If you had to point to the single factor that has been holding up the PowerPC market outside of the Mac world it would have to be the lack of operating system support. Several manufacturers have been sitting on their hands and waiting for a version of Windows NT, and it finally shipped last month. The release as a whole contains a few nips, tucks and bug-fixes: support for Windows95 and PowerPC compatibility are the most important new features. Most PowerPC users are going to get the product bundled with their boxes, but anyone buying it in the shops will find it costs the same as Windows NT 3.5. Simultaneously, Microsoft Corp announced that it had completed the PowerPC versions of its Excel 5.0 and Word 6.0 spreadsheet and word processor. Both packages have been released to manufacturing, and should ship in the next three to five weeks, available either individually or as part of Microsoft Office. Microsoft Office 4.2 will cost around $500 in the US. Existing users of Office, Word, Excel, PowerPoint or competitive products will be able to upgrade for approximately $300. Individually, the products will cost $340, or $130 for an upgrade. The company is promising Visual C++, Microsoft Test and SNA Server in the coming months.
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