Ibexx & all, - "Microsoft Sets June 25 As Windows 98 Retail Launch Date"
techweb.com
(03/11/98; 2:41 p.m. EST)
By Paula Rooney, Computer Retail Week
At its retail summit next week, Microsoft
will finally disclose the June 25 delivery date
for Windows 98, sources said this week.
The operating system upgrade, which offers
an integrated Internet Explorer as well as
universal serial bus support, will be released
to manufacturing May 15. They said
retailers can officially begin selling the new
box June 25. "That's the safe advertising
date," one retail executive said.
Microsoft officials would not comment,
except to say details of the Win 98 rollout
will be announced at a company-sponsored
retail summit in San Francisco early next
week.
In anticipation of that gathering, Redmond,
Wash.-based Microsoft announced this
week that Microsoft Plus 98, the consumer
companion to Win 98, has moved into beta
testing and "will ship in the second quarter
simultaneous with Windows 98."
While Microsoft is intent on shipping Win
98 before the end of the quarter and its own
fiscal year on June 30, there are still
concerns and speculations about possible
interference by the U.S. Justice Department,
which is investigating, among other things,
Microsoft's integration of IE with Win 98.
A source close to the Justice Department
said the department and attorneys general
from 11 states are actively pursuing legal
action against Microsoft, which could affect
the release of Win 98.
"We're still investigating, but it would be
wiser to do something before Windows 98
comes out," said the source. He added,
however, that the department is still unsure
whether to base its charge on the Sherman
Anti-Trust Act or Microsoft's 1995
consent decree with the government, and
that no decision has been made. |
