FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press Contacts:
Ryan James
Waggener Edstrom
(503) 245-0905
ryanj@wagged.com

Joscelyn Zell
Waggener Edstrom
(503) 245-0905
jzell@wagged.com

Cynthia Fray
Metrowerks Inc.
(512) 873-4758
cynthia@metrowerks.com

MICROSOFT AND METROWERKS ANNOUNCE FREE REDISTRIBUTION OF VIRTUAL MACHINE
FOR JAVA AND JIT COMPILER FOR THE MACINTOSH

Fast, Robust, Small-Footprint Way to Run Java on the Macintosh Now
Available to Any Developer

SAN FRANCISCO-April 2, 1997-Today at Software Development West and JavaOne,
Microsoft Corp. and Metrowerks Inc. announced that the companies' jointly
developed virtual machine for Java and the just-in-time (JIT) compiler is
available for redistribution with Java applications as part of the
CodeWarrior software development package. This implementation of Java
provides a fast, reliable way to run Java on the Macintosh, with low memory
requirements.

"Metrowerks and Microsoft have been working very closely over the last year
to deliver best-of-breed virtual machine and JIT technology on the Mac OS,"
said Greg Galanos, president and chief technology officer at Metrowerks.
"In fact, Microsoft Internet Explorer with the Metrowerks and Microsoft
implementation delivers the highest performance for Java execution on the
Macintosh platform. We're very happy to provide this powerful technology
to our licensees for redistribution with their Java-enabled applications."

"Microsoft's relationship with Metrowerks and longtime commitment to the
Macintosh platform have resulted in the leading Java technology for the Mac
OS," said John Ludwig, vice president of the Internet client and
collaboration division at Microsoft. "We're continuing to deliver on our
vision of bringing best-of-breed support for Java to more and more Apple
developers and users, so they can take advantage of the most flexible and
powerful Java technology available today."

Leading Implementation of Java for the Macintosh The Microsoft and
Metrowerks virtual machine and JIT compiler are the premier Java
implementation for the Mac OS. They provide the highest quality, best
compatibility, fastest performance and smallest memory footprint.

* Performance. The Microsoft and Metrowerks Java virtual machine and JIT
compiler provide the fastest implementation of Java for the Macintosh.

* Choice. Native support for Apple's JManager interface allows users to
incorporate the Microsoft and Metrowerks virtual machine with any
application on the Macintosh that adheres to this standard interface.

* Low memory footprint. Through dynamic memory management, users obtain
powerful and flexible Java support without taking a big memory hit. Java
components use memory only when needed to run a Java Applet and unload
automatically when the applet is finished.

"The Microsoft and Metrowerks virtual machine ensures the Macintosh will be
a first-class citizen in the Java community," said Kim Cooper, chairman and
CEO of Digital Harbor. "With the ability to offer the Microsoft and
Metrowerks virtual machine and JIT, we can ensure that our Macintosh WAV
users get the fastest and most robust experience possible."

Long-Term Relationship
Metrowerks' and Microsoft's teamwork to provide top-notch Java support to
Mac OS customers is not new. Building on a May 1996 announcement of a pact
in which Metrowerks integrated Microsoft ActiveX technologies with Java
into Metrowerks' industry-leading line of application development products
for the Apple Macintosh operating system, the companies have continued to
work together on Java support for the Macintosh.

Availability
Developers can obtain redistribution rights for the virtual machine and JIT
compiler through Metrowerks' CodeWarrior. Under the terms of the software
license included with CodeWarrior, CodeWarrior licensees who use
CodeWarrior to build Java or Java-enabled applications obtain the right to
redistribute the virtual machine bundled with their applications.

About CodeWarrior
CodeWarrior Gold is an intuitive suite of software development tools that
includes an award-winning integrated development environment (IDE) complete
with project manager, resource and text editors, debugger, class browser,
online documentation and tutorials. CodeWarrior Gold's cross-platform
compilers support C, C++, Object Pascal and Java, and allow programmers to
build applications for the Windows 95 and Windows NT operating systems and
Mac operating system, all from one unique development environment.

About Metrowerks
Founded in 1985, Metrowerks (NASDAQ: "MTWKF", TSE/ME: "MWK") develops,
markets and supports a complete line of programming tools for building
applications for a number of operating systems intended for use on desktop
computers or embedded systems, including Mac OS, Windows 95, Windows NT,
PlayStation OS, BeOS and Palm OS, running on a number of microprocessors
including 68K, PowerPC, MIPS and x86 microprocessors. Metrowerks'
CodeWarrior products are used by more than 65,000 registered users in 70
countries.

About Microsoft
Microsoft is delivering comprehensive, end-to-end solutions to help make
corporate and commercial Java developers successful. With world-class
technologies and programs including class libraries, virtual machines,
component support, tools, technical support and market development programs
for commercial developers, Microsoft will help developers create both
cross-platform Java applications and Java applications that take full
advantage of customers' investments in Microsoft Windows. For more
information on Microsoft's Java strategy, please see Microsoft's Java
strategy white paper at http://www.microsoft.com/java/.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in
software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of
products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the
mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage
of the full power of personal computing every day.

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Metrowerks, the Metrowerks logo and CodeWarrior are registered trademarks
of Metrowerks Inc. Microsoft, ActiveX, Windows and Windows NT are either
registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States
and/or other countries. Java is a trademark of Sun Microsystems Inc. Other
product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective
owners.

Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information
on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at
http://www.microsoft.com/corpinfo/ on Microsoft's corporate information
pages.