Is Michael ready for this? the giant has moved...now there appear to be two ready to fight Corel...when do we hear the big announcements?!
Microsoft To Expand Product Offerings
(02/10/98; 3:59 p.m. EST)
By Paula Rooney, Computer Retail Week
Microsoft will try to increase its share of the consumer and small-business software markets in 1998 by entering new product categories and expanding its offerings in existing ones, officials said Tuesday.
One major initiative is to enter the graphics segment now served by Corel and Adobe Systems, Microsoft officials said. Within the next 12 to 18 months, Microsoft will ship a line of low-end graphics and imaging titles, including one that combines its FrontPage Web design and Publisher page-layout capabilities, officials confirmed.
"We're going after that category," said Stephen Schiro, vice president of the Redmond, Wash.-based company's end-user customer unit.
In the next few weeks, Microsoft will also introduce a new version of its Publisher title, Publisher 98, as well as a deluxe version incorporating the company's Picture It digital image-editing software.
But that's just the beginning. Officials project that the consumer market will grow rapidly over the next year, and they plan to attack it by adding a slew of new games to Microsoft's entertainment line and more titles in the personal finance category to complement Microsoft Money 98.
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