Microsoft Introduces MS-DOS 6 Page 1 (more) Microsoft News Release Microsoft Canada Inc. Marc Camm or Alec Saunders (416) 568-0434 ext. 4086 or 4068 CMN, Creative Marketing Network Susan Taylor or Mary Sturgeon (416) 539-0694 For Immediate Release Microsoft Doubles Your Disk Space with MS-DOS 6 New version features easy-to-use memory management, new backup and anti-virus protection MISSISSAUGA, Ont. March 30, 1993 Microsoft Canada Inc. today introduced the next generation of its MS-DOS operating system software software which is currently used in approximately ninety-five per cent of the world's personal computers. New MS-DOS 6 solves common computer problems, such as full hard disks and memory management, safely and easily by doubling a PC's available disk space, freeing conventional memory, protecting data from viruses and accidental deletions, increasing performance and much more. MS-DOS 6 was designed not only to benefit MS-DOS users, but to be a dramatic enhancement for Microsoft Windows users as well. As of March 31, the MS-DOS 6 upgrade will be available from resellers across Canada at a suggested promotional price of $59.99 until May 31, and for a suggested retail price of $155.95 thereafter. "In 1991, lack of conventional memory was the most common user problem, and MS-DOS 5 addressed it head-on. Now, because of the popularity of the Windows operating system and the rise of portable computing, tight disk space is the biggest user problem. MS-DOS 6 addresses that problem directly by tightly integrating compression with the operating system to make it safe and easy. That tight integration make MS-DOS 6 unique among desktop operating systems," said Brad Silverberg, vice president of personal systems at Microsoft Corporation. "In addition, MS-DOS 6 was designed from the beginning to support users of Windows. Key features such as DoubleSpace, SmartDrive and Backup were all designed to integrate with Windows and provide those users with the same benefits of doubled disk space, more safety and better performance." "We have received wide-spread support from many of our industry partners," said Marc Camm, systems group product manager for Microsoft Canada. "All of the top 400 PC makers have demonstrated intent to ship the new software with their products." Sales momentum has been building in anticipation of this announcement. According to Alec Saunders, MS-DOS product manager for Microsoft Canada, orders have already been placed for more than 250,000 units in Canada. Benefits Include Integrated Compression and Easy-to-use Memory Management MS-DOS 6 offers a wide range of new enhancements. Key features include the following: DoubleSpace integrated compression. With files and applications growing in size, even today's larger hard disks are easily filled. DoubleSpace, which can double the capacity of the average hard disk, works automatically and transparently a boon for the Windows userCompression results may vary depending on system configuration. . Because it is integrated with MS-DOS, DoubleSpace is the easiest and safest way to increase disk space. It spares users the problems typically associated with compression, such as drive-letter swapping and the need to continuously synchronize system files; MS-DOS 6 is alone among desktop operating systems in providing this tight integration. DoubleSpace even recovers automatically if the power accidentally goes off while it is in the middle of compressing a user's disk. Easy-to-use memory management. MS-DOS 6 dramatically improves on the memory management introduced in MS-DOS 5 so that users have more room to run their applications. MemMaker, a memory optimization program, is easy enough for anyone to use and provides up to 100K more conventional memory than MS-DOS 5. In addition, EMM386, the upper memory provider, has been enhanced to provide more upper memory for programs. Backup for MS-DOS and Backup for Windows. The new Backup provides an easy way for users to protect their data, and it comes in both a full-screen MS-DOS version and a Windows version. Higher speed, file compression, support for different backup types and many other new features make the new Backup a great improvement. Backup, as well as Defrag, is licensed from Symantec Corporation. Anti-Virus for MS-DOS and Windows. Anti-virus protects against viruses that can damage data. Like Backup, it comes in both a full-screen MS-DOS version and a Windows version, and can detect more than 800 different viruses as well as clean infected files and provide resident virus protection. Anti-virus as well as Undelete, is licensed from Central Point Software, Inc. Undelete for MS-DOS and Windows. Undelete lets users recover accidentally deleted files. Greatly enhanced from MS-DOS 5, Undelete now features a Windows interface and also adds an additional level of protection, Delete Sentry, which significantly improves the chance of recovering a deleted file, even on a network drive. Improved SmartDrive. Caching, which stores commonly used files in memory, speeds hard disk access. The enhanced, high-performance Smartdrive cache of MS-DOS 6 greatly improves performance by write-caching in addition to the read-caching offered in the SmartDrive of MS-DOS 5. The improved SmartDrive was also designed to integrate tightly with both Windows and DoubleSpace compression. Defrag. System performance slows as files fragment, that is, as parts of files are stored in locations scattered across the hard disk and it takes more time for the file to be assembled and retrieved for use. By moving all parts of a file to a contiguous location, Defrag boosts hard disk performance. And because it's designed for MS-DOS 6, Defrag can invisibly clean up uncompressed disks as well as compressed DoubleSpace drives. Multi-configuration support. MS-DOS 6 lets users choose from multiple configurations when starting their systems and is ideal for users of portable machines with docking stations. Users can also use clean start to bypass both CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT during systems start-up, or they can execute selected portions of these files using interactive start. Other features. MS-DOS 6 also includes Interlink, a file-transfer utility, a full-screen on-line help system that documents every command and device driver in full, and new MOVE, DELTREE and CHOICE commands. Utilities Vendors to Provide Add-on Products for MS-DOS 6 "MS-DOS 6 with DoubleSpace has made it practical for us to develop the new Norton Utilities 7.0 with full data recovery and disk optimization on MS-DOS 6 compressed volumes," said Rod Turner, Symantec's vice president of the Peter Norton Group. "We expect tremendous end-user demand for these new features." "We are proud that Microsoft standardized on our Anti-Virus technology for inclusion in MS-DOS 6," said Chuck Boesenberg, president and CEO of Central Point Software. "And we think MS-DOS 6 is a great opportunity for us to reach new users." Broad Retail and PC Manufacturer Distribution Now Underway Like MS-DOS 5, this latest version of MS-DOS is being distributed in two forms. The MS-DOS 6 upgrade installs only on systems that already have MS-DOS 2.11 or higher or on OS/2. The MS-DOS 6 Upgrade is available in multiple-user configurations including, for the first time, a retail three- user pack. All promotional pricing will be in effect until May 31, 1993. MS-DOS 6 for new MS-DOS users is available only through PC manufacturers for purchase along with new computer systems. It is available for license either in a base configuration, which includes all features except DoubleSpace, Backup and Anti-Virus, or in the base configuration plus enhanced tools, which includes all features and is expected to be the most popular configuration choice of PC manufacturers and customers. MS-DOS 6 and the MS-DOS 6 upgrade are available immediately in Arabic, Dutch, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Spanish, and Swedish, and are scheduled to be available within 30 days in Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Portuguese. Product support options include customer support at 1-800- 563-9048; technical support at (416) 568-3503; as well as bulletin board service via Microsoft Canada's download service at (416) 507-3022; and the Microsoft Institute MS- DOS 6 Video Training System. 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. -30- MS-DOS, Microsoft and the Microsoft logo are registered trademarks and Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. All pricing is listed in $CDN.