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For more information contact:

MICROSOFT CORPORATION                        
Liz Sidnam/Marty Taucher                                         
206/882-8080                                                      
                                                     
ZIFF-DAVIS PUBLISHING PUBLIC RELATIONS
Greg Jarboe
617/393-3313

WAGGENER EDSTROM
Catherine Richardson/Claire Lematta
503/245-0905

 
Microsoft and PC Magazine Develop Winstone Hardware Benchmark

        San Francisco, Calif., March 2, 1992.  Microsoft 
Corporation and Ziff-Davis Publishing Company today 
announced plans to create the Winstone benchmark, a software 
test designed to measure the performance of Microsoft 
Windows-compatible personal computers.  The benchmark will be jointly 
developed by Microsoft and Ziff-Davis, publisher of PC Magazine,  with input
from industry sources.  The test will be distributed widely to 
personal computer manufacturers and others conducting 
independent tests.

The Winstone announcement was made at the Microsoft Windows 
Hardware Engineering Conference being held here March 1-3, 
attended by over 400 engineers representing nearly two 
hundred PC and accessory board manufacturers from around the 
world.  The conference focuses on techniques and components 
for optimizing personal computer designs for better 
performance running the Windows operating system.  

Strong customer demand for the Windows operating system has 
created a need for a test offering a single, reliable 
indicator of overall PC performance under Windows.  "End 
users will get a more accurate measure of total system 
performance, allowing an objective comparison of various 
systems before making a purchase decision," said Jonathan 
Lazarus, general manager of systems software marketing at 
Microsoft.  "Winstone gives consumers a big advantage 
because it's a real-world benchmark."

The Winstone benchmark will test the overall performance of 
PCs running the Microsoft Windows 3.X operating system and 
related applications by precisely reproducing the demands 
that the software environment places on hardware by 
emulating typical application usage scenarios.  The 
Winstone benchmark will be based on a range of spreadsheets, 
word processors and other software manipulating data files 
of different sizes and types that reflects the mix of tasks 
undertaken by the typical PC user. 

Ziff-Davis, as publisher of several widely-read computer 
industry periodicals, will help select applications 
scenarios reflective of the broadest segment of the Windows 
computing market and  develop models of user activity.  
"Ziff-Davis and PC Magazine Labs will work to define a 
benchmark that responds to the needs of users as accurately 
as possible," said Michael Miller, Editor-in-Chief of PC 
Magazine.  Microsoft and Ziff-Davis will also consult with 
others in the PC industry, including Intel Corporation of 
Santa Clara, CA, to ensure the accuracy of the benchmark.  

The Winstone benchmark will complement other measures of 
computer performance, including PC Magazine Labs Winbench and other tests, and 
suites developed by the Business Application Performance 
Company (BAPCo).  Intel, Microsoft and Ziff-Davis are active 
members of BAPCo, a consortium of hardware and software 
vendors that is focused on developing application-based 
benchmarks that accurately reflect the performance of 
computing systems.

        Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ MSFT) develops, 
markets and supports a wide range of microcomputer software 
for business and professional use, including operating 
systems, network products, languages and applications, as 
well as books, hardware and CD-ROM products for the 
microcomputer marketplace.

      In addition to PC Magazine, Ziff-Davis Publishing 
Company publishes PC Week, PC/Computing, Computer Shopper, 
PC Sources, MacUser and MacWeek in the U.S. and a variety of 
sister publications in Europe.  Ziff-Davis Publishing, a 
division of Ziff Communications Company, also produces trade 
shows, conferences and newsletters though its Interop and 
Seybold operations.
 


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