REDMOND, Wash., March 10, 1999 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that the Microsoft® PhotoDraw
™
2000 business graphics software, the graphics companion to Microsoft Office, has won numerous awards and countless positive editorial reviews since its release a few months ago. As a version one product, PhotoDraw 2000 introduced a new business graphics category, and the industry has honored the product with several of its most distinguished awards, including PC/Computing’s MVP Award. In addition, customer response to PhotoDraw has been overwhelming with more than 150,000 trial version copies requested worldwide.
“We are pleased with the favorable reception that the industry, the press and, most important, customers have given PhotoDraw 2000,”
said Andy Held, general manager, digital imaging and graphics group at Microsoft.
“The broad spectrum of awards bestowed on PhotoDraw is a strong indicator that all of our design goals for PhotoDraw – ease of use, a toolset consistent with Microsoft Office and ease of learning – successfully address the previously unmet graphics needs of the business user.”
Awards
Within four months of its release, PhotoDraw 2000 has won top honors and praise from leading independent industry reviewers. From its interactive tutorials that make creating graphics easy for the average user to its technological innovation that addresses how users want to combine various graphics elements, PhotoDraw has earned industry distinction for enabling users to quickly and easily create custom, professional-looking graphics.
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PC/Computing: Most Valuable Product (MVP) Award for Business Graphics Software
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Software and Information Industry Association: Codie Award Finalist for Best New Business Software
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Society for Technical Communication: Excellence Rating – PhotoDraw tutorials
PhotoDraw Trial Version an Outstanding Success
Customer interest in PhotoDraw 2000 continues to grow at a significant pace. User response to this revolutionary graphics application has been enthusiastic with more than 150,000 trial versions ordered or downloaded from the Web as of March 1. In addition, Office users participating in Microsoft’s corporate and consumer preview programs are experiencing the power and ease that PhotoDraw offers as part of Microsoft Office 2000 Premium.
PhotoDraw 2000, the first software program to seamlessly combine photo-editing and illustration in one easy-to-use program for the business user, eliminates the need to learn complex graphics terminology, which expedites the graphics creation process. In addition, graphics created with PhotoDraw 2000 can be repurposed for both Web and print use, without sacrificing image quality.
PhotoDraw 2000 is available in stores now as a standalone product and can be found on store shelves as part of the Microsoft Graphics Studio line of products. PhotoDraw 2000 will also be available as part of Office 2000 Premium, which will be released later this year.
Computer users worldwide can obtain information about PhotoDraw 2000 at http://www.microsoft.com/photodraw/ and about other Microsoft products at the company’s World Wide Web home page at http://www.microsoft.com/ . Users interested in learning more
about Microsoft Press® learning solutions that can help them get the most out of PhotoDraw 2000 should visit http://mspress.microsoft.com/ .
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, PhotoDraw and Microsoft Press 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.
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