Microsoft(R) WinNews Electronic Newsletter Vol. 2, #10, July 5, 1995 *********************************************************** The excitement is starting to build here, and you should be hearing lots of Windows 95 announcements in the coming weeks. An important announcement included in this issue is that Windows 95 will be available on August 24. Rather than add any comments here, the article speaks for itself. Included in this issue: 1. "HINTS AND TIPS" - Our regular feature offering some helpful ways to use Windows 95. 2. "MICROSOFT RECONFIRMS AUGUST 24 AVAILABILITY OF WINDOWS 95" - A reaffirmation by Personal Systems Division Senior VP Brad Silverberg on the date Windows 95 will be available. 3. "MICROSOFT SHIPS FINAL VERSION OF RESOURCE KIT FOR ORGANIZATIONS MIGRATING TO WINDOWS 95" - Details are provided on the Migration Kit that will help IS professionals implement and support Windows 95 to their organizations. 4. "MICROSOFT CO., LTD. AND SOFTBANK CORP. FORM WINDOWS 95 GAME ALLIANCE" - This is the announcement and plans of Microsoft's new joint-venture with Softbank Corp. of Japan. With this deal we continue to show our commitment to making Windows 95 a key multimedia platform. 5. "MICROSOFT HOLDS DESIGN PREVIEW FOR CONFERENCING API FOR WINDOWS" - A review of the session. This Windows API that will allow development of programs which will let users simultaneously "share" applications and annotate documents. 6. "MICROSOFT SETS INTERACTIVE MEDIA CONFERENCE JULY 18-20" - Information is given on attending this conference which will have sessions for technical, design, and business people involved in interactive software development. Speakers include Bill Gates and Russell Siegelman, General Manager of Microsoft On-Line Services The Microsoft Network. 7. "NEW POSTINGS TO WINDOWS 95 WINNEWS SERVERS" - Our regular information of new postings to various on-line servers - and how to access the servers. - QUICK-NOTES 1. As a result of the Fourth of July holiday this past weekend, this issue is being sent out a couple of days later than usual. We will be back on schedule with the next issue on July 17. 2. Mail from our readers had been held up the past couple of weeks. Everything is working properly now, so if you have recently sent us mail we will be getting back to you as quickly as possible. Thanks for your patience in waiting for replies. Jay Goldstein WinNews Editor *********************************************************** SUBSCRIPTIONS If you know someone who might be interested in WinNews, please instruct them to: 1. Send Internet e-mail to: ENEWS99@MICROSOFT.NWNET.COM 2. Send the message from the account that you wish to subscribe (some people use more than one e-mail account). 3. Subject line should be blank. 4. Body of message should ONLY have in the text: SUBSCRIBE WINNEWS You may also feel free to forward this document, provided you forward it in it's entirety, as per the copyright notice below. If you wish to stop receiving WinNews, send mail to enews@microsoft.nwnet.com with a blank subject line and the body of the message should only have in the text: UNSUBSCRIBE WINNEWS. WinNews is published twice a month, on the first and third Monday of each month. Special editions of WinNews may also be sent out occasionally. *********************************************************** 1. HINTS AND TIPS The following are a few useful hints and tips that will result in a more productive work environment. These are some of the most powerful features in Windows 95. * Right click on any drive to view or change it's properties. Right click on any drive and choose Properties. The properties box will appear allowing you to label the disk, view it's properties or run system optimization tools such as compression, scandisk, or defrag. * Type an application name in the run command line to launch that application. Click on the Start button and choose the Run command. Any application or applet in the computer's path statement will be launched by typing in it's name. Here's a special note provided by the software engineers in our Developer Group: * Full-text searching in Windows 95 and Windows NT 3.51 Within Windows 95 and Windows NT 3.51 the new WinHelp system provides full-text indexing and searching. Whenever you go to the "Find" tab, you invoke that engine. If the HLP file(s) which you're using haven't been indexed, a "Find Wizard" will create indexes for you. If you'd like to index other text files, you can call the full-text APIs directly. You'll find an overview description of how to use the full-text engine (FTSrch.dll) in the file FTSAPI.rtf. Then you can use the header file FTSIFace.h to write code to drive FTSrch. You can use LoadLibrary and GetProcAddress to connect to the FTSrch APIs, or you can use the FTSRCH.def file to construct a LIB file and staticly bind to FTSRCH APIs. *********************************************************** 2. MICROSOFT RECONFIRMS AUGUST 24 AVAILABILITY OF WINDOWS 95 REDMOND, Washington - June 28, 1995 - Contrary to reports, Microsoft Corporation confirmed today the August 24 availability date for Microsoft (R) Windows (R) 95. "We are absolutely on schedule for August 24 availability of Windows 95. The Windows 95 upgrade will be available on August 24. PC Manufacturers will receive Windows 95 code in sufficient time to have their products available by August 24 as well," said Brad Silverberg, Senior Vice President, Personal Systems Division. *********************************************************** 3. MICROSOFT SHIPS FINAL VERSION OF RESOURCE KIT FOR ORGANIZATIONS MIGRATING TO WINDOWS 95 Preview Program Participants Anticipate Rapid Adoption of Windows 95; Resource Kit Is Component of Windows 95 Migration Planning Kit REDMOND, Wash. - June 21, 1995 - Microsoft Corp. today released the final version of its Microsoft (R) Windows (R) 95 Resource Kit, which gives IS professionals comprehensive information about implementing, supporting and understanding Windows 95, the next major upgrade to the Windows operating system. The Windows 95 Resource Kit released today is a key