AMD's participation will include a seminar on the use of CPUID to optimize performance in current and future generations of high performance processors, including the forthcoming AMD-K6™ MMX processor. AMD also will offer information on its new ISV(Independent Software Vendor) programs.

"We are excited to have AMD as a global sponsor for Developer Days again this year," said Tom Button, group manager for Microsoft Visual tools. "AMD's outstanding efforts and participation in this event will provide developers around the world with a wealth of information and a valuable opportunity to learn about new offerings from Microsoft and AMD."

AMD has a long history of delivering compatible processor solutions for personal computing, having shipped more than 90 million x86 processors since 1982, including 50 million Windows®-compatible CPUs in the last five years.

"With new processor architectures rapidly adding higher performance and features, software developers need to keep abreast of the best methods to optimize software performance." said Ned Finkle, director of AMD's Strategic Initiatives Group. "By understanding and using the CPUID instruction, developers will be able to take advantage of unique features, such as MMX, of the new generation architectures."

The CPUID instruction provides complete information about the processor (vendor, type, name, etc.) and its capabilities (features). After detecting the type of processor and its capabilities, software execution can be modified to take advantage of available processor performance and features.

This is the second year that AMD has co-sponsored Developer Days, an event hosted locally at over 95 sites in 45 countries. Developer Days is held each year to bring together tens of thousands of developers to share their expertise and experiences using Microsoft tools and technologies.

Bill Gates, chairman and CEO of Microsoft, will kick off Developer Days with a keynote presentation via satellite, discussing his vision for the role of Microsoft's Visual tools in integrating client/server and the Internet. Following this satellite broadcast, nine technical sessions in three separate tracks will further inform and educate attendees on the latest Microsoft developer tools and technologies.

The newest versions of Microsoft development tools and technologies that will be featured at Developer Days include the Visual Basic programming system version 5.0, Visual J++ development software version 1.1, Visual InterDev development software version 1.0, the Visual C++ development system version 5.0, Microsoft Transaction Server version 1.0, the Microsoft FoxPro database version 5.0, Microsoft Office 97, Developer Edition and others. The event will also feature prizes, contests and special promotions, and each attendee will receive a free CD-ROM toolkit packed with valuable software, samples and code.

To register for Developer Days in the United States or Canada, please call (800) 206-3000 between 6:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Pacific time. International customers should contact their local Microsoft office or visit the Developer Days Web site.

The event registration fee in the United States and Canada is $89 (U.S.) for those confirming their attendance before Feb. 13 or $120 (U.S.) for those registering later. The cost to attend in locations outside the United States and Canada will vary.

About AMD
AMD is a global supplier of integrated circuits for the personal and networked computer and communications markets. AMD produces processors, flash memories, programmable logic devices, and products for communications and networking applications. Founded in 1969 and based in Sunnyvale, California, AMD had revenues of $2 billion in 1996. (NYSE: AMD).