Windows® Vista and 2007 Microsoft Office™ system launched - largest product launch from Microsoft in over a decade

Local content and service deals announced with Sanity, BigPond, Kodak Rogue Traders close event with a bang

Sydney – 30 January, 2007 – Australia today will be at the forefront in the global launch to consumers of Microsoft's flagship new products – Windows® Vista ™ and the 2007 Microsoft Office™ system. The combined launch is the biggest product release from Microsoft in more than a decade.

At a major launch event at Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art, more than 250 Press and Microsoft partners celebrated the availability of these breakthrough new products at retail shops throughout the country.

Designed to transform the way people use personal computers, Windows Vista and the 2007 Office system make personal computing easier, safer, better connected and more entertaining.

News at the event included:

• Midnight sale of first copy of Windows Vista – On Tuesday 30 at 12.01am the first copy of Windows Vista to be sold in Australia was put through the register by Gerry Harvey and the newly announced MD of Microsoft Australia, Tracey Fellows in Sydney. More than two hundred people attended the first sale and William Tsang from Redfern, Sydney was the lucky first buyer who bought the exclusive copy of Vista Ultimate personally-signed by Bill Gates.
• New online music service from Sanity – The first integrated online music subscription service in Australia was announced by Sanity and Microsoft Australia. The new Sanity service will give Australian Windows Vista customers access to more than 1 million tracks to download and will offer both subscription and purchase options when it goes live in April 2007. It makes digital music both easy and legal for mainstream consumers.
• BigPond Movies – Microsoft Australia and Telstra BigPond today announced the integration of BigPond Movies content into Windows Vista Media Center. BigPond Movies is the first movie and video download service to be integrated with Windows Vista in Australia and is now available. For the first time consumers can download on their PC in the study then watch on their TV using Xbox 360 as a network extender.
• Kodak Online Print Wizard - Microsoft Australia and Kodak announced the integration of the Print@Kodak online printing wizard into the new Windows Vista Photo Gallery so people can send their photos to be printed directly from their Windows Vista computers and have them mailed back or pick them up from their nearest Kodak shop.

"Windows Vista is the most important release of Windows that Microsoft has ever delivered," said Tracey Fellows, Managing Director of Microsoft Australia. "Australian consumers will be among the first people in the world to experience the powerful innovations that have been delivered with Windows Vista and the 2007 Office system."

Easy digital photo and music management in Windows Vista was demonstrated at the event as well as computer entertainment options such as gaming, movie downloads and TV reception through your networked PC. The new Office 2007 software was used to demonstrate how to create your own blogs easily and create professional-looking content more quickly than ever before.

The new versions of Windows and Office also deliver advances in security and family safety to help parents enable their kids to explore the Internet more safely while also safeguarding their personal information so they can share experiences, shop and have fun with greater confidence.

One example in Windows Vista is the Parental Control Panel, a feature that provides a central location where parents can manage Internet and computer access and receive reports about which Web sites their children have visited and the amount of time they have spent on the computer.

Windows Vista retails from $179 for an upgrade from Windows XP to Windows Vista Home Premium Academic edition and is available nationally from all computer and consumer electronic stores.

* Always remember! Recordings and programs may be protected by copyright. Microsoft does not authorise, support or condone the use of our products for unauthorised copying. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, publicly perform or modify recordings unless authorised by the copyright owner or allowed by law.

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For further information, please contact:

Cathy Jamieson
Microsoft Australia
Ph: 02 9870 2220 or 0412 177 738
Cathy.Jamieson@microsoft.com

Emilio Robles
Howorth Communications
02 8281 3830
howorth@howorth.com.au