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Technology Stocks : COMS & the Ghost of USRX w/ other STUFF -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: drmorgan who wrote (13806)	3/17/1998 8:30:00 AM
From: Moonray	Respond to of 22053

Microsoft Says Windows 98 to Go on Sale to Consumers June 25 San Francisco, March 16 (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. said its Windows 98 operating system will be available in stores for sale June 25 amid the company's biggest marketing blitz since it released Windows 95 two and a half years ago. Windows 98 will be shipped to personal computer makers by May 15 so they can install the software in their machines by June 25, said Rob Enderle, an analyst with Giga Information Group. Two versions will be available, one with the Internet Explorer browser icon and one without, to avoid any conflict with a preliminary court injunction against Microsoft, Enderle said. Windows 98 is expected to be priced just below $100 and to generate only a fraction of the revenue of Windows 95, its predecessor. Still, the release is expected to show that Microsoft's marketing juggernaut remains in force and the software company is carrying on business as usual, even with the U.S. Justice Department's lawsuit. ''While this does not represent a significant product launch (in terms of revenue), you're going to see the marketing machine of Microsoft kick into action,'' said Robbie Owens, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities, who has a ''hold'' recommendation on Microsoft. ''It's going to be a sexy product.'' A major marketing extravaganza will be held on April 4, when a live demonstration of the new software will be broadcast by satellite to 38 cinemas across the U.S. and Canada. Called ''Microsoft eXtreme,'' the event will offer free T-shirts and popcorn, question-and-answer sessions and previews of other Microsoft technology. More than 34,000 consumers are already registered to attend the event, said Rob Bennett, group product manager for Windows 98. Pricing While Windows 98's retail price will be comparable to Windows 95 prices, it will cost about $45 to computer makers, Enderle said. Microsoft's Windows operating system runs about 90 percent of the PCs in the world. Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, today provided details of the Windows 98 release to its business partners at a conference surrounded by tight security in San Francisco. Those partners attending the briefing included Intel Corp., Hewlett- Packard Co. and Compaq Computer Corp., Microsoft's Bennett said. About 500 personal computer makers, software sellers and retailers had to sign agreements not to disclose the information provided at the conference in San Francisco. Microsoft representatives flanked two long corridors leading the briefing room, where they checked whether participants had signed non- disclosure agreements. They also checked identification and registration against a carefully selected invitation list. Windows 98 will generate revenue of $400 million to $500 million in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1999, estimates David Readerman, an analyst with NationsBanc Montgomery Securities, who has a ''buy'' recommendation on the stock. By comparison, Windows 95 will generate about $3.5 billion of revenue in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1998, Readerman estimates. As part of the suit by the Justice Department, Microsoft is under a preliminary injunction to offer its Windows 95 operating system and Internet Explorer browser separately. The injunction applies to Windows 95 and its successors. The 22-year-old software company is being sued on grounds that it is unfairly trying to extend its dominance of the operating system market to the Internet. o~~~ O