Award Offers Windows95 BIOS Migration Programs for OEMs and End Users.MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.,--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 11, 1995--Award Software International, a leader in BIOS and PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, San Jose, CA, www.pcmcia.org) An international standards body and trade association that was founded in 1989 to establish a standard for connecting peripherals to portable computers. PCMCIA created the PC Card. See PC Card. software, today announced major support programs to assist OEMs and end users in the migration of BIOS and system software toward Windows95 compatibility. "Windows95 is both a great opportunity and a challenge for the PC industry and end users alike," stated Dr. Ann Shen Shen, in the Bible, place, perhaps close to Bethel, near which Samuel set up the stone Ebenezer. , v.p. marketing and sales, Award Software International. "OEMs need immediate access to Windows95 certification to maintain competitiveness, while end users are making a major investment in new software that may not be fully functional on present PC platforms." Award currently plans to run the BIOS migration programs through the fourth quarter of 1995 or until the company is satisfied that the majority of Award customers have been updated for Windows95 support. OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) The rebranding of equipment and selling it. The term initially referred to the company that made the products (the "original" manufacturer), but eventually became widely used to refer to the organization that buys the products and BIOS Programs With the commercial availability of Windows95, it is expected that a cascade of OEMs over the next several months will be clamoring clam·or n. 1. A loud outcry; a hubbub. 2. A vehement expression of discontent or protest: a clamor in the press for pollution control. 3. A loud sustained noise. to have their PC systems certified See certification. for compliance with Windows95. The certification testing is necessary to obtain the prized Microsoft "Logo of compatibility" for Windows95. To take full advantage of some of the most advanced features such as PCI (1) (Payment Card Industry) See PCI DSS. (2) (Peripheral Component Interconnect) The most widely used I/O bus (peripheral bus). , Plug & Play, and Power Management the OEM will have to update its BIOS and system software and than submit the system for testing. The Award EliteBIOS was submitted earlier this summer for Pre-Release Logo testing and was qualified as fully compliant for Windows95 and is now designated as version 4.50GP for identification purposes. Award is now focusing two OEM programs to accelerate the migration of this core technology into the market. The first is the "OEM '95 Assist Program" which concentrates on updating Award's direct OEM customers with the latest PCI, Plug & Play and Power Management code. Award is also offering OEMs direct engineering support to pre-test their hardware before it is submitted for testing. The second program is the "System Vendor '95 Assist Program." This program targets system vendors who are direct customers of Award as well as system houses who OEM motherboards with the Award BIOS See Phoenix Award BIOS. . In this program, Award with the cooperation of Microsoft, has placed technical support personnel in the Microsoft's Redmond, WA compatibility labs to assist system vendors to test and qualify their system for logo certification. End User BIOS Program The final BIOS program targets selected end users who have purchased a Windows95 upgradeable system or motherboard Also called the "system board," it is the main printed circuit board in an electronic device, which contains sockets that accept additional boards. In a desktop computer, the motherboard contains the CPU, chipset, PCI bus slots, AGP slot, memory sockets and controller circuits for the in the last several months with an installed Award BIOS. Award will assist end-users through the "End-User 95' Assist Program" to either locate their board manufacture to determine if their system is upgradeable or supply a Windows95 BIOS update directly. Cost for the service will run between $50-$90 dollars for manufacturer boards that have already obtained Windows95 logo certification. "End users are investing considerable time, money and effort to update to Windows95," commented Dr. Shen. "Award believes these new BIOS migration programs will protect their investment by offering the user access to software which unlocks the higher levels of functionality built in to Windows95. Please contact Award Software's marketing department -- 415/968-4433 -- for more details on each program. Founded in 1983, Award Software International, Inc. designs, publishes and markets enabling BIOS and PCMCIA software for personal, mobile and wireless computing and communications devices Typically refers to a terminal used to send voice, video or text. Mobile phones, wireless PDAs and personal computers equipped with microphones, speakers and cameras are all considered communications devices. See modem. worldwide. Its customers rank among the world's leaders in microprocessors, personal computers, peripherals and communication devices such as IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) , Intel, Toshiba, AT&T, AMD (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, www.amd.com) A major manufacturer of semiconductor devices including x86-compatible CPUs, embedded processors, flash memories, programmable logic devices and networking chips. and National Semiconductor. -0- Note to Editors: All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. CONTACT: Award Software Jeffrey Flink, 415/968-4433 or Media One Cordell Koland, 415/390-0209 |
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