Correction, it was an analyst, not the CEO. The analyst clearly did not understand the company, and gave a standard "risky" label to SQSW. My comment? Duh.
The real resaon SQSW went up today:
Microsoft Issues Test Version of New Office Software (Correct)
8/29/00 2:32:00 PM
Source: Bloomberg News
(Corrects last paragraph to say shares fell.)
Redmond, Washington, Aug. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp., the world's biggest software maker, said it sent a test version to some customers of its latest update to the Microsoft Office suite of word-processing, e-mail and spreadsheet programs, with speech recognition among the new features.
Users will be able to create and edit documents with spoken commands, and tags will appear as they type to help them find information on line or use other functions. The program also makes collaboration on a document easier. The update is expected to be available in its final version by July, the company said.
Microsoft dominates the market for this type of software. Its word-processing product represents 95 percent of such sales, while Excel garners 94 percent of spreadsheet program revenue, market researcher IDC said. The division that includes Office accounted for $10.5 billion of Microsoft's almost $23 billion in revenue for the fiscal year ended June 30.
The company first demonstrated many of the features in June, when it announced a strategy shift to software and services that connect computers, the Internet and devices such as cell phones. It also said it would add speech and handwriting recognition as new ways to use the programs. The new version, code named Office 10, is the Redmond, Washington-based company's first step toward making such features part of the Office program.
''There's a broad set of features here that will appeal to users of all types,'' said Office Product Manager Lisa Gurry. ''It's easier to use and allows people to just work smarter.''
The new software also lets Excel and the Access personal database program work with data in XML, a programming standard for different programs and Web sites to communicate with each other. XML is central to Microsoft's strategy of making programs that work among computers, handheld devices and Web sites.
Office 10 also combines Microsoft's free Hotmail Internet e- mail and MSN instant-messenger programs with Office, so users can view these messages in Office's Outlook e-mail and scheduling program rather than needing to use the three programs separately.
Other programs such as Sun Microsystems Inc.'s free StarOffice and Corel Corp.'s WordPerfect compete for the small portion of the market that Microsoft doesn't control.
Microsoft shares fell 38 cents to 70.94. |
