home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
The Latest Windows '95 Programs
/
The Latest Windows 95 Programs.iso
/
w95info
/
_winnews
/
newslttr.txt
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1995-05-31
|
26KB
|
674 lines
WINNEWS NEWSLETTER
The WinNews newsletter is Microsoft's semi-monthly
electronic newsletter providing up-to-date information
on Windows 95 developments. A typical issue will
include recent press releases, internal white papers,
information on Windows-related products from other
companies and other sources of additional information.
If you have e-mail connected to the Internet,
subscribing is easy:
Send an e-mail to:
ENEWS15@MICROSOFT.NWNET.COM
There should be no message in the subject
line, and the text of the message should read:
SUBSCRIBE WINNEWS
Then you will receive your WinNews issue on the first
and third Monday of every month (all WinNews issues are
sent in ASCII text).
A sample WinNews (from May 15, 1995) is below.
*********************************************************
Microsoft(R) WinNews Electronic Newsletter
Vol. 2, #7, May 15, 1995
*********************************************************
The Windows 95 World Tour kicked off its North American leg
last week in Minneapolis and Louisville, and we have had
extremely positive feedback on the demonstrations from
attendees. If you have not have a chance to see a demo yet,
the World Tour is a great way to see why Windows 95 is such
an exciting product. This week the tour continues on to
New York, Boston and Washington, DC. For more information
on attending please call 1-800-685-0951. A complete list
of North American cities is below.
One minor change for WinNews: Rather than publish on the 1st
and 15th of each month, and have to adjust for weekends,
WinNews will be sent on the first and third Monday of each
month. Look for Vol. 2, #8 to be sent on June 5.
Included in this issue:
1. SPRINT AND MICROSOFT INTEGRATE SprintFAX(R)SERVICE
WITH WINDOWS(R) 95 - is an announcement from last week's
EMA Conference. Windows 95 users will be able to broadcast
SprintFAX with graphics or text from their desktop. Plus,
users will be able to send editable binary file documents
using Microsoft Fax.
2. USABILITY ENHANCEMENTS FOR THE MICROSOFT EXCHANGE
CLIENT IN WINDOWS 95 - is a Microsoft position paper from
the Exchange product group which explains the current
product features, and the reasons behind decisions that have
been made on the product.
3. INFORMATION PROVIDED FROM THE INDEPENDENT WINDOWS 95
USERS GROUP NETWORK (WUGNET) ON COMPUSERVE -
WUGNET monitors and supports Compuserve forums on
Windows 95. They also offer shareware, support documents
(like FAQs), resource guides and other products related
to Windows 95 which are described below. To reach WUGNET
on Compuserve, type: GO WUGNET
4. WINDOWS 95 LIBRARY OPENS ON ZIFFNET - the library
contains an assortment of product applications,
utilities, and games - each of which have been reviewed
by Ziff-Davis writers.
5. WINDOWS 95 WORLD TOUR - a listing for the balance of
North American World Tour cities and dates.
6. PERSOFT BETA SITES - Persoft, Inc. is looking for beta
testers for their 16- and 32-bit products.
7. POSTINGS TO THE WINDOWS 95 SERVERS - This is an updated
list of new files.
QUICK-NOTES
A. Unable to get onto the preview forum?
Some people have had trouble connecting to the WIN95PRE
forum on CompuServe. This has to do with the fact that
there is a known bug in WinCIM that does not allow you
to post messages on private forums if you're within
WinCIM. The only way to do this is to go into ascii
mode and then leave a message. Microsoft is doing it's
best to get CompuServe and HMI to make the fix to allow
you to leave a message while in GUI mode on the WIN95PRE
forum. Meanwhile, the quickest way to get on to the
forum is to type "go ascii" and leave a message for
Microsoft's sysop with your full name and CompuServe ID
while in ascii text mode.
You should hear back within 48 hours in most cases.
We get between 500 and 1,000 requests each day. Your
patience is appreciated.
B. Update: RNA Server to be included in Microsoft Plus!
The single line Windows 95 Dial Up Networking Server, aka
the RNA server, had been included as part of the Windows 95
beta test distrubution. During this same period of time,
final features of Microsoft Plus! were moved into a
seperate Plus! testing cycle. We regret any confusion
that this change may have caused to our beta testers.
The RNA server is now an integral part of the Microsoft
Plus! product, and we are working to correct the errors
in documentation that may remain in the Windows 95
documentation.
C. Some outside sources recently have written some positive
articles on Windows 95. A couple of them are:
- "Getting Ready for Windows 95," PC Magazine, May 16.
