Beijing, March 20, 2000 — Microsoft (China) Co., Ltd. today announced the general availability of Windows 2000 Simplified Chinese Version, with the strong and wide support from the local IT industry. The Windows 2000 family of operating systems is designed to enable a new generation of PC computing, delivering superior levels of reliability and manageability to help increase system uptime and to lower total cost of ownership. Windows 2000 is the ideal platform for doing business on the Internet and takes advantage of state-of-the-art hardware, from the smallest mobile devices to the largest e-commerce servers.
Present at today’s grand launch ceremony in Beijing include Director Zhang Qi, the Ministry of Information Industry (MII), Patrick Mulloy, Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce and Alan Turley, Minister-Counselor for Commercial Affairs, in addition to more than 1,000 representatives from the industrial circles. 15 Windows 2000 local launch partners, including 6 Diamond Partners — CA, Compaq, Cisco, Dell, Founder and IBM, and 9 Platinum Partners – APC, User Friend, Kingdee, Beida Mingtian, Shanghai Intranet, Start, Wisdom, Wenzhengming and Mijia Technology also participated in the grand launch.
Speaking at the celebration, Madame Zhang Qi, Director of the IT Products Department under MII, said:
“The IT revolution and the growth of the Internet have ignited the transition from the traditional industry-based economy to an knowledge-based economy. The digital revolution, with computer and software technology as its kernel, has been changing people’s work, education and lifestyle. Microsoft Windows 2000 has upgraded reliability, scalability and manageability to new heights. It also allows companies to easily Internet-enable their businesses. I hope the launch of Windows 2000 Chinese Version will promote the development of Internet in China, especially among enterprises and business circles, to a new level.”
Jack Gao, General Manager of Microsoft (China) Co., Ltd., stressed in his speech that
“the extensive and strong support from the local IT community is very critical to the successful launch of Windows 2000 in China. It reflects the tremendous efforts of the whole industry to usher in next generation of PC computing in the coming business Internet era.”
Windows 2000 Simplified Chinese version is the result of three and half years R & D efforts of both Microsoft Redmond and Microsoft China. In total, 16,000
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copies of Windows 2000 Simplified Chinese Version have been distributed to local clients and 1,200 advice/response were received. The Simplified Chinese version is specially tailored for Chinese customers and has reinforced supports to the Chinese language, including the updated version of 2.0 MS Pinyin Input System, the Unicode surrogate technology that can support up to 64K of Chinese characters, and the support to the Chinese character indexing system. Such features are designed to bring as much convenience as possible to Chinese users. The release of Windows 2000 fully demonstrates the company’s commitment on the Chinese market and Chinese customers.
As an ideal platform for Internet-based E-Commerce operations, to date, over 20 Chinese enterprises including Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Tianjin Mobile Telecom, China Population Research Center and Ningbo Information Hub have deployed Windows 2000 in their operating environment. They all highly appraised the new product. A bidding for the first Windows 2000 Simplified Chinese version was completed @yabuy.com before the launch. A customer in Shanghai won the product at a price of RMB 12,012 (US$1450).
To meet the increasing customer demands, in addition to international PC manufacturers, many local Chinese PC manufacturers also release their Windows 2000 pre-installed PCs, notebooks and server products. PCs include Legend Benyue 2000, Founder Shangqi 6100, Hair Kuailong 5000 and Unisplendour Xianzhi 9400. Notebook models include Langchao Jinlong PIII 600, and Timefound Chaoyue. Windows 2000 Server has been pre-installed in Hair servers and other models.
Following after the grand launch, a two day training will be organized for customers and IT pros. Microsoft (China) Co., Ltd. will also organize a road show and training across 7 major cities in China, including Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Xi’an, Shenzhen, Nanjing and Shenyang, to expand the momentum in the country.
About Windows 2000
Windows 2000 is an ideal platform for the next generation of business computing and addresses the full range of customers’ computing needs, from laptops and desktops to high-end clustered servers. The operating system helps organizations Internet-enable their business with a reliable, manageable infrastructure that is optimized for existing and emerging hardware. More information about Windows 2000 is available at http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/ and http://www.microsoft.com/technet/ .
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
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