Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, August 25, 1995 TAG: 9508250070
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MEGAN SCHNABEL STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
And life went on pretty much as usual.
"We had only one lady in here first thing this morning, when we opened at 7," said Karen Walker, a sales associate at Staples office supply store in Roanoke. "She was sitting out in the parking lot. She had a copy reserved, but she didn't know whether we'd be mobbed or not."
Weeks, even months, before Thursday's official Windows 95 release, computer-industry watchers had predicted a huge initial demand for the program, a new version of the operating system that runs 80 percent of the world's personal computers.
And, indeed, Microsoft enthusiasts around the world showed up for early release parties at computer superstores. At a CompUSA in Manhattan, for example, about 150 people lured by newspaper ads and free pizza lined up at midnight to watch the shrink-wrap be ripped from a pile of several hundred copies of the program. A dozen TV crews and at least that many Microsoft employees watched. The crowd jammed checkout lines for 30 minutes.
But a little way south of Manhattan, in Roanoke, no one was camping out for Windows 95. By 8:30 a.m. - an hour and a half after opening - Staples employees had sold only six copies - all to people who had reserved their software in advance.
"For the most part, everybody here has a pre-reservation for it," said store manager Richard Collins. Over the last month, Staples has taken close to 200 orders for the program, he said. People who ordered were guaranteed a copy of the software and, at some stores, received a bonus gift. At Staples, the bonus was a package of 20 computer disks.
The store's initial shipment consisted of about 350 copies, he said. The ones that hadn't been set aside for orders were displayed on a stand at the front of the store - a stand that at midmorning was still chock full of Windows boxes.
"I think a lot of people are waiting with bated breath," said Todd Haugland, a computer system administrator in the School of Engineering at Virginia Tech. "They're afraid the software they have isn't going to work well, or at all."
One of the biggest concerns surrounding Windows 95 has been the fear that existing versions of software applications will not be compatible with the more powerful upgrade. But Haugland, who has been testing progressively more sophisticated Windows 95 versions since late spring, said he has found that most of the program's early problems have been eliminated.
Many software authors have begun offering relatively inexpensive partial upgrades that will bring applications up to Windows 95 standards, he said, and Microsoft itself has published an exhaustive list of programs that have experienced problems when run with the upgrade.
Lud Eng, a support engineer with Comprehensive Computer Solutions in Christiansburg, added a warning: Upgrades like Windows 95 usually are irreversible, so people who are thinking about installing it should first double-check the compatibility of their existing programs.
Roanoke resident Craig Johnson, who stopped by Staples to pick up the copy of Windows 95 that he reserved about a week ago, said he's prepared to encounter problems.
"I know we won't just turn it on and everything will be OK," Johnson said. There are always bugs in first-version software, he said, and Microsoft's record with new releases is not particularly good.
"Especially after DOS 6.0, which was a couple of years ago," added his 15-year-old son, Caleb. "That one just about killed one of our computers."
By midafternoon, sales had picked up at Staples as customers without reserved copies had begun to trickle in, Walker said.
Other local software dealers, including Babbage's at Valley View Mall and the Virginia Tech bookstore in Blacksburg, reported similar scenes: substantial ordering, relatively light early morning sales and increasing crowds as the day continued.
Of course, just because Roanoke's Windows 95 release has been rather relaxed doesn't mean that Microsoft doesn't know how to make an entrance:
In London, Microsoft bought out the entire Thursday press run - 1.5 million copies - of the Times and handed out free newspapers with Windows 95 inserts.
In New York City, the Empire State Building was lighted up in Windows 95 colors.
In suburban Seattle, Wash., Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and entertainer Jay Leno led a carnival at the company's headquarters that was to be broadcast around the world.
In all, customers are expected to buy 7 million to 9 million copies during the first week, according to market researcher Dataquest Inc. As many as 29 million copies may sell by the end of the year, the research company said.
Windows 95 is not only predicted to become one of the best-selling software programs in history, it's also expected to create a swell in sales of other software, hardware, personal computers and accessories. That's because many PCs aren't powerful enough to run Windows 95 well - Microsoft says the system will run on computers with four megabytes of RAM, but Virginia Tech's Haugland and other consultants said eight to 12 megabytes of RAM is a more reasonable amount - and because application upgrades soon will begin to flood the market.
Luke Chong, a sales associate at Babbage's Software at Valley View Mall, said a full line of Windows 95-compatible software likely will hit stores in a month. Babbage's now is carrying upgrades of some Microsoft software, including Microsoft Office, he said.
Microsoft had intended to finish Windows 95 early last year, but was delayed by incompatibilities with existing software. A recent Justice Department antitrust investigation, prompted by the company's plan to include the access software for its new Microsoft Network with Windows 95, threatened but ultimately did not present a further delay.
Attorney General Janet Reno did put a damper on the party mood by saying her anti-monopoly investigators still were scrutinizing Microsoft's sales practices.
The Associated Press contributed information to this story.
by CNB