REDMOND, Wash., Sept. 29, 1999 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the release of Home Publishing Suite 2000, the latest version of the company’s home desktop publishing software for consumers that combines the best of print publishing, easy-to-use Web functionality and the leading consumer photo-editing software, Microsoft® Picture It!® , into one complete package.
“Desktop publishing, digital imaging and online publishing are converging,”
said Robert Bach, vice president of Microsoft’s Home and Retail Division.
“People want to include personal photos in their projects and share their creations with friends and family via the Web. Home Publishing Suite 2000 makes this easier than ever.”
Consumers Can Share Projects Through E-Mail and the Web
Internet and e-mail projects are an integral aspect of Microsoft Home Publishing Suite 2000. With new Web design tools and step-by-step instructions for creating and posting personal Web pages, Home Publishing Suite 2000 makes it easy for consumers to create Internet and e-mail projects that spring to life with photos, music, sound and animation and share them with family and friends. For example, consumers can easily create an e-mail birth announcement with a photo of the new arrival, a flying stork and a recording of the baby’s first sounds.
Consumers Can Create More Projects Than Ever Before
Home Publishing Suite 2000 offers more content than ever, with more than 100,000 designs, ideas, templates, projects and creative sets. It features 100,000 clip-art images, of which 30,000 are new; 10,000 design templates, of which 3,000 are new; and 10,000 photos, of which 8,000 are new. In addition, Home Publishing Suite 2000 allows consumers to create personalized greeting cards, invitations, announcements and e-mail greetings using more than 10,000 designs and sentiments from Hallmark Connections TM , the technology brand of Hallmark Cards Inc.
“We are excited to be part of this new offering from Microsoft, especially since Hallmark is focused on meeting our consumers’ needs by giving them the tools to manage their relationships in today’s world,”
said Mary McClure, vice president of Consumer Product Technology at Hallmark.
Award-Winning Software Enables Consumers to Customize Projects With Personal Photos
Home Publishing Suite 2000 also includes the award-winning Picture It!, Microsoft’s easy-to-use photo-editing software. With Picture It!, consumers can remove red-eye, dust and scratches, adjust brightness and contrast, and restore old, yellowing photos. In addition, they can add captions with 3-D text, paint with photo strokes, animate objects, and use artistic illusions to transform a color photo into a black-and-white sketch. The new Mini Lab feature allows users to edit and enhance multiple photos at the same time. Once consumers have edited and enhanced their personal photos, they can easily incorporate them into their print and Web projects.
Home Publishing Suite 2000 Enhancements
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Improved ease of use
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The new start-up screen makes it even easier for consumers to select the right project and get started quickly.
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The new Scratch Area provides consumers with an expanded work space to allow them to experiment with clip art, photos and text beside the project.
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The contextual interface provides only the tools and features users need for their current project.
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New editing tools
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Text tight-wrap makes text automatically flow around irregularly shaped objects.
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Text frame linking makes text seamlessly flow from box to box and page to page.
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New Web project tools
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The new personal Web page features allow consumers to create multimedia Web pages with photos, sound, music, animation and even their own voice.
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When users are ready to post their projects to the Web, the Web Posting Wizard walks them through a simple three-step process.
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New photo-editing tools
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Picture It!, the award-winning photo-editing software, allows users to edit and enhance photos quickly and easily by correcting red-eye, adjusting tint and contrast, and removing scratches.
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The new Mini Lab allows users to edit and enhance multiple photos at the same time.
Home Publishing Suite 2000 is part of the line of Microsoft home creativity products that also includes Microsoft Home Publishing 2000, Microsoft Greetings 2000 and Microsoft Picture It! 2000. Home Publishing Suite 2000 is available for an estimated retail price of $54.95 with a $20 cash-back rebate.* More information about Home Publishing Suite 2000 is available at http://home-publishing.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.
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