MICROSOFT SHIPS BETA 2 VERSIONS OF WINDOWS NT SERVER, WORKSTATION 4.0

REDMOND, WASH. - MAY 13, 1996 - Microsoft Corp. today began shipping more
than 200,000 copies of the beta 2 versions of the Microsoft Windows NT
Server version 4.0, including Microsoft Internet Information Server 2.0,
and Windows NT Workstation version 4.0 operating systems to users and
developers worldwide, the largest-scale beta release in the history of
Windows NT.

By refining and extending the foundation of Windows NT Server version 3.51,
Windows NT Server 4.0 provides the only network operating system that is
multipurpose, scales from the workgroup to the enterprise, and has
intranet and Internet support built in. Windows NT Workstation provides a
powerful desktop operating system that combines the ease of use of the
Windows 95 operating system and the security and reliability of Windows
NT.

"There has been overwhelming interest from customers and from the channel
for the new ease of use and performance of Windows NT 4.0," said Jim
Allchin, senior vice president of the desktop and business systems
division at Microsoft. "We have received very positive feedback from our
beta 1 customers, and we are excited that many more customers will now be
able to experience beta 2. We're committed to working closely with our
beta sites to deliver a rock- solid product."

ENHANCEMENTS IN WINDOWS NT SERVER 4.0

Windows NT Server 4.0 provides features to reduce the number of steps
required for a system administrator to install, use and manage a server.
It offers a set of Internet and intranet tools and improved performance as
an applications, file, print and communications server. Enhancements
include the following:

* THE WINDOWS 95 USER INTERFACE AND NEW MANAGEMENT WIZARDS. These can
improve server integration and reduce system administration tasks.

* IMPROVED INTERNET AND INTRANET COMMUNICATIONS. Microsoft Internet
Information Server 2.0, the fastest Web server for Windows NT Server, is
built into Windows NT Server and offers up to 40 percent greater
performance than its predecessor, version 1.0. Microsoft Internet
Information Server 2.0 includes Web browser-based remote server
administration. Also added is distributed Component Object Model (COM).
COM allows software developers to create component- based applications.
Distributed COM in Windows NT Server 4.0 extends COM to allow components
to securely communicate across the Internet. Distributed COM is a growing
Internet standard, and it has been published in conformance with the
format specified in RFC 1543. A completely new version of DNS includes a
graphical administration utility and integration with WINS services for
dynamic updates of host names and addresses. To enable the creation of
virtual private networks across the Internet, Windows NT Server 4.0 offers
point-to-point tunneling protocol (PPTP), a technology that extends the
capacity of RAS to enable secure, low-cost private networks without the
need to change the client software.

* PERFORMANCE AND SCALABILITY IMPROVEMENTS. Windows NT Server 4.0 offers
significant scalability improvements over Windows NT Server 3.51,
achieving considerably higher performance on four-processor machines and
offering much more linear scalability on machines with eight or more
processors. File server performance in Windows NT Server 4.0 also shows
dramatic gains, achieving more than twice the throughput of Windows NT
Server 3.51.

ENHANCEMENTS IN WINDOWS NT WORKSTATION 4.0

Enhancements in Windows NT Workstation 4.0 include the following:

* THE WINDOWS 95 USER INTERFACE. It includes the Start button, taskbar,
Microsoft Internet Explorer and Network Neighborhood.

* BUILT-IN ACCESS TO THE INTERNET AND INTRANETS. Microsoft Internet
Explorer 2.0 is the next generation of the easy-to-use Internet browser
designed for Windows NT Workstation 4.0. Peer Web Services is for
low-volume personal Web publishing in corporate intranets.

* BUILT-IN MANAGEMENT TOOLS FOR INCREASED CONTROL OVER THE DESKTOP. Tools
include User Profiles, which allows users to roam between PCs or have
multiple users on one PC, and System Policies, which allows system
administrators to control the desktop tightly with several levels of
restriction to network and desktop resources and user applications.

* ENHANCED MULTIMEDIA SUPPORT. This includes support for the DirectDraw and
DirectSound APIs, AutoPlay CDs and CD-XA formats.

Beta 2 kits are being shipped to customers now. Developers interested in
developing 32-bit applications for the Windows family can receive beta 2
through the subscription-based Microsoft Developer Network.

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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