bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Hong Kongers are famous for queueing when it comes to desirable goods, be it BNO passports, cake coupons or software.

 Three years ago, eager computer users patiently waited in line for up to six hours to buy Windows 95, one minute after midnight on August 24. Queues are expected again for Thursday's 8am release of Microsoft's Windows 98.

 Despite the legal waves the software has generated with the US Justice Department, Windows 98 is not expected to draw computer users in the same way.

 A million copies of Windows 95 were sold in the first four days worldwide.

 Most product reviews of Windows 98 have been positive, but few consider it to be the revolutionary leap in features and user-friendliness that marked Windows 95 over Windows 3.1.

 Seven Hongkong Telecom shops will open at 8am on Thursday to sell Windows 98 and to give away coupons and t-shirts.

 Windows 98 will cost $1,599 for the full version on CD-Rom and $850 for an upgrade from Windows 95. A Chinese-language version of Windows 98 will be available at the end of next month.

 Pirated versions of Windows 98 began appearing in Hong Kong computer malls many weeks ago.

 For Windows 95, Microsoft spent an estimated US$200 million on advertising, with $12 million alone spent on rights to use the Rolling Stones song Start Me Up.

 Retailers were estimated to have chipped in another $700 million worldwide to pump up sales.

 Advertising and marketing spending for Windows 98 is estimated to be a fraction of this, though the anti-trust case with the Justice Department has helped unintentionally to publicise Windows 98.

 Microsoft's local launch of Windows 95 three years ago, held at Times Square in Causeway Bay, was meant to be a television-friendly and festive ceremony.

 The unintended highlight was a co-ed bevy of 12 dancers who were to hang huge letters one by one that would eventually spell 'Windows 95'. Unfortunately, the letters ended up spelling 'Mindows 95', despite pleas and gesticulations from Microsoft executives. As the music rose to a crescendo, the whole assembly came crashing to the floor.

 No such melodramatics are expected this Thursday.



Windows misses the 95 frenzy