component of the Windows 95 Migration Planning Kit, which was shipped to all Windows 95 Preview Program participants. Along with the Windows 95 Resource Kit, the Migration Planning Kit also includes a broad range of business tools, technical tools and product information to help organizations justify and plan for their migration to Windows 95. "The Resource Kit contains the most extensive information ever provided to help computer professionals migrate to a new version of Windows," said Brad Silverberg, senior vice president of the personal systems division at Microsoft. "IS professionals have responded with great enthusiasm to the beta version of this kit, and we're delighted to make the final version available ahead of the release of Windows 95." Preview Program Participants Plan Early Deployment In a national survey of Preview Program participants conducted for Microsoft by Telecommunications Research Group of Culver City, Calif., a majority of IS professionals said they would start deploying Windows 95 within one month of its scheduled release in August. These professionals said that 70 percent of the desktop PCs in their organizations would be running Windows 95 within six months of its release. The survey was conducted in May with more than 500 randomly selected Preview Program sites. IS managers in the survey predicted their organizations would adopt Windows 95 because of the benefits it provides to computer professionals and end users. More than two-thirds agreed that Windows 95 would increase MIS control over the desktop and reduce the IS support burden. Seventy-five percent said that it would increase the productivity of their end users. Seventy percent of Preview Program participants expect an easy and smooth migration from Windows (R) version 3.11, due to the compatibility of Windows 95 with their existing hardware and software, the easy user interface and ease of training on it, and the early availability of migration planning tools. Resource Kit Part of Broad Range of Migration Tools The Windows 95 Resource Kit provides more than 1,400 pages of technical information that can save organizations hours of time in determining how to implement Windows 95. It includes a guided tour, a planning guide, technical information on installing, configuring and networking, plus helpful software utilities. It is available at bookstores and software stores as well as through Microsoft Press for $49.95. Call (800) MS-PRESS [(800) 677-7377] or contact CompuServe (R) (GO MSP). Other migration tools and support available to IS professionals planning their organizations' moves to Windows 95 include the following: - Windows 95 Migration Planning Kit. This collection of tools contains the Resource Kit help file, demonstration kit, deployment guide, Microsoft project deployment plan template and business analysis tool. The business analysis tool is a model that enables organizations to calculate the benefits and costs of moving to Windows 95. The tools are available online at Microsoft's Web page (http://www.microsoft.com), on The Microsoft Network (open the Computers and Software icon and choose Software/Microsoft/Windows 95), on CompuServe (type GO WINNEWS) and on GEnie, Prodigy, America Online and CRS Online. - Microsoft TrainCast. Microsoft TrainCast is a series of four-hour programs on MSTV that demonstrates how to plan, support and implement the migration to Windows 95. For information on ordering tapes and local broadcast availability, call MSTV at (800) 597-3200. - Support Engineer Training Courses. Microsoft Authorized Technical Education Centers (ATECs) offer Supporting Windows 95, a course that covers installation techniques, configuration, networking, system management and troubleshooting. It is available in two-day and five-day options. Call (800) SOL-PROV [(800) 765-7768] for information. *********************************************************** 4. MICROSOFT CO., LTD. AND SOFTBANK CORP. FORM WINDOWS 95 GAME ALLIANCE Tokyo - June 22, 1995 - Microsoft Co., Ltd. and SOFTBANK Corporation today announced an alliance to publish and promote personal computer game software for the Microsoft (R) Windows (R) 95 operating system. The two companies plan to establish a joint venture, GAMEBANK Corporation, to port game software to the Windows 95 platform in Japan. Headed by Masayoshi Son, president of SOFTBANK, GAMEBANK will secure publishing rights from game software manufacturers and handle marketing, sales, and distribution of games software in Japan. Porting of game software to the Windows 95 platform will be handled by GAMEBANK, Kinesoft, an Illinois-based software porting tool developer that was acquired by SOFTBANK in late May 1995, and others. Worldwide, the home video game category is enjoying steady growth based on the popularity of games with increasingly realistic sound and graphics. Until now, the PC has remained a small player in this market compared to TV consoles because of the PC's inferior hardware and software performance for games. The advent of Windows 95 will change that by including functionality to make PCs a superior gaming platform. These improvements will likely expand the overall gaming demand, and benefit the industry, by adding a whole new medium in which to play games. Windows 95 Support for Games Windows 95 will feature important advantages as a gaming platform including better graphics, easy connectivity, and high-fidelity and low-latency sound. The new operating system is expected to greatly improve PC game response speed, graphics performance, and multimedia functionality, bringing PC game performance up to par with TV console games. At the Computer Game Developers Conference in Santa Clara, Calif. in April, Microsoft announced the beta release of a Windows 95 Software Development Kit (SDK) and game subsystem specifically designed to provide game developers with the tools, technology and system services they need to create high performance games for Windows 95. To further reinforce its commitment to Windows 95 as a gaming platform in Japan, Microsoft will hold a Game