PC Magazine did some great in-depth coverage. They
discuss support strategies, new software for Windows 95,
multimedia and games, networking and remote communication
and mobile use.
- The May 1 INFORMATION WEEK has an article by
David Fiedler which gave very positive reviews to Windows 95
corporate networking. This issue also has an article
about various Microsoft support strategies for the
launch of Windows 95.
Jay Goldstein
WinNews Editor
*******************************************************
SUBSCRIPTIONS
If you know someone who might be interested in WinNews,
please instruct them to send an e-mail to:
ENEWS15@MICROSOFT.NWNET.COM
There should be no message in the subject line, and the
text of the message should read:
SUBSCRIBE WINNEWS
You may also feel free to forward this document, provided
you forward it in it's entirety, as per the copyright
notice below. If you wish to stop receiving WinNews, send
mail to enews@microsoft.nwnet.com with no subject line and
have the text of the message read: UNSUBSCRIBE WINNEWS.
WinNews is published twice a month, on the first and
third Monday of each month. Special editions of WinNews
may also be sent out occasionally.
********************************************************
1. SPRINT AND MICROSOFT INTEGRATE SprintFAX(R) SERVICE
WITH WINDOWS(R) 95
Broadcast editable documents from any Windows 95 PC
NEW ORLEANS, May 9, 1995--Sprint and Microsoft demonstrated
the integration of SprintFAX with Windows 95 during the
Electronic Messaging Association Conference, May 8 - 11.
This joint effort will enable users of Microsoft's
Windows 95 to initiate SprintFAX broadcasts of text or
graphic images and, for the first time, editable binary
file documents using Microsoft Fax, the PC fax solution
included as a core capability of Windows 95. SprintFAX
is the first service to be integrated with Microsoft Fax.
Users of Windows 95 will be able to receive SprintFAX
registration information and use the SprintFAX Broadcast
Distribution service from their PC desktops. This service
enhancement is scheduled to be available in September 1995.
"Our relationship with Microsoft to integrate SprintFAX
with Windows 95 is part of our mission to provide both
the wider access to our services from the desktop and
the enhanced functionality required by our customers,"
said Chand Patel, assistant vice president, Messaging
and On-Line Services at Sprint.
"As the leading provider of desktop software, Microsoft
will make SprintFAX available to millions of users, who
then can easily take advantage of its robust
capabilities to help their businesses run more
effectively."
"Microsoft wants to make the best services from leading
companies available directly from the Windows 95
desktop. Our agreement with Sprint to integrate
SprintFAX with Microsoft Fax gives our users access to
the enhanced facsimile features they need, right out of
the box," said Dan Steele, general manager, Microsoft
Personal Systems Division.
Once registered with Sprint, Windows 95 users can build
lists of destinations in their PCs, then send a document
to thousands of fax addresses simultaneously. With the
unique binary file transfer feature, users can send
documents that can be opened in the application in which
they were created, and can be changed by the recipient
before forwarding to another destination.
If both sender and recipients are Microsoft Fax
enabled, SprintFAX will act as an electronic document
clearinghouse by transmitting editable documents.
SprintFAX is used by businesses and organizations of
all sizes to communicate to wide audiences of
employees, members, customers or suppliers.
SprintFAX applications include informing field sales of
price changes, distributing press releases, sending
product and drug recalls to retailers and distributors,
making new product announcements and providing member
updates for associations.
Sprint is a diversified international tele-
communications company with more than $12.6 billion
in annual revenues and the United States' only
nationwide all-digital, fiber-optic network.
Its divisions provide global long distance voice,
data and video products and services, local telephone
services to more than 6.4 million subscriber lines
in 19 states, and cellular services to more than
1 million customers in nearly 100 cities in 14 states.
Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of
Microsoft Corporation.
******************************************************
2. USABILITY ENHANCEMENTS FOR THE MICROSOFT EXCHANGE
CLIENT IN WINDOWS 95
Since the shipment of Windows 95 betas 2 and 3
(October, 1994 and February, 1995), the Exchange product
unit has been closely watching the feedback from customers
on the Exchange client included with Windows 95.
As a result of this feedback, we have decided to
simplify the Exchange client and better target its
functionality for the masses of Windows 95 users who
simply want to send and receive electronic e-mail from
Microsoft Mail 3.2, the Microsoft Network, CompuServe
Information Service, and utilize the Microsoft At Work
FAX functionality.
