
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, August 24, 1995                   TAG: 9508240065
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: BOSTON                                 LENGTH: Medium

WINDOWS 95 OPENS INTO WALLET

At around $100, a copy of Microsoft Corp.'s long-awaited Windows 95 software - which went on sale at midnight - might not seem like a major investment to many personal computer owners.

But upgrading even a relatively new PC to run the new operating system could cost hundreds more. And that's not counting the new word processing, games and other application software it was created to run.

The entire computer industry is banking on a big boost from the first major update since 1990 to Windows, which runs the basic functions of eight out of 10 PCs.

One Boston law firm with 100 PCs that are a few years old estimates it will cost $1,000 per computer to change to Windows 95. That includes training and system improvements.

``We'd have to get new hard drives, more memory and an overdrive chip for each machine,'' said Steven Cohen of Rubin & Rudman as he looked over a Windows 95 display in a store Wednesday, the eve of its release. ``It might actually be cheaper to get new computers.''

That kind of thinking delights retailers.

``This whole Windows 95 hoopla will bring more people into our stores,'' said Laurie Levy, a spokeswoman for Dallas-based Comp USA. ``So we do believe we will sell more computers, more memory, probably even more mouse pads.''

The program is expected to be standard on most new PCs the rest of this year. But it is unclear how many business and home computer owners will upgrade existing machines.

Microsoft says Windows 95 will run on a PC featuring an Intel 386 microchip with 4 megabytes of main memory and 25 megabytes of free hard disk space. But the company recommends a faster 486 chip and 8 megabytes of memory.

Most reviewers, however, say the program runs best with 16 megabytes of main memory and a top-end Pentium chip. They also say the program needs at least 35 megabytes of storage space.

That translates to $800-$1,200 in hardware improvements for someone whose computer is more than a year old, according to Paul Gillen, editor of Computerworld, a Framingham, Mass.-based trade publication.

He likened software makers who are writing new products that work with Windows 95 to record companies that have released compact disc versions of recordings they once sold as vinyl records.

``What they want is to sell all their software all over again,'' he said.

by CNB