REDMOND, Wash., March 31, 1999 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the general availability of two new tools to support customers preparing their Microsoft® products for the year 2000. The Microsoft Year 2000 Product Analyzer and the Microsoft Year 2000 Product Guide Workbook can help customers assess their computing environments and take appropriate actions for Y2K remediation. Customers can quickly and easily obtain core Microsoft product-compliance details, determine the status of their Microsoft environment and obtain updates, if deemed necessary, from the Microsoft Year 2000 Readiness Disclosure and Resource Center Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/year2000/ . The tools will allow customers to assess their needs more rapidly and prepare their computing environments for the year 2000.
“We are committed to providing ongoing support and are now delivering tangible tools that will help customers prepare for the new millennium,” said Bob Herbold, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Microsoft. “We encourage customers to take advantage of these free year 2000 tools now and to assess their Microsoft environment.”
Tools for Y2K Assessment
The Microsoft Year 2000 Product Analyzer and the Microsoft Year 2000 Product Guide Workbook were developed as a supplemental solution to help customers test their computer systems in preparation for the year 2000 computing challenge. The Microsoft Year 2000 Product Analyzer scans a computer’s hard drive, or a network drive, looking for core Microsoft products and immediately generates a report with year 2000-compliance information. It also provides links to additional product information and updates if required. The Microsoft Year 2000 Product Analyzer, available currently in English, is scheduled to be available in 14 languages within the next 60 days. Those interested may obtain this tool free of charge from the Microsoft Year 2000 Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/year2000/ (connect-time charges may apply), by calling (888) MSFT-Y2K (673-8925), and through the subscription service of the Microsoft Year 2000 Resource CD, a CD-ROM version of the Microsoft Year 2000 Web site, which includes product guides, white papers and additional year 2000 information. The tool is scheduled to be available on the April release version of the Microsoft Year 2000 Resource CD.
Year 2000 Tool for Microsoft Product-Compliance Details
The Microsoft Year 2000 Product Guide Workbook efficiently provides product details through user functionality that includes the ability to query Microsoft products by language or compliance status on a worldwide basis. This tool, which is updated daily with the latest year 2000 information, helps customers save time and simplifies the process of determining the compliance status of Microsoft products. Customers are able to download the Year 2000 Product Guide Workbook from the Microsoft Web site, and companies may use this tool as an intranet solution for individual desktop assessment. The Year 2000 Product Guide Workbook, available currently in English, is scheduled to be available in 14 languages within the next 60 days. This tool is also available free of charge from the Microsoft Year 2000 Web site, http://www.microsoft.com/year2000/ (connect-time charges may apply), and through the subscription service of the Microsoft Year 2000 Resource CD.
Customer Successes With Microsoft Year 2000 Assessment Tools
Customers have noted that with the new Microsoft tools, the time they have spent assessing their Microsoft products for year 2000 compliance has decreased dramatically. With the Microsoft Year 2000 Product Analyzer, for example, customers are able to follow an easy-to-use wizard and significantly reduce the time required to evaluate Microsoft products in their computing environment.
“The Microsoft Year 2000 Product Analyzer has been an invaluable asset by providing product-compliance details and pointing us to the appropriate links for any needed updates,” said Todd Dellinger, network administrator at Zebra Hill Marketing Inc. “The Microsoft Year 2000 Product Guide Workbook provides detailed compliance information in an easy-to-understand Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. The new Y2K tools allow us to determine our status and better prepare our business operations for the year 2000.”
In addition to providing these resources directly to customers, Microsoft’s 775,000 partners worldwide that sell, develop and deploy Microsoft-based solutions also have access to these tools and can utilize these resources with their Y2K service offerings.
Users can obtain the latest information on Microsoft products and other year 2000 resources from the Microsoft Year 2000 Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/year2000/ , by calling (888) MSFT-Y2K (673-8925) within the United States, or by contacting a local Microsoft subsidiary.
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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For online product information:
Visit the Microsoft Year 2000 Resource Center Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/year2000/
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