EASIER TO SETUP AND USE
The key point is that Microsoft wants to provide an
easier to setup, easier to use universal inbox: Feedback
from customers, testing within our usability lab, and
feedback from the press all indicated that the client
was too complex for its principle usage-- sending and
receiving e-mail from Microsoft Mail 3.2, MSN, CIS,
and Faxes from Microsoft At Work Fax.
An overriding goal was that we could not simplify the
client such that functionality already in the MS Mail
3.2 client was not available to the users of the
Exchange Inbox in Windows 95. Therefore, all
functionality found in the current Microsoft Mail
v3.2 client (from the Mail Server v3.2 package and
shipping with Windows For Workgroups v3.11) is available.
The effort to make the client easier to setup and use
resulted in improvements in three major areas:
1. Make the installation of the universal inbox easier.
This was a very important area for many users. Since
Beta 2 of Windows 95 we made several improvements to
improve the setup experience users get with the
universal inbox.
- Based on user's feedback, we have significantly
improved the way users select to install the services,
such as MS Mail, CompuServe or At Work.
- We simplified the profile creation process.
- We improve the default settings based on beta users'
feedback.
2. Simplify menus to focus on the majority of
Windows 95 beta users.
- Usability research showed that the more complicated
viewing functionality is being utilized by a small
minority of users while confusing the majority.
The majority wanted us to make the client easier
to setup and use. For example:
- Creation and saving of custom views
- Multiple pre-defined folder Views
- Advanced View manipulation (e.g. Grouping
and Filtering)
- Mark All as Read
- AutoText
3. Reduce user's confusion on functionality specific
to the Microsoft Exchange Server.
Some functionality only made sense when used in
conjunction with the forthcoming Exchange Server.
Users found this confusing; adding complexity to
the user interface.
- Composing a message as a "New Post to folder"
- Composing a "Post-reply in this folder"
- Compose "New Form"
WHAT IF I WAS USING THIS FUNCTIONALITY?
We recognize that there are users with more advanced
functionality requirements who will want to utilize
this functionality-- particularly in business and
corporate messaging environments. We will
continue to listen to these customers and
address their needs.
While final packaging and distribution details are
still being worked out, Microsoft will provide an
easy upgrade method to full Exchange client,
besides the Exchange Server package.
This delivery plan reflects our commitment to
provide the right level of client functionality to
the right user, and according to the back-end
functionality available in the server. The more
advanced capabilities of the Exchange Client are
very appropriate to Microsoft Exchange Server.
CONCLUSION
Microsoft's vision for the forthcoming Microsoft
Exchange family of products is to provide
messaging capabilities that better meet the needs
of all email users today. These needs include
the single user, who wants to easily send and
receive mail via messaging services, the
corporate user who wishes to send, receive,
share, and browse data from a single client,
and the application user who wants to easily
utilize powerful business applications based
out of the Exchange Client. The forthcoming
changes we're making to the Exchange Client in
Windows 95, along with the plannedfull
capabilities for the client that will ship in the
Exchange Server time frame, will help to better
meet these diverse needs.
*******************************************************
3. INFORMATION PROVIDED FROM THE INDEPENDENT WINDOWS 95
USERS GROUP NETWORK (WUGNET) ON COMPUSERVE
A. New resources featured on the WINNEWS FORUM on
Compuserve for the WPP and Windows 95 Beta Testers
as provided by the Windows Users Group Network:
The Windows Users Group Network continues to provide
a variety of must-have resources for all Windows 95
Preview participants and beta testers. These resources
are contributed and reviewed by the "Powered by
Windows 95 Advisor" online staff of the forum.
GO WINNEWS on CompuServe to directly access the
following:
- WINNEWS Windows 95 Shareware/FreeWare Library -
Now featured on the WINNEWS Forum, an Information
and Support Resource forum for Windows 95.
New Windows 95 shareware pre-release editions are
uploaded daily, including the latest: Barry Press
Utilities for Windows 95, an assorted collection
of full Win32 Windows 95 accessories and tools,
that includes a simple monthly calendar,
drag-and-drop ASCII file printer (also capable of
spooling Postscript files to a Postscript printer),
an icon for printer orientation control, an ASCII
file comparison program, a shell extension to add
a command line option to the Explorer (like the
old File.Run), a digital clock, and a random
multimedia file player. Registration is $20 and
all WINNEWS forum members are invited to test
drive this pre-release.