Developers Conference in Tokyo this Fall to help Japanese developers take advantage of this new game technology. GAMEBANK will help port games to Windows 95 in conjunction with game software publishers, home-use TV game software manufacturers, commercial arcade game software manufacturers, and PC game software manufacturers by helping provide game software manufacturers with new business opportunities on the Windows 95 platform. Founded in 1981, SOFTBANK is Japan's largest distributor of computer software, peripherals, and systems, as well as Japan's largest publisher of computer-related magazines and books. *********************************************************** 5. MICROSOFT HOLDS DESIGN PREVIEW FOR CONFERENCING API FOR WINDOWS On June 15, 1995, Microsoft Corporation held a design preview for the industry leading software developers to provide the industry a first look at Microsoft's conferencing API for Windows (R). This conferencing API provides the framework within Windows to make software "conferencing-aware". The Windows conferencing API is designed to allow software developers to quickly and easily add conferencing capabilities to their applications for Microsoft Windows. These capabilities will enable their customers to improve their productivity and effectiveness through real-time collaboration. The Windows conferencing API will enhance Windows by adding the ability to simultaneously "share" applications among a group of users, annotate documents or share a white board, or provide easy file transfer to the core set of Windows application features. Application developers using the Windows conferencing API will leverage key ease of use features in Windows 95, a standardized user interface, Plug and Play support, and integrated networking and communications support. Microsoft designed the Windows conferencing API with assistance from design partner PictureTel Corporation and from Intel Corporation. "Adding real-time collaboration features to Microsoft Windows will make people even more productive with their applications," said Paul Maritz, senior vice president of the systems division at Microsoft. "Today's workforce is increasingly mobile, teams have members in physically disparate locations, yet have the need to come together and work on projects as a group. The Windows conferencing API will help customers get their work done together by adding real-time data conferencing capabilities to their Windows-based applications." Microsoft is an active member of the International Multimedia Teleconferencing Consortium (IMTC), an organization formed to foster a market of interoperable products based on the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) H.320 and T.120 suite of standards for video and data conferencing. Working with key industry partners, Microsoft facilitates the design and implementation of open, extensible, industry supported technology for Microsoft Windows. Other technologies include Windows Sockets, Messaging API (MAPI), Telephony API (TAPI), OLE and ODBC (Open Database Connectivity). *********************************************************** 6. MICROSOFT INTERACTIVE MEDIA CONFERENCE JULY 18-20 Microsoft's Interactive Media Conference, scheduled for July 18-20 at the Convention Center in Long Beach, California, is designed to provide the information, tools, and technologies needed to develop and deliver interactive titles for Windows, The Microsoft Network (MSN), and the Internet. This conference will feature detailed sessions for the technical, design, and business people involved in interactive software development. In addition to general Windows-based multimedia and MSN development discussions, there will be sessions introducing Microsoft's Interactive Television and Broadcast PC platforms. Speakers will include Microsoft Chairman and CEO Bill Gates, who will talk about Microsoft's interactive media strategy, and Russell Siegelman, General Manager of Microsoft Online Services, who will give an overview of MSN. To register by phone, call (800) 206-3000 from the United States and Canada, or (612) 550-6340 from outside the US and Canada (Monday-Friday, 6:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. Pacific time), and ask for the Microsoft Interactive Media Conference. The cost is US$895, covering three days of training, materials, breakfast, lunch, special evening entertainment, and takeaway tools and technology. *********************************************************** 7. "NEW POSTINGS TO WINDOWS 95 WINNEWS SERVERS" The new files are: MPEGPR.ZIP Microsoft Licenses MPEG Engine from Mediamatics CDPLUS.ZIP Music Industry Applauds Microsoft's Support for Enhanced Music CD Format V2N9.TXT WinNews Newsletter, Vol. 2, No. 9, June 19, 1995 To access to these servers: On the Internet - ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/PerOpSys/Win_News (files above in "Docs" folder; past WinNews issues in "Newsletter" folder) On the World Wide Web http://www.microsoft.com On The Microsoft Network: From Main Menu: Categories\Computers and Software\Software\ Microsoft\Windows 95\WinNews On CompuServe: GO WINNEWS. On Prodigy: JUMP WINNEWS. On America OnLine: Use keyword WINNEWS On GEnie: MOVE TO PAGE 95 *********************************************************** This document is provided for informational purposes only. The information contained in this document represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because Microsoft must respond to change in market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication. INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND FREEDOM FROM INFRINGEMENT. The user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and the use of this document. This document may be copied and distributed subject to the following conditions: 1) All text must be copied without modification and all pages must be included; 2) All copies must contain Microsoft's copyright notice and any other notices provided therein; and 3) This document may not be distributed for profit. Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.