REDMOND, Wash. - April 12, 1999 - Microsoft Corp. today announced the availability of the Microsoft^® Internet Explorer 5 Evaluation and Deployment Kit (EDK), a comprehensive resource designed to assist corporate customers in their evaluation of Internet Explorer 5. The EDK provides customers with a variety of evaluation resources, including information on the capabilities of Internet Explorer 5, a complete deployment guide, instructions on how to migrate their business to Internet Explorer 5 from Netscape Navigator, and case studies on corporations that have already rolled out Internet Explorer 5. In addition, the EDK includes Internet Explorer 5 software as well as the Internet Explorer Administration Kit 5. Customers can find more details about the EDK as well as order the EDK CD-ROM for $6.95 at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/offers/EDK/default.asp.

Microsoft also announced that Standard Register, a leading provider of cost-effective document management systems and services, has joined the more than 6,000 businesses who have licensed Internet Explorer 5 since it was made available on March 18.

"Standard Register's use of Internet Explorer 5 is another great illustration of how companies of all sizes are taking advantage of the innovations in Internet Explorer," said Rob Bennett, group product manager of Windows^® marketing at Microsoft. "We are gratified to see that Internet Explorer 5, and now the Evaluation and Deployment Kit, are enabling businesses worldwide to use the Web as a true productivity tool."

Standard Register Boosts Intranet With Internet Explorer 5

Having previously used Internet Explorer 3.0 and Netscape Navigator, Standard Register chose to standardize on Internet Explorer 5 based on its ability to increase employee productivity and deliver a premier development platform upon which to quickly create and manage enterprise business applications.

Using Internet Explorer 5, Standard Register is developing an intranet application called Standard Register Locator (SRLocator) that provides links to detailed information on any selected Standard Register facility. Before Internet Explorer 5, this information was distributed in a paper-based directory monthly and bimonthly. With Internet Explorer 5 and its support for Dynamic HTML Behaviors, Standard Register is able to provide more timely information in a cost-effective fashion via the company intranet.

"Internet Explorer's unparalleled support for Dynamic HTML Behaviors as well as other standards-based technologies was a key factor in our decision to standardize on Internet
Explorer 5," said Clint Anderson, senior Web engineer, Standard Register. "In addition to being able to create powerful Web-based applications more quickly and with less code, we can now more easily manage and update the applications on an ongoing basis."

Standard Register chose Internet Explorer 5 for browser software standardization for several other reasons:

• Fastest browsing experience. From startup to rendering and interface responsiveness, Internet Explorer 5 offers a faster Web experience. In addition to being an average of 39 percent and up to 60 percent faster than Netscape Navigator 4.5 in startup and rendering pages, respectively, Internet Explorer 5 is over 25 percent faster compared with Internet Explorer 4.01 on key performance benchmarks such as caching, editing, scrolling and hosting Microsoft Office documents.