National Instruments Continues To Offer DOS-Based LabWindows

LabWindows/CVI for the Windows and Sun operating systems, expands the
National Instruments standard programming language software options. One
of the reasons National Instruments developed LabWindows/CVI was to give
DOS users of LabWindows a seamless migration path to Windows on the PC or
to the X Window System on Sun SPARCstations. However, the company is still
fully committed to maintaining and supporting the LabWindows product for
DOS for those customers who do not migrate to LabWindows/CVI. National
Instruments expects that LabWindows will continue to be a viable and
popular software product for DOS for several reasons:

(1) DOS will continue to thrive - despite the tremendous acceptance and
popularity of Windows 3.1, DOS will continue to be a major force in the PC
operating system market for years to come. The recent DOS 6.0 release saw
over two million copies shipped in the first month the biggest single PC
software distribution ever. Windows 3.1 is being shipped at approximately
1.2 million copies per month. Recent releases of DOS-based products by
Lotus and Microsoft highlight the continued importance and commitment to
DOS in the general-purpose PC market. In addition, Microsoft has already
hinted at some of the features to be built into DOS 7.0, so DOS will
continue to be a viable solution in the future.

(2) Advantages of DOS over Windows - even with the increased number of
tools available for Windows, DOS remains more appropriate for certain
applications and circumstances. DOS requires much less computer resources
(memory and processor speed) than Windows to run effectively. In addition
to resources, DOS also has lower software overhead than Windows, meaning
faster throughput of data to the PC.

(3) Customer preference and need - many customers have used DOS for years,
and may elect to continue using DOS rather than moving to Windows. In many
other cases, instrumentation areas and test labs inherit computers from
the business sector of companies, meaning many scientists and engineers
are just now receiving DOS-based 386 and 486 PCs. National Instruments is
committed to developing and supporting software for the operating systems
our customers prefer. For whatever reason, as long as customers continue
to use DOS, we will continue to support and maintain LabWindows for DOS.

Future Plans for the DOS-based LabWindows 

With the release of Version 2.3, the LabWindows software for DOS has
reached a level of product maturity that ensures our users of stable
development efforts for many years to come. By incorporating
Borland-compatible stand-alone libraries into LabWindows for DOS, we now
offer compatibility with a wide variety of Microsoft and Borland language
compilers for building LabWindows DOS-based applications.

Users have the choice of developing within the LabWindows for DOS
environment or using one of the third-party language compilers. And, with
the addition of low-level geometric graphing routines in LabWindows 2.3
for DOS, users now have a mechanism for designing their own custom
controls for the software. These enhancements were added to make
LabWindows a viable long-term solution for DOS development.

National Instruments will continue to maintain the LabWindows product for
DOS to ensure up-to-date compatibility with Microsoft and Borland DOS
compilers and any new National Instruments hardware. National Instruments
will also continue its superior customer support service for DOS users of
LabWindows.

Currently, the market demands that we shift our development emphasis to
Windows and UNIX. In LabWindows/CVI, we have developed a new product,
while also maintaining our commitment to DOS users by providing a
technical migration path to these new operating systems. However, if for
some reason our customers demand new features and products for the DOS
platform, National Instruments is prepared to act accordingly to meet this
demand.

Commitment to Customer Satisfaction 

The cornerstone of National Instruments software strategy is ensuring
customer satisfaction and customer success in building applications. For
this reason, National Instruments has extended its options for standard
programming languages software products - now users can choose between
LabWindows/CVI on Windows and UNIX, and LabWindows on DOS (or even use all
three).

Existing LabWindows for DOS users still have a choice for future
development - either continue working in the DOS world with LabWindows, or
migrate to Windows or UNIX seamlessly through the translation utilities in
LabWindows/CVI. Whatever option customers choose, they are assured that
the investment made in their existing applications and programming
methodology in the DOS-based LabWindows is protected for their future
development needs.

For More Information 

LabWindows Version 2.3 for DOS is available now. The Windows version of
LabWindows/CVI will be available from National Instruments in November.
The Sun version will be available in December. For additional details, see
the press release and other product background information in this press
kit.

For more information, please contact National Instruments at 6504 Bridge
Point Parkway, Austin, TX 78730-5039, (512) 794-0100. Call toll free at
(800) 433-3488. Fax: (512) 794-8411.

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