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Microsoft Works 4.5 is an integrated program for creating spreadsheets, databases, calendars and more. The Works Calendar reminds consumers of important dates.
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Microsoft Word 97, the world’s leading word processor, allows consumers to create professional-looking letters, school reports and other documents using ready-to-use templates, automatic formatting, and spelling and grammar checkers.
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Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 99 , a complete multimedia reference source, lets consumers access more than 35,000 articles to conduct research for school reports or family projects.
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Microsoft Money 99 Basic, the ultimate money management tool, helps consumers track expenses, map out a retirement plan, balance checkbooks, pay bills or check monthly overviews of their finances.
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Microsoft Graphics Studio Greetings 99 provides home users with the tools to create a wide variety of greetings, both in print and online. Consumers can choose from more than 15,000 graphics and 6,000 messages to create Hallmark-quality birthday cards, party invitations, and multimedia e-mail greetings*.
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Microsoft Expedia Streets 98 makes it easy for consumers to access more than
6 million miles of streets and review more than 350,000 restaurants and 13,000 hotels. Home users can locate addresses and include personalized maps in newsletters, invitations or other documents.
Pricing and Availability of Works Family of Products
Works Suite 99 is part of the Works family of products, which includes Works 4.5, Works Deluxe 99 and Works Suite 99. Works 4.5 has an estimated retail price of $54.95 (U.S.). Works Deluxe includes Works 4.5, Greetings 99, and Money 99 Basic, and has an estimated retail price of $84.95 (U.S.). Works Suite has an estimated retail price of $109 (U.S.). All three products are scheduled to be available in late October. Customers can visit http://www.microsoft.com/works/ for more information regarding retailers in their area.
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.
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*To view e-mail greetings, users need Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or later (included in box), Netscape Navigator 4.0 or later, or other Dynamic HTML-compatible browser.
Microsoft, Encarta and Expedia 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.
