MICROSOFT ANNOUNCES SUPPORT FOR THE IEEE 1394 BUS INTERFACE STANDARD

Future Versions of Windows Will Support High-Performance Digital Bus

REDMOND, WASH. - JAN. 8, 1996 - Microsoft Corp. today announced support of
the IEEE 1394 serial bus interface standard in future releases of the
Microsoft Windows family of operating systems. IEEE 1394 enables
high-performance multimedia connections and control of business and
consumer electronic devices such as camcorders, televisions, stereos, CD
changers, set-top boxes, mixing consoles and music keyboards, as well as
traditional PC devices such as hard drives, CD-ROM drives, printers and
scanners, and docking stations for portable computers.

In addition, Microsoft and Sony Electronics Inc. have signed a letter of
intent to develop open device driver interfaces (DDIs), APIs and an open
host controller interface for IEEE 1394. Microsoft has also signed a
letter of intent with Compaq Computer Corp. to accelerate adoption of the
IEEE 1394 high-speed serial interface as a standard in the PC industry.
This includes defining an open host controller interface specification.
Both of these efforts will be undertaken in cooperation with the 1394
Trade Association.

"The IEEE 1394 interface is an enabling technology for expanding PC
connectivity to a greater range of devices and to new classes of
peripherals, such as consumer entertainment appliances," said Brad
Silverberg, senior vice president of the personal systems division at
Microsoft. "IEEE 1394 enables PCs to play a central role in consumer
entertainment systems. We are pleased to be working with the leading
companies in the consumer electronics industry to develop the IEEE 1394
serial bus interface standard."

"Microsoft's support for the proposed IEEE 1394 specification is a step
forward in integrating consumer electronics devices with PC applications,"
said Carl Yankowski, president and COO of Sony Electronics. "We believe
that the proposed 1394 standard will help pave the way for future
lifestyle changes arising from the meaningful convergence of audio, video,
computers and communications."

"We believe the IEEE 1394 serial bus interface standard that Microsoft is
supporting will make it easier to use and connect PCs and high-speed
peripherals, and enhance business and consumer high- performance
applications such as image capture, multimedia, and multibay Plug and Play
for portable PCs," said Hugh Barnes, vice president and chief technical
officer, Compaq Computer Corp. "By taking a leadership role in developing
the IEEE serial bus, Compaq is continuing its tradition of establishing
and promoting standards that are open and have real end-user benefits."

Microsoft is playing a leading role in developing and promoting an open
IEEE 1394 serial bus interface specification. Microsoft is a member of the
1394 Trade Association, an industry group formed to help promote the
industrywide adoption of the IEEE 1394 interface and to help ensure device
interoperability. Microsoft hosted the IEEE 1394 meeting in July and will
be hosting a 1394 driver architecture design preview in March 1996.

INDUSTRY SUPPORT FOR IEEE 1394

Many industry-leading hardware manufacturers have pledged their support for
the 1394 specification.

1394 Trade Association

"Microsoft's support for IEEE 1394 will fundamentally integrate PCs with
the multimedia capabilities of consumer and professional electronics
products as well as provide a high-speed connection to worldwide
communications such as the Internet," said Gary A. Hoffman, chairman of
the 1394 Trade Association and CEO of Skipstone Inc.

Adaptec

"Adaptec is committed to IEEE 1394 and to working with industry leaders
such as Microsoft and Sony to standardize the IEEE 1394 software
interface," said S. Sundaresh, executive vice president and general
manager of the personal I/O business unit at Adaptec. "Adaptec's expertise
in I/O and systems-level architecture will allow us to create I/O
solutions that will bring consumer electronics and PC products together."

Cirrus Logic Inc.

"We see the IEEE 1394 specification enabling interconnection among a broad
range of consumer electronics products and multimedia PCs," said Suhas
Patil, executive vice president of products and technology for Cirrus
Logic Inc. "Its high-speed digital interface will facilitate the
convergence of computing and consumer applications. We look forward to
participation in the semiconductor opportunities created by the broad
acceptance of the 1394 specification."

Conner Peripherals

"The IEEE 1394 serial bus will address some fundamental system issues
encountered when digital video is moved to and from a mass- storage
device," said Charlie Sander, senior vice president of research and
development at Conner Peripherals. "Conner is excited to be in on the
ground floor of its development."

Digital Equipment Corp.

"As a contributor to the IEEE 1394 specification, Digital is please to
continue its support and to work with Microsoft and other industry
leaders," said Scott Cutler, vice president of technology at Digital
Equipment Corp.'s PC business unit. "The high performance IEEE 1394
standard is a key technological link that will redefine the way PCs
integrate with consumer and professional multimedia components."

Texas Instruments

"Texas Instruments is very excited to be working with Microsoft and Sony to
develop 1394/FireWire chip sets," said Larry Blackledge, 1394 market
development manager at Texas Instruments. "We are working with the leading
PC, peripheral and consumer electronic companies to further facilitate
support of 1394/FireWire. Consumers will be amazed by the new all-digital
audio and video applications that this technology enables, including
digital video disks (DVDs) and high- speed Internet connectivity via their
TV set-top boxes."

Western Digital Corp.

"The IEEE 1394 specification is an industry extension to high- performance
serial interfaces," said John Burger, vice president of marketing for
Western Digital's personal storage group. "Western Digital supports
industry standards and considers high speed serial I/O to be necessary for
the industry as it enables new uses for storage- intensive applications."

ABOUT IEEE 1394

The IEEE 1394 serial bus interface offers high-speed communications and
fully supports isochronous real-time data services. It also supports Plug
and Play, allowing "hot plugging" of up to 63 external peripherals for
convenient system reconfiguration by the user. Users will find that
attaching a 1394 device is as easy as plugging a cord into an electrical
outlet. IEEE 1394 also allows peer-to-peer device communication, such as
communication between a scanner and a printer, to take place without
consuming system memory and CPU resources.

For multimedia applications, the IEEE interface enables real-time digital
data transfer for audio and video capture, editing and playback, as well
as for distributed multimedia applications such as desktop conferencing.
For example, users can easily transfer images from a camcorder to a PC.
These images can be edited and replayed on the PC or TV screen while users
simultaneously print color pictures. For traditional data storage, IEEE
1394 is faster and less expensive than comparable SCSI interfaces,
supporting data transfer rates of 400 megabits per second and increasing
in speed in the future.

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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