TRACKIT 2.0 (TRACKIT.ZIP),a resource monitor for
Windows 95, is now available exclusively on WINNEWS
to all WPP and beta testers. This utility supplies
all the Windows 95 specific system information and
also includes a thunk to the GDI, USER and SYSTEM
resources. With full color control, TRACKIT also
includes user selectable percent-information and
percent bars, and free diskspace information!
- Third Party beta Driver Library updates for
Windows 95 are now available -
These include the latest Viper VLB & PCI
drivers from Diamond (VIPERB.ZIP). Diamond
support will be available on the WINNEWS Forum
to receive feedback on their latest drivers.
- Official WUGNET Windows 95 Frequently Asked
Question Document now available -
This is the first of many FAQ's, authored by
WUGNET's Powered Windows 95 Advisors avaialable.
The May 15 latest upload is Steve Scoggins
"Windows 95 Internet SLIP/PPP FAQ". This document
explains how to setup Windows 95 for connecting to
your ISP (Internet Service Provider). It explains
how to use Powered by Windows 95 Advisor
Mark Gamler's RoboDUN utility to automate your
PPP/SLIP login scripts, which is also available
on the Compuserve WINNEWS Forum.
- The WUGNET Resource Guide for Windows 95 -
Now featured on the WINNEWS forum, the guie includes
official press releases on third party Windows 95
products and technology from third party software
and hardware companies. The library is uploaded
daily, with additional announcements provided by
Windows 95 developers. The most recent announcement
includes The Blue Ribbon SoundWorks, pioneers of the
music and multimedia marketplace. Blue Ribbon
announced the availability of AudioActive(TM),
a revolutionary technology and application
programming interface (API) for Windows 95 that
gives access to intelligent real-time music
composition and performance capabilities. If
you are working on a product or service for
Windows 95, please contact:
WUGNET@CIS.COMPUSERVE.COM to get your
information distributed to Windows 95 beta
testers and Windows 95 Preview Participants
on the WINNEWS Forum.
- WinNews Forum Msg base -
The Powered by Windows 95 Advisors have archived
weekly message bases from the forum, in ZIP format,
for offline review. These message archives
contain answers, tips and workarounds provided by
both the Powered by Windows 95 Advisor online
staff and other Windows 95 beta testers and
preview participants.
B. WUGNET(R) Third Party Sampler for
Windows (R) 95 Shipping Date moved to Early July
The shipping date for the WUGNET (R) Third Party
CD Sampler for Windows (R) 95 has been extended for 30
days to allow the inclusion of new commercial applications
including the Micrografx "Picture Publisher", Travelling
Software's "Laplink", Digital Directory Assistance
"PhoneDisc", Personal Training System's "Peter Norton
Presents Windows 95 Made Easy Tutorial" and O'Reilly's
"WEBSITE".
The list is growing and WUGNET will keep you informed as
new vendors are signed up. Participant vendors on this
CD are putting their Windows 95 pre-release editions that
exploit the Windows 32-bit multitasking of Windows 95,
Windows 95 interface, LFN - Long File Name and OLE 2
features. The CD features special demonstrations and
beta versions of commercial software, as well as shareware
utilities for Windows 95. Categories include: graphics,
diagnostics and utilities, training tools, programming
tools, virus protection, installation, Internet and games.
For more information on the CD Sampler contact
76702.1356compuserve or call 1-800-WINUSER.
To reach the WUGNET forum on Compuserve type: GO WUGNET
*****************************************************
4. WINDOWS 95 LIBRARY OPENS ON ZIFFNET, May 9, 1995
With the continued growth in the number of Windows 95
beta testers, the demand for Windows 95 programs and
utilities is growing every day. ZiffNet has corralled
its growing collection of Windows 95 titles into one
location: the Public Brand Software Utilities Forum's
Library 13 - "Windows 95".
Each of the applications, utilities, and games in
this newly created library has been tested and rated
by ZiffNet's reviewers - and is optimized to run under
Windows 95. Titles you'll find here include the
top-rated compression utility WinZip for Windows NT
in the file WZNT.EXE, as well as the popular Web
browser, Mosaic, in the file WMOSAC.ZIP.
Other offerings include:
- TextPad (TEXTPD.ZIP), a fully featured, 5-star text
editor;
- CLR BullsEye (BULEYE.ZIP), an investment tracker;
- Bomb Squad (BOMSQU.ZIP), a variation on the
Mastermind game;
- A-B-C-D (ABCD.ZIP), a CD player and database.
In addition, OS/2, DOS, and Windows 3.x users will
find thousands of shareware titles in all computing
categories throughout the seven Public Brand
Software forums.
