HANOVER, Germany, March 12, 2003 — Today at CeBIT 2003, Microsoft Corp. announced the beta release of the Multilingual User Interface & Recognizer Pack (MUIRP) for the Tablet PC. The MUIRP allows users or administrators to switch the user interface settings (e.g., menus, dialog boxes and help files) among multiple languages and allows installation of multiple handwriting recognition languages on the same Tablet PC. This functionality greatly eases desktop administration in multilingual computing environments, and considerably lowers the cost of desktop change and configuration management.
The MUIRP extends user interface language support for the Microsoft® Windows®
XP Tablet PC Edition operating system originally released in English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese to several new languages, including Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Spanish, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese and Swedish. The MUIRP also allows the installation of a Spanish handwriting recognizer, enabling users to automatically translate notes that were handwritten in Spanish into text.
These features make IT management in a multilingual environment easier and less costly, and allow users to log on to network computers using their native language or log on to a shared computer using multiple languages. The MUIRP also supports universal coding standards, which make it possible for developers to create applications in one language that can be deployed and operated in other languages without significant modification.
The Tablet PC Edition MUIRP is scheduled to be available in July 2003.
“In many global companies, IT managers devote a great deal of time to dealing with the technology needs of a multilingual work force,”
said Alexandra Loeb, vice president of the Tablet PC division at Microsoft.
“The Tablet PC Edition Multilingual User Interface & Recognizer Pack simplifies technology management across languages and makes it easier for speakers of different languages to use the same computing infrastructure.”
Features of the Tablet PC MUIRP include the following:
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Enhanced language support and recognition tools. The MUIRP provides support for several new languages. Users can operate the text interface in Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish, in addition to the seven languages originally released for the Tablet PC. A handwriting recognizer is now available for Iberian Spanish in addition to those for English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese. A new speech recognizer is available for Traditional Chinese in addition to those for English, Japanese and Simplified Chinese.
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Ability to develop a single application code that can be deployed in multiple languages. Tablet PC Edition Multilingual User Interface & Recognizer Pack allows global companies to deploy and maintain a single operating system standard worldwide and uphold a single code base for international application development. Because the MUIRP supports the international encoding standard Unicode, developers can build applications in their native language and then deploy the applications in other languages. Operating from a standardized code base also enables companies to issue single, simultaneous rollouts for technology updates such as hotfixes, patches and new service packs without having to localize them for regional language differences.
About the Tablet PC
Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition enables next-generation personal computers to be optimized for mobility, convenience, reduced weight and comfort. The Tablet PC operating system enables Windows-based applications to take advantage of various input modes, including
keyboard, mouse, pen and voice. With software developed and optimized by Microsoft for the new platform, the link between the pen input process and a wide range of Windows-based applications will give users new ways in which to collaborate, communicate and bring their PCs to bear on new tasks. Its high-resolution display makes Tablet PC ideal for immersive reading and rich multimedia applications. More information on Windows XP Tablet PC Edition is available at http://www.microsoft.com/tabletpc/.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies 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.
Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
For more information about MUIRP:
http://www.microsoft.com/tabletpc/
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