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 over 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."

"IBM's commitment to and investment in China holds great potential for
software development in this country," said Yang Tianxing, director
general of the Chinese Ministry of Electronics Industry. "We're delighted
that IBM has delivered on its promise to provide leading-edge operating
system software to Chinese computer users, by working together with local
software development companies."

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 OS/2
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 Development Ltd. and Beijing HOPE
High-Tech Group as software distributors, and Nantian Software Engineering
Ltd. and Beijing Read Technic & Trade Development 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.

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