To access the Public Brand Software Utilities Forum
in ZiffNet, GO PBSUTIL. To access all seven Public
Brand Software forums in ZiffNet, GO PBS. ZiffNet
is part of CompuServe's extended services and
carries additional membership fees. GO ZIFFMEM
for details.
******************************************************
5. WINDOWS 95 WORLD TOUR
This is a quick reminder of upcoming cities, dates and
times for the Windows 95 World Tour in North America.
The World Tour will continue later this summer
outside of North America. We will provide
information once cities and dates are confirmed for
all other countries.
The World Tour features an exciting preview of
Windows 95. Demonstrations will show the major new
features in Windows 95, including the new user
interface, performance and ease-of-use enhancements,
Plug and Play, and dial-up networking. You'll learn
the differences between Windows 3.1 and Windows 95
and have the chance to see some of the 32-bit
applications that are being developed to run on
Windows 95.
This 2 hour event will be filled with demos and
video presentation. There will also be drawings for
prizes including a computer system from the sponsoring
hardware manufacturer loaded with a pre-release
version of Windows 95.
Please call 1-800-685-0951 for more details
and to indicate your interest in attending. Space
for each event is limited.
DATE TIME CITY OEM SPONSOR
22-May 8:00pm Dallas Compaq
23-May 7:30pm Houston Compaq
31-May 7:30pm Columbus Compaq
1-Jun 7:30pm Detroit Compaq
4-Jun 7:30pm Seattle Compaq
5-Jun 7:30pm Toronto Compaq
13-Jun 7:30pm Sacramento NEC
15-Jun 7:30pm San Diego NEC
19-Jun 7:30pm Orange County Compaq
22-Jun 7:30pm Chicago NEC
26-Jun 7:30pm Vancouver NEC
29-Jun 7:30pm Pasadena Compaq
10-Jul 7:30pm Oklahoma City NEC
11-Jul 7:30pm St. Louis Compaq
12-Jul 7:30pm Atlanta NEC
17-Jul 7:30pm Philadelphia NEC
19-Jul 7:30pm San Francisco NEC
24-Jul 7:30pm San Antonio Compaq
*******************************************************
6. PERSOFT BETA SITES
Persoft, Inc., is looking for beta sites to test
16- and 32-bit Windows connectivity products. They
currently have packages for VT340, VT420, DG470,
and TN3270 emulation for 16-bit Windows, VT420 for NT,
and they are in the development phase on other
connectivity products for both 16- and 32-bit Windows.
If you are interested in finding out more about beta
testing for Persoft, please call the Persoft
BBS at (608) 273-6595.
Persoft, Inc. is an independent software company.
*******************************************************
7. POSTINGS TO THE WINDOWS 95 SERVERS
Access to these servers is available from:
On the Internet -
(ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/PerOpSys/Win_News,
On the World Wide Web http://www.microsoft.com
On The Microsoft Network:
Open Computers and Software\Software Companies\
Microsoft\Windows 95\WinNews.
On CompuServe: type GO WINNEWS.
On Prodigy: JUMP WINNEWS.
On America Online: keyword WINNEWS
On Genie: Download files from the WinNews area under
the Windows RTC.
The new files are:
MSPLUS.ZIP Microsoft Announces Microsoft
Plus! for Windows 95
GAMEPR.ZIP Microsoft Releases Beta Version of
Windows 95 Games Software Development
Kit at Computer Game
Developers Conference
INTUIT.ZIP Microsoft and Intuit Respond to
Justice Department's Lawsuit
TRAIN.ZIP Microsoft's Business Systems Division
Announces Availability of Beta 3
"Supporting Windows 95" Training
from Licensed Partners
V2N5 WinNews Newsletter, Vol 2, Number 5
V2N6 WinNews Newsletter, Vol 2, Number 6
EOV2.ZIP Brief Overview of Windows 95 Logo
Program (May Update)
*******************************************************
This document is provided for informational purposes
only. The information contained in this document
represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation
on the issues discussed as of the date of publication.
Because Microsoft must respond to change in market
conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a
commitment on the part of Microsoft and Microsoft
cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information
presented after the date of publication.
INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED
"AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS
FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND FREEDOM FROM
INFRINGEMENT.
The user assumes the entire risk as to the
accuracy and the use of this document. This
document may be copied and distributed subject to
the following conditions: 1) All text must be
copied without modification and all pages must
be included; 2) All copies must contain Microsoft's
copyright notice and any other notices provided
therein; and 3) This document may not be
distributed for profit.
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.