‘Geekfest 95’ Will Celebrate Windows
Windows 95 will arrive at stores with more fanfare than a new recording by Michael Jackson or the Rolling Stones.
Computer stores will open at midnight Aug. 24 to meet expected demand for Microsoft Corp.’s much-awaited operating system.
The first copy of Windows 95 will be sold in New Zealand, the first country to cross the International Dateline into Thursday. A Cable News Network news crew is scheduled to be on hand to film the event, Microsoft’s International Marketing Manager Andreas Berglund said.
Microsoft will host a global party, with a speech by Chairman Bill Gates broadcast by satellite around the world. U.S. Ambassador to Singapore Timothy Chorba is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at a Windows 95 launch event there.
“This is not just an advertising campaign to sell Windows 95,” said Rajiv Lal, marketing professor at Stanford University’s school of business. “Microsoft has moved to a new phase of selling a stream of products aimed at the consumer. They are building a corporate name.”
The global event, dubbed “Geekfest 95” by some Microsoft employees, shows the company’s inventiveness, financial resources and marketing savvy, analysts said.
In the U.K., computer industry executives will be feted at a film premier-theme party; computer journalists in Poland will take a submarine ride; and an antique car rally is set for Denmark. Other parts of the world will have to make do with champagne parties.
The main event will be at Microsoft’s Redmond headquarters, where an estimated 5,000 guests and 9,000 Microsoft employees will celebrate with food and carnival games.
Microsoft officials won’t say how much the events will cost. Analysts said the cost is in the tens of millions of dollars.
It’s money well spent, said Berglund. “It’s the launch of a new era. This will guide us to an era where computers aren’t just for hackers and corporate desks.”
Windows 95, which will sell in the U.S. for $89, is the successor to the Windows 3.1 and MS-DOS operating systems, the computer programs that control about 80 percent of the world’s personal computers. Microsoft promises that the new operating system will make it easier for novices to use personal computers and will unleash the computing power of the latest PCs.
The program is expected to create strong demand for new PCs, computer equipment and software, analysts said.
That’s why computer retailers will host their own parties. Several computer and software retailers - including Egghead Software, Computer City and Incredible Universe - will open at midnight, Thursday, to accommodate the technophiles who can’t sleep without a copy of Windows 95 running on their PC.
Incredible Universe stores throughout the United States will host premier parties with Best Dressed Computer Nerd contests, door prizes and the Gates speech broadcast.
Starting Aug. 31, Microsoft will go on a “Start Me Up” tour in the U.K., named after the Rolling Stones song. Gates will launch the month-long tour’s first leg in London.
Bloomberg Business News