REDMOND, Wash., Sept. 9, 2003 — Microsoft Corp. today launched Microsoft®
Works Suite 2004, the latest installment of Microsofts No. 1 best-selling 2 home productivity software package that helps everyone in the household accomplish daily tasks in an organized, efficient way. To meet increasing consumer demand for quality and value, Microsoft Works Suite 2004 includes six useful products in one easy-to-use package for a great price. The suite includes Microsoft Works 7.0, with the word processor upgraded to Microsoft Word 2002; Microsoft Encarta® Encyclopedia Standard 2004; Microsoft Money Standard 2004; Microsoft Picture It!®
Photo Premium 9; and Microsoft Streets & Trips 2004. The six applications help users manage tasks such as tracking to-do lists, writing letters, doing schoolwork or reports, managing finances, editing their photos, and planning trips.
“This year we are offering four new versions of products released in the past three months, along with consumer favorites Works and Word,”
said Kim Schaefer, product manager for Works Suite at Microsoft.
“With six very popular Microsoft software titles in one package, users will have all the tools they need to help them save time and money and accomplish daily tasks with ease.”
According to recent research, 78 percent of consumers are looking for ways to simplify their lives. 3 Works Suite 2004 helps consumers achieve simplicity in a variety of ways. Users can jump-start everyday projects such as making greeting cards, resumes or newsletters with 500 high-quality templates. The Task Launcher quick-start home page brings all six applications into an easy-to-use interface that helps users complete daily tasks. The My Projects organizer includes systematic guides, predesigned templates and a scheduling tool, helping home users efficiently complete larger projects such as planning an event, managing a sports team, moving into a new home or preparing for tax season.
Works Suite 2004, available as a CD, includes the following software titles and features:
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Microsoft Works 7.0 , an essential home productivity application, encourages users to create, organize and plan. Works includes a word processor, spreadsheet, calendar (which also can be downloaded to a Pocket PC or handheld device), database, Outlook®
Express, the Task Launcher and the My Projects organizer tool. -
Microsoft Word 2002 is the ultimate word processing program for work, school or home. Users can create letters, resumes, reports, labels, envelopes and more, all with the option of utilizing templates and wizards. Word also checks spelling and grammar, and helps users format documents.
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New Edition!
Microsoft Money Standard 2004 makes financial tracking and management on the PC effortless. Updates to Microsoft Money continue to make it more user-friendly, customizable and complete by combining software with the Web. In addition, the new Dynamic Home Page gives users quick access to the information they want, including an overall picture of their finances, top financial stories and breaking financial news from the award-winning MSN®
Web site. -
New Edition!
Microsoft Encarta Standard 2004. This trusted, award-winning and up-to-date resource, the No. 1 best-selling encyclopedia brand 4 encourages users to gain knowledge and explore their world. Update Encarta 5 provides fresh content every week, so information is timely and accurate, and engaging multimedia content including images, videos, animation and audio makes learning fun. -
New Edition!
Microsoft Picture It! Photo Premium 9 lets users easily enhance their photos with professional tools and turn any picture into a work of art. Its simple to correct lighting, hue and composition, or use photo-restoration tools to change tint and remove red-eye, dust, scratches and other problems. The product includes 1,500 project templates that help users create designer-quality photo cards, frames, calendars, scrapbooks and more. The new Acquisition Wizard makes it easier than ever to access images from a digital camera, picture CD, scanner, hard drive, the Web or MSN Photos. -
New Edition!
Microsoft Streets & Trips 2004 includes more than 6.7 million miles of routable city, state and highway roads in the United States and Canada. It even provides door-to-door directions and maps, route and construction updates, and nearby points of interest as users travel. Features new to Streets & Trips include drive-time zones, which allows users to see on a map how far they can travel within a specified amount of time; One-Way Streets, which enables users to view one-way streets for increased accuracy; and real-time Global Positioning System (GPS) support, which allows people to find their location while on the road with a GPS device on their laptop or Pocket PC running Pocket Streets 2004 (included with Streets & Trips 2004).
Availability
An incredible value, Works Suite 2004 is available for an estimated retail price of $99.99 (U.S.). In addition, there is a $15 (U.S./$25 CAN) mail-in rebate in the Works Suite 2004 box. 6 More information about Microsoft Works Suite 2004 can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/accomplish/ . Microsoft Works Suite is available as an upgrade to Works, Word or other word processing programs.
About Microsoft Home Retail Division
Microsoft Home Retail Division (HRD) is a leading publisher of home software for the PC. Celebrating Microsofts 20 years of delivering products that help consumers accomplish and enjoy everyday tasks, HRD brings consumers the Microsoft Encarta encyclopedia, the industrys best-selling encyclopedia brand; Microsoft Digital Image products, which combine advanced photo-editing features and unmatched organizational tools with unparalleled ease of use; Microsoft Money, easy-to-use personal finance management software; Microsoft Streets & Trips, Microsofts all-in-one mapping solution with points of interest, routes, driving directions and Pocket PC compatibility in one value-priced software package; and Microsoft Works Suite, the best-selling integrated home productivity software, which offers six of the latest essential home software titles in one package for tremendous value. Used with the MSN network of Internet services, these products have a unique depth and mobility that allow users to take their PC experience even further. More information about the Home Retail Division product lineup is available at http://www.microsoft.com/discover/ .
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.
1 Actual retail price may vary.
2 NPD Group/NPD Techworld®
, October 1998June 2003. Based on total U.S. retail sales.
3 Yankelovich MONITOR®
, The State of the Consumer 2002
4 NPD Techworld®
, March 1993March 2003. Based on total U.S. retail sales.
5 Club Encarta required for Update Encarta. Registration for Club Encarta requires a Microsoft .NET Passport and an Internet connection. Users must be 13 years old or older to join Club Encarta.
6 See product packaging for offer details. Certain offer restrictions apply.
Microsoft, Encarta, Picture It!, Outlook and MSN 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.
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