MICROSOFT ANNOUNCES READY FOR AS/400 CAMPAIGN

Nationwide Promotion Makes It Easy for Customers to Evaluate Microsoft,
Third-Party Software to Enhance, Extend AS/400 Environments

REDMOND, WASH. - FEB. 1, 1996 - Microsoft Corp. today announced its Ready
for AS/400 campaign, a nationwide promotion that makes it easy for
customers to evaluate Microsoft and third-party PC software to enhance and
extend their AS/400 environments. The program includes no-cost trial
software, a seminar series, an advertising program and a range of support
materials for corporate customers.

As part of the campaign, corporate computer users can obtain an AS/400
CD-ROM at no charge from the following AS/400 suppliers: Andrew Corp.,
Attachmate Corp., NetSoft, Wall Data and WRQ. The AS/400 CD-ROM contains
90-day trial versions of the Microsoft Windows 95 operating system and
Microsoft Office for Windows 95, as well as software from the leading
AS/400 suppliers from which the CD-ROM is available. The CD-ROM also
includes a complete resource kit and white papers that answer questions
about how to integrate leading desktop software into an AS/400
environment.

"AS/400 customers are looking to integrate their investment in PCs and PC
technology with existing AS/400 systems and create a seamless computing
environment, an environment that integrates personal productivity with
existing AS/400 line-of-business applications," said Tad Parker, midrange
marketing manager at Microsoft. "The Ready for AS/400 program gives
customers the opportunity to evaluate not only Microsoft products, but
also products from third-party companies that will allow them to
accomplish this objective."

Microsoft's long-standing commitment to the AS/400 market includes its
development of Microsoft SNA Server, a key member of the Microsoft
BackOffice family of integrated server applications for the Windows NT
Server network operating system. Microsoft SNA Server tightly integrates
PCs and the AS/400 environment to bring reliability, flexibility and
scalability to AS/400 users. While the initial phase of the Ready for
AS/400 campaign focuses on the desktop, a follow-up program will focus on
SNA Server and related products.

"Companies want to enhance their AS/400 environments with the power and
flexibility of the PC, and Microsoft is committed to helping them," said
John Neilson, vice president of the organization customer unit at
Microsoft. "The Ready for AS/400 campaign is the best way for corporations
to enhance those environments with the best desktop client - Windows 95 -
and the best business productivity suite - Office for Windows 95 - as well
as with leading technology from the industry's major developers."

"Because of our leadership position in the AS/400 connectivity market and
our support for Microsoft's OLE component strategy, Wall Data is in a
unique position to help AS/400 customers migrate easily to Windows 95,"
said York Baur, vice president of product marketing for Wall Data.

"The pairing of Microsoft Windows 95 with a whole new generation of
high-end connectivity solutions makes for a vast array of exciting,
complete, desktop-to-host options for the AS/400 user," said Kevin
Klustner, vice president of sales and marketing at WRQ.

"The Ready for AS/400 campaign highlights the comprehensive range of
solutions available for accessing AS/400s within the powerful Windows
95-based environment," said Gregory Koss, vice president of Andrew Network
Systems.

"Many of our AS/400 customers are migrating to Windows 95 or considering a
move in that direction," said David Veneski, vice president of specialty
products at Attachmate. "This trial kit is a great opportunity to evaluate
Windows 95 and Office 95 along with Attachmate's RALLY! for AS/400, one of
the foremost PC-to-AS/400 connectivity products available."

"NetSoft's NS/Router and NS/Midrange Client Services have established a de
facto standard in WindowsR-to-AS/400 connectivity, and we're delighted to
see Microsoft and key developers working together to integrate PCs and
AS/400s in the 32-bit Windows-based environment," said Raymond Chan,
co-founder and vice president of business development at NetSoft.

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.

FOR ONLINE PRODUCT INFORMATION:

Windows Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/windows

Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on
Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft home page at
http://www.microsoft.com. To receive Microsoft press releases by fax,
please call (800) 859-5915 in the United States or (201) 333-0314
internationally.

CD-ROM DISTRIBUTION DETAILS FOR MICROSOFT READY FOR AS/400 CAMPAIGN:

To order a no-charge AS/400 CD-ROM from the suppliers listed below, contact
them at the numbers and/or Web sites listed.

ANDREW CORP., (800) 328-2696

ATTACHMATE CORP., (800) 426-6283

NETSOFT, (800) 463-8763, or complete an order form on the NetSoft Web site
at www.netsoft.com

WALL DATA, (800) 33RUMBA (337-8622), ext. 5274

WRQ, (800) 926-3896, or complete an order form on the WRQ Web site at
www.wrq.com
 
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