AST announces major accounts converting to Windows 95; AST makes Windows 95 Available Worldwide.

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 23, 1995--AST Computer Wednesday announced the conversion of four corporate customer accounts to the Windows(r) 95 operating system.

The expanding use of computer technology, along with strong growth in the corporate market, has helped to reinforce AST's commitment to Windows 95 as a solution for its users worldwide. The LA Times News Department, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, The Money Store and the Siena Group, have all announced plans to migrate to the Windows 95 platform.

"Windows 95 is the tool that will empower users with a multitude of new computing capabilities," noted Jim Wittry, AST senior vice president of the Americas. "By providing Windows 95 on our systems, we are opening new opportunities for our customers," he added.

"We are delighted to see AST's endorsement of Windows 95," stated Joachim Kempin, senior vice president, Microsoft Corporation OEM Sales. "AST has been a long-standing supporter of Windows and is well-prepared for the upcoming launch. Combined with an extensive level of training and preparedness, AST's customers are ensured a high-level of customer satisfaction," continued Kempin.

Natural Migration for Editorial Department

"We have been working with AST for quite a while now and the move to Windows 95 is a natural migration for us," stated Bart Everett, deputy systems editor for The LA Times News Department. "With our planned migration over the next few months, we are confident that we will increase our overall corporate productivity levels through the use of this new tool," he added. According to Everett, six or seven years ago newsroom employees, as a general rule, had very little experience with desktop applications.

"Many of our reporters and editors were working in a DOS-based environment where desktop applications were not of primary interest," noted Everett. "With time and the increased penetration of technology into the desktop environment, however, our people have come to be quite computer savvy and demand top-of-the line quality products. This means a powerful PC and operating system." According to Everett, the combination of Windows 95 and AST is a winning combination. "We participated in AST's Windows 95 training and found it to be very beneficial," he stated. With more than 500 AST(r) Premmia(tm) systems in place worldwide, The LA Times considers AST's commitment to quality products an important factor in helping a customer protect his or her technology investment.

No More Eight Letter Names

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, is using Windows 95 on desktops like the AST Premmia and Ascentia(tm) notebooks over an Ethernet WAN network running the TCP/IP network protocol. This setup allows administrators read-only or full access to scientific drawings, documents and data.

According to Dr. Briscoe Stephens, advanced scientific IS coordinator for science and engineering at Marshall, "We gather scientific information and spread it out to the scientific and engineering communities. Windows 95 gives us a way to disseminate information efficiently and cost-effectively at the working and management levels." "We are able to incorporate a full line of Win 32 products with a full line of AST products in a very cost-effective manner," stated Stephens. "We have been able to take AST legacy hardware, along with state-of-the-art AST hardware and integrate them very nicely in an interoperable Microsoft Windows 95 environment. Windows 95 supports long file names, which means that users will no longer be limited to files with eight character names.

Making Money Means More

The Money Store, a national financial service company, is migrating to Windows 95 as an insurance policy guaranteed to help it get the most for its dollar. "We looked at Windows 95 as a security blanket to help us expand our computer resources with the high reliability that we need," noted Blake Kline, director of product development for The Money Store. "Working in a client/server environment, Windows 95 and AST are a natural fit for us," Kline continued.

The Money Store uses the AST Premmia GX as a client in a branch office automation function allowing for loan applications to be processed in a timely and efficient manner. With close to 500 AST Premmias in use at the company, it is a combination of value and good service that keep The Money Store on the AST platform.

Taking Advantage of a Good Thing

The Siena Group of Burbank, California, is a manufacturer of women's sportswear and will use Windows 95 as its operating system of choice. "We have been a beta site for Windows 95 and have found the operating system to be clean and powerful," said Vahe Aghabegians, senior technician for Microcomp, the third party system integrator to the Siena Group. "We have gone through AST's training program and feel that by using Windows 95 and AST's products we will be able to provide a graceful transition to clients like the Siena Group," Aghabegians added.

AST Provides Windows 95 on Business and Consumer PC Desktops

Earlier this month, AST signed a Windows 95 Operating System licensing agreement with Microsoft to ship the operating system on its popular Bravo(tm) value desktops, Premmia(tm) high-performance PC workstations, Ascentia(tm) professional and value notebooks, and Advantage!(r) multimedia PCs.

In preparing for the launch, AST assisted its customers in the transition to Windows 95 by providing extensive training to its support technicians. Additionally, AST conducted a "Sneak Preview" 14-city North American road show. More than 6,000 corporate accounts, computing professionals and resellers participated and are prepared to migrate to Windows 95.

"Windows 95 represents a major step forward in functionality on desktop and portable PC platforms by providing systems that are easier, faster and more powerful to use," commented Microsoft's Kempin. "Products from companies such as AST demonstrate our combined abilities to provide complete and value added solutions to challenging problems today," he added.

Corporate Background

AST Research Inc., a member of the Fortune 500 list of America's largest industrial and service companies, is one of the world's leading personal computer manufacturers. The company develops PC products ranging from portable systems to superservers sold in more than 100 countries worldwide. Corporate headquarters is located at 16215 Alton Parkway, P.O. Box 57005, Irvine, Calif., 92619-7005. Telephone [phone] or 800/876-4278. Fax: [phone].

Note To Editors: AST and Advantage! are registered trademarks of AST Research, Inc. Ascentia, AST Works, Bravo and Premmia are registered trademarks of AST Research, Inc. Microsoft, Windows and MS-DOS are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other product or service names mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

CONTACT: AST Computer, Irvine

Camerone Welch-Thorson, 714/727-8858

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