----------------------------------------------------------------
Microsoft claims 50,000 free IIS downloads
By Charles Cooper
_
Microsoft Corp. says more than 50,000 people have downloaded copies of the
Internet Information Server from its home page on the World-Wide Web.
The company, which is in the midst of an intensifying battle with Netscape
Communications Corp., is making a concerted push to derail its chief Internet
competitor by offering its Web client and browser products for free.
"If I were Netscape and planning on browser revenue in mid-1997, my personal
recommendation would be, 'I would like to speak to your pharmaceutical
adviser,' " said Chris LeTocq, director of software research at Dataquest
Inc., in San Jose, Calif.
"Microsoft's task is to throw as many spanners in the works as it can while
they get their own deal going," LeTocq added. "To the extent they can keep
their accounts out of committing to Netscape while Microsoft says they'll
figure it out, that's a success. This is a holding action."
Though the IIS software is free, it requires Windows NT 3.51. The product
competes against Netscape Server, the main breadwinner in Netscape's stable.
Microsoft is also giving away its Internet Explorer, which competes against
Netscape's Navigator, the product that dominates the Internet browser market.
In December, Microsoft began offering its browser for free. Users can also
download Netscape's browser but must pay $50 after the expiration of a trial
period.
"Are we satisfied? Are you kidding?" said Brad Silverberg, Microsoft's senior
vice president of the company's Internet Platform and Tools Division.
Netscape officials did not respond to several requests for comment.