OS/2 Shareware BBS: 32 Periodic/32-Periodic.zip/MNLTXT.ZIP/china.txt

Text File | 1995-05-16 | 6KB | 131 lines

 IBM Launches Chinese OS/2 Warp

 Announces support, training, channel programs, 16 software
vendors, 6 OEMs announce support for OS/2 Warp

BEIJING, 19 April 1995 . IBM today announced the immediate
availability of the Chinese version of its award-winning
operating system, OS/2 Warp Version 3.0, the first simplified
Chinese 32-bit operating system.

At a major launch event in Beijing today, six major Chinese and
international computer manufacturers (OEMs) announced their
plans to support Chinese OS/2 Warp, and 16 Chinese and
international software developers (ISVs) announced commitments
to develop native OS/2 Warp applications.



IBM also announced comprehensive support and channel programs to
help advance the Chinese software market, including a new
software distribution structure, certification and training
programs in partnership with 12 Chinese universities, and a
software service and support infrastructure.

The announcement in Beijing was celebrated throughout the city,
with OS/2 Warp hot air balloons in the university and computer
districts, hundreds of OS/2 Warp kites flying near Tiananmen
Square and thousands of OS/2 Warp balloons given away in
Beijing's business district.



The launch event in Beijing is the fifth in a series of major
international OS/2 Warp launch events, following the February
launch in Japan, and last October's events in New York, London
and Sydney. IBM has shipped more than 2 million copies of OS/2
Warp worldwide in less than six months on the market, bringing
OS/2's installed base to well over 8 million. The Beijing event
today was attended by more than 1000 people, including
representatives from the Chinese Ministry of Electronics
Industry (MEI), university faculty and staff, customers and
business partners. It will be followed by events in Shanghai and
Guangzhou in the next two weeks.

"IBM has made a long-term commitment to the Chinese software
market," said Mr. Bob Timpson, general manager of IBM Greater
China. "We are working with partners in all aspects of the
software business, from development to distribution, as well as
government ministries and customers, to ensure we build a
world-class software infrastructure appropriate to China's
needs."



The Chinese version of OS/2 Warp was localized and manufactured
in mainland China, in partnership with Great Wall, a
Beijing-based software development company, and tested by Tsing
Hua University, one of China's most prestigious universities.



Sixteen ISVs were present at the launch event,to announce and
demonstrate applications developed for the Chinese version of
OS/2 Warp.  Simplified Chinese applications announced include
desktop productivity software, mission-critical applications and
application development tools.



Several major PC manufacturers announced their support for
Chinese Warp today. The IBM PC Company announced that OS/2 Warp
will be available in either English or Chinese versions on all
8MB systems shipped in China by the summer of 1995.  Legend, the
largest PC manufacturer in China, announced that OS/2 Warp and
IBM PC-DOS will be preloaded on all of its midrange and high-end
PC systems. STI Certified Products also announced plans to
preload OS/2 Warp on its multimedia systems. In addition, AST,
Hewlett-Packard and Compaq made statements announcing that their
PCs shipped in China are ready to run the Chinese version of
OS/2 Warp.



At the event today, IBM China announced a comprehensive
certification and training program partnership with an initial
group of 12 Chinese universities, by which it will provide
Certified OS/2 Warp Instructor training to hundreds of
university professors over the next two years. IBM will
establish Authorized Training Centers at 20 key universities to
train software professionals in servicing and supporting IBM
OS/2 Warp and LAN Server products by the end of 1995.



To ensure that Chinese software customers get access to IBM's
industry-leading service and support, IBM China also announced
the establishment of three regional support centers in Beijing,
Shanghai and Guangzhou. IBM's support infrastructure in China is
designed to provide customers with easy access to technical help
and product information, while minimizing their costs.  The
support system features phone-in and fax-back services, with
plans to offer electronic access consistent with that used by
IBM customers worldwide.



IBM will ensure customers have ready access to OS/2 Warp and
other IBM software products with a newly-established software
distribution structure. IBM has named Crownhand Devlopment Ltd.
and Beijing HOPE High-Tech Group as software distributors, and
Nantian Software Engineering Ltd. and Beijing Read Technic &
Trade Developement Co., as authorized dealers. The distributors
will work with IBM to provide product education, service and
support, marketing and other activities to dealers.



OS/2 Warp is the third version of IBM's award-winning 32-bit
OS/2 operating system. OS/2 Warp can run in as little as 4MB of
memory, and allows users to run DOS, Windows and OS/2
applications on the same desktop when installed on top of
Windows.   Each copy ships with a BonusPak of native 32-bit OS/2
applications, including a word processor, database, spreadsheet,
fax program and Internet access. OS/2 Warp P3.0 for Windows is
now available from IBM dealers and distributors throughout China
at a list price of RMB 1350.  OS/2 Warp P3.0 with WIN-OS2, or
"fullpack" version, will be available in China in June.