Microsoft Corp will line up with a clutch of major office equipment manufacturers on June 9 to announce a proposed new standard for software to link personal computers with copiers, facsimile machines and printers, chairman Bill Gates said: everyone who makes a fax, printer, copier or phone should be aware of this and take a hard look at participating in making products that conform to this architecture, Gates said in an interview with the Associated Press; the standard, expected to be controlled from a version of Windows, is described as the first step to a digital office that distributes documents more efficiently and securely, he said; the road to the software standard is being paved by some advances in infrared technology led by Hewlett-Packard Co, according to analysts that talked to the news agancy; Ricoh Co and Muratec Inc say they will participate in the Microsoft announcement and Sharp Corp, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co’s Panasonic unit, and Canon Inc are among firms planning products that will incorporate the new software.
