Microsoft* .Net* Framework Strengthens Tool Set for Intel Itanium 2-Based Systems.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 28, 2003

Software developers writing applications for Intel(R) Itanium(R) 2 based-systems received a boost today with the pre-release version of Microsoft* .NET* Framework for Itanium 2 microarchitecture. The .NET Framework expands upon an already robust set of tools available for Intel Itanium 2-based platforms running on 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows*.

The broad portfolio of tools to create and optimize Windows, Web and .NET-connected applications for Itanium 2-based systems includes Microsoft Windows Server* 2003 and Windows XP 64-Bit Edition Version 2003 operating systems, Microsoft .NET Framework, Microsoft Visual Studio* .NET 2003, Intel's IA-32 Execution Layer (IA-32 EL), Microsoft compiler tools and Intel's performance suite of compilers, analyzers and libraries.

"This is yet another example of the support and tools available to software providers itching to create highly optimized Web services applications, such as customer relationship or supply chain management, for Intel Itanium 2-based systems," said Will Swope, vice president and general manager, Software and Solutions Group, Intel. "The Itanium 2 microarchitecture now has a full complement of production and beta tools for Windows developers, bolstering our 'port of choice' objective for high-performance, mission critical servers."

There are more than 500 applications optimized for the Itanium processor family and thousands of 32-bit applications that run on those systems. In addition, Intel has a technology called IA-32 EL to further enhance the capability of the Itanium 2 processor to run 32-bit applications. The technology will enable the Itanium 2 processor to execute the newer IA-32 instructions, such as SSE2, and will provide higher performance for 32-bit applications.

"Microsoft's commitment to 64-bit computing is demonstrated by Windows Server 2003, Windows XP 64-bit Edition, the .NET Framework and a host of Microsoft tools for the Itanium 2 processor family," said John Montgomery, director of the Developer and Platform Evangelism division at Microsoft. "Developers now have the ability to write robust Web Services and .NET-connected applications quickly and easily while taking advantage of the power and performance of the Intel Itanium 2 microarchitecture."

Intel offers a suite of software development products designed to optimize performance of applications on Intel architectures. These products include the Intel(R) C++ and Fortran Compilers, Intel(R) VTune(TM) Performance Analyzer, Intel(R) Math Kernel Library, Intel(R) Thread Checker, and the Intel(R) Performance Libraries. More information is available at www.intel.com/software/products.

Intel, the world's largest chip maker, is also a leading manufacturer of computer, networking and communications products. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom.

Intel, the Intel logo, Itanium, and VTune are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.

* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.