Review 7-8-98
From: Edward Zabrek, M.D. (stork@flash.net)
Wed, 08 Jul 1998 08:35:47 -0500
Dear Techies,
Sorry about "SPAMMING" your mailboxes. I hope this one is more complete and
readable.
Ed
>
> Microsoft’s Office 2000:
> Is it ready for the New Millenium?
>
> When I read about MS Office 98 for Mac, I figured that the next version
> upgrade for the Window’s operating systems could not be far behind. It has
> taken a bit longer than I expected, but Microsoft will be introducing its
new
> Office Suite, strategically named Office 2000. The marketing guru’s from
> Redmond have one-upped their GM counterparts. I figured the first “2000”
> logos would be appearing in the automobile industry first. Leave it to
> Microsoft to give us our first glimpse of the New Millenium.
>
> Microsoft plans a very large beta release of this product. Your’s truly
will
> be participating and reporting it directly to your Obgyn.net web pages. I
> hesitate to say more than that at this point, so instead, I will let
> Microsoft do the talking. Below is the June 17, 1998 press release,
> outlining the propaganda and plans for the new suite.
>
> Further information can be found at:
>
> http://www.microsoft.com/office/2000/default.asp
>
> Ed Zabrek, M.D., F.A.C.O.G.
> Technology correspondent
> Obgyn.net
>
> Microsoft Announces Office 2000; Key Customers Get First Look at Next
Version
> of Office
> Aggressive Beta Program Announced With Tenfold Increase in Office Beta 1
> Program
> NEW YORK - June 17, 1998 - Last night at the PC Expo Tradeshow, Microsoft
> Corp. previewed Microsoft® Office 2000 to more than 500 key customers and
> outlined an aggressive plan to drive early customer involvement. Beta 1 of
> Office 2000 is scheduled to be released in July to more than 20,000
customers
> and solution providers, representing more than a tenfold increase over
> previous early beta programs, to provide customers with an expanded
> opportunity to prepare for Office 2000. Microsoft previewed new Web-based
> knowledge management functionality in Office 2000, which will allow
customers
> to use the Web to collaborate and share information, as well as access and
> analyze vital business information to drive better decisions. Microsoft also
> outlined key investments in Office 2000 that are designed to address key
> customer issues relating to the cost of deploying and managing Office
> software.
> "Office 2000 is being designed to help customers turn information into an
> asset. Office 2000 will break existing barriers, making information easy to
> find, view and secure, by extending Office to the Web," said Jon DeVaan,
vice
> president, desktop applications division at Microsoft. "Since Office has
> become so critical to our customers, we're planning a broad first beta so
> they can test Office 2000 in their existing environments."
> Web-Based Knowledge Management
> Web-enabled collaboration and information sharing in Office 2000 will make
> the Web work for Office customers by overcoming many of the current barriers
> to using the Web. The incorporation of HTML as a companion file format and
> seamless Web posting through a familiar "Save As..." dialog box will allow
> everyday users of Office to be contributors to the Web. Browser-based Office
> Web Discussions will allow customers to collaborate right inside a Web page
> as they read and browse, making the practice of giving feedback and sharing
> ideas simple.
> Rich Web-based analysis tools will enable better decision-making for
> customers, whether they are analyzing data from Microsoft Excel or from a
> large corporate database. Integrated Web solutions enabled by Office Web
> Components will offer organizations a simple way to create and publish
> interactive data so customers can have access to and manipulate key business
> data inside their browser.
> Lower Ownership Costs, Improved Ease of Use
> New flexible installation options, full roaming support and a breakthrough
> global architecture will allow Office 2000 customers to realize savings in
> the cost of deploying, supporting and administering Office software.
> Install-on-demand technology will allow customers to install only the
> features they need, and run selected Office components from the server.
> In response to customer concerns to make cross-version document sharing as
> simple as possible, Office 2000 file formats will remain unchanged from
those
> in Office 97, with the exception of Microsoft Access, which is changing to
> incorporate Unicode support. Office 2000 will be the first truly global
> desktop applications suite and will make it simpler for organizations
> to deploy Office by using a single underlying product "executable" when
> deploying internationally. An organization will be able to roll out and
> support one consistent version of Office 2000 around the globe, while at the
> same time allowing their users to work in their native language.
> Office 2000 is being designed to help customers get better results by
turning
> their information into more of an asset. Office 2000 is the desktop suite
> that will make the Web work for its users, streamlining the process of
> working with people and information to provide better results.
> Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") 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.
> Microsoft is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft
Corp. in
> the United States and/or other countries.
> Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective
> owners.
> Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on
> Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at
> http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft's corporate information
> pages.
>
> © 1998 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Legal Notices.
>
