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Technology Stocks : How high will Microsoft fly? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: pat pasquale who wrote (30519)	10/8/1999 2:48:00 PM
From: pat pasquale	Respond to of 74651

Microsoft Holds Smart Card '99 Business Development Conference to Showcase New Smart Card Technology Solutions PR Newswire - October 08, 1999 13:15 Windows for Smart Cards Operating System Set to Power New Wave of Smart Card Solutions REDMOND, Wash., Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) executives, including Chairman and CEO Bill Gates, addressed more than 200 executives today at the Smart Card '99 Business Development Conference to showcase solutions using the soon-to-be-released Microsoft (R) Windows(R) for Smart Cards operating system. In addition, Microsoft executives spoke with representatives from smart card manufacturers, chipmakers and solution providers about the newly announced Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) capabilities, life-cycle management software, and increased processor support for the forthcoming operating system. A smart card is a device the size of a credit card with a crypto-capable microprocessor. The microprocessor allows the card to store data (from money or files to loyalty points), make digital signatures to authenticate the user, and encrypt data. Microsoft is enabling the worldwide expansion of smart cards by building smart card readiness into Windows products, as well as creating an operating system specifically designed from the ground up for smart cards. "Smart card technology will be a key enabler for companies to create more secure and innovative end-to-end solutions, allowing people to access their information any time, anywhere, and from any device," Gates said. "Our goal is to provide powerful development tools and supporting infrastructure that help developers create effective smart card solutions." "Microsoft Windows for Smart Cards gives programmers a proven development model that helps them create smart card applications quickly," said Gilles Lisimaque, chief technology officer at Gemplus. "Microsoft is working with companies in the smart card industry to create a set of familiar tools in Windows for Smart Cards to enable solutions that can be easily integrated into existing computer environments." Microsoft and smart card vendors announced a number of hardware and software enhancements for the Windows for Smart Cards operating system: -- Microsoft and Infineon work to provide a common hardware and software platform. Microsoft announced its work with Infineon Technologies AG, a leading smart card IC manufacturer, to offer a common hardware-software platform enabling the development of smart card applications based on the Microsoft Windows for Smart Cards operating system. To give developers a broader array of processor support, Microsoft will also port the Windows for Smart Cards operating system to run on the Infineon 66 family of high-security chip card controllers. In addition, Microsoft will supply versions of its Windows Smart Card Toolkit for Visual Basic(R) and Visual C++(R) that will enable rapid development of applications running on Infineon's 16-bit security controller (SLE66CX160S). -- Microsoft delivers support for the GSM platform in the Windows for Smart Cards operating system. By extending support for GSM to Windows for Smart Cards, Microsoft will allow GSM operators and mobile equipment manufacturers to use familiar Windows-based tools to create customizable and enhanced smart card solutions for their mobile phone customers. Next week at Telecom 99 + Interactive 99, Microsoft will demonstrate some of the capabilities of GSM cards running Windows for Smart Cards, including providing access to e-mail, calendars and other Internet applications. -- Microsoft is working with service bureaus to provide life-cycle management services for Windows Powered Smart Cards. To help smart card producers manage the issuing, updating and deactivating of smart card solutions, Microsoft announced the support of several service bureaus for the Windows for Smart Cards platform. First Data Resources produced the first of five demonstrations at the conference of life-cycle management solutions that will be available for Windows Powered Smart Cards. Microsoft Windows for Smart Cards Solution Microsoft Windows for Smart Cards is an 8-bit, multiapplication operating system for smart cards. It is designed to be a low-cost, easy-to-program platform that runs Visual Basic-based applications that meet the criteria mentioned earlier: extending the PC environment into smart card use. Windows for Smart Cards uses the same development tools -- the Microsoft Visual C++ and Visual Basic development systems -- that millions of independent software vendors (ISVs) and in-house corporate developers use. Availability The Microsoft Windows Smart Card Toolkit will be released before the end of the year. More information is available at microsoft.com . About Microsoft Founded in 1975 Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day. NOTE: Microsoft, Windows, Visual Basic and Visual C++ are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries. Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. SOURCE Microsoft Corp. /NOTE TO EDITORS: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, check out the Microsoft Web page at microsoft.com on Microsoft's corporate information pages./ /CONTACT: Michele Holguin, 408-986-1140, or micheleh@wagged.com, or Keith Hammond, 408-986-1140, or keithh@wagged.com, or Rapid Response Team, 503-443-7000, or rrt@wagged.com, all of Waggener Edstrom, for Microsoft Corp./ /Web site: microsoft.com (MSFT) Headlines Previous Story Next Story

To: pat pasquale who wrote (30519)	10/8/1999 2:49:00 PM
From: pat pasquale	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

Voice Mail on Net Coming Soon Associated Press Online - October 08, 1999 14:33 By ANICK JESDANUN AP Internet Writer NEW YORK (AP) - Voice mail on the Internet? E-mail over the phone? Both are coming soon, as the line separating phones and computers continues to blur. New products and services will let callers leave messages as e-mail attachments or check e-mail by phone. "We think voice is going to be the next wave of the Internet," said Judy Radlinsky, spokeswoman for General Magic, which featured both services at the Internet World conference that ended Friday. Jfax.com and eFax.com are among the other companies offering voice e-mail. Callers use a special number to leave a voice message, and it pops up as an e-mail. Recipients can listen to messages from the computer or by phone. One drawback: they need separate numbers. Regular voice mail services offered by phone companies automatically transfer unanswered or busy calls to the voice mail system. With Internet-based services, callers must make a second call, or recipients must subscribe to a call-forwarding service from the phone company. Jfax and eFax also offer services that translate faxes to e-mail. "The idea is you're a moving target," said Josh Mailman, an eFax product demonstrator. "The easier you can be found, capture and get your information, the better." Internet World, a five-day conference sponsored by publishers of Internet World magazine, brings together Internet companies ranging from Microsoft Corp. to the smallest startups. The show is now in its seventh year. The show's offerings largely targeted other Internet companies, but a handful of products were designed specifically for consumers or business travelers. Ancestry.com Inc., for instance, offers databases with 400 million names to help people trace their family roots. Handspring Inc. and Palm Computing Inc. also showed off their latest handheld organizers. The Internal Revenue Service had a presence as well, handing out brochures on electronic filing of tax returns and giving away CD-ROMs featuring forms and publications for tax year 1998. No matter that returns were due April 15. Several services targeted the growing e-commerce business. Some help companies set up online retail operations. Others offer digital cash systems that let buyers shop from different merchants without having to enter a credit card number each time. Headlines Next