The Acorn Cybervillage - Acorn Announcements

Acorn Press Release Announcements.

Acorn and Optivision advance Interactive televison.

Acorn set-top box is on top of the world.

Acorn looks to the stars with new Galileo OS.

Acorn appoints an Japanese agent as it moves into the Japanese marketplace.

Curtis Mathes' Uniview Products to incorporate Acorn Technology.

Transcript of Peter Bondar's "Vision for the Future".

Acorn Computer Group Unveils Range of New NC Devices.

Korean Goverment adopt Acorn's technology.

ART's NewsPad is put on trial..

ART in a £1 million French Connection.

Acorn adds character with help from Bitstream.

Acorn and NAVIS.

Digital ART in partnership with Casio.

Acorns offical Press release site.

April 15, 1997

Acorn and Optivision advance Interactive televison.

April 15, 1997 - the Acorn Computer Group plc (London Stock Exchange:GB0000061167) and Optivision, Inc. demonstrates a revolutionary solution for cost-effective delivery of high quality, interactive MPEG video for intranet applications. The combination of Acorn's new set-top box, the STB22, and Optivision's LiveStation(TM) MPEG video networking system enables a new generation of time and cost-saving intranet applications, such as the delivery of live interactive training over a corporate network. Demonstrated at NAB using Oracle(R) Video Server, the solution takes advantage of Optivision's low-cost, high-quality products for encoding and transmitting a live video source, and Acorn's ability to decode a live MPEG stream and deliver that high quality digital video to a television monitor. Viewers have unlimited potential for interaction with the content using a familiar, web browser interface.

"We see video as potentially the most valuable tool for intranets," said Reed Majors, Optivision product line manager. "Our partnership with Acorn opens the door to a whole new range of intranet applications that have important ramifications for the way we communicate. Businesses for example will see tremendous cost savings as a result of being able to standardize and automate the delivery of training or organizational news in the form of video over intranets."

"Acorn and Optivision are both highly committed to the advancement of interactive television," said Simon Wyatt, Director of Acorn Online Media, a division of Acorn. "The pairing of our revolutionary new STB22 with Optivision's cutting-edge image and compression technology will result in delivery of high-quality video for intranets. This is a unique solution that will be imperative for the advancement of communications in everything from home entertainment to mission critical functions in the corporate market."

The system introduced by Acorn and Optivision provides all of the tools necessary to build and deliver live and stored video over IP (Internet Protocol) and ATM networks, as well as the ability to develop Web-based interactive applications. The process works by using Optivision's LiveStation to encode the content, such as a live broadcast, and feed the MPEG compressed video either onto a server where it can be accessed, on request, by the user through Acorn's STB22, or directly to the set-top box. Adding Oracle Video Server to the solution allows customers to have full VCR control of the video content. For example, in the broadcast of a sporting event, the action is encoded live off air, stored in real-time on the Oracle Video Server and simultaneously pumped across the network to the STB22 and on to the TV. At any time, a viewer can pause, rewind or fast forward to a particular action, and then join the live broadcast again.

"Oracle is excited to offer this innovative solution to bridge the gap between a broadcast feed and viewers," said Mark Porter, Vice President of Oracle's Media Server group. "Oracle Video Server stores MPEG-encoded video feeds from Optivision's real-time encoder, and simultaneously streams this content to end-users on the corporate intranet via the Acorn set-top box. Users now have the flexibility to interact with a broadcast feed."

In situations where the server is bypassed, Acorn's STB22 acts as a straight decoder delivering a constant stream of video for a TV, making it particularly well suited to corporate, healthcare and educational markets where it may be used for the delivery of such applications as distance learning, or private TV networks designed by a hospital or hotel.

Building Media Rich Networks
The solution from Optivision and Acorn allows users to build a number of broadcast quality video functions into their networks, including:

Live Television - Live video content such as news, movies, speeches and classes can be distributed onto most IP networks and viewed via the set-top box anywhere on the network.
Video-on-Demand - Stored video content can be played back from anywhere on the network, with the ability to pause, rewind, and fast-forward.
Stored Live Television - By clicking a single button, the user can, at any time, pause for a short break or save live television to a disk for viewing at a later date.
Interactive Applications - The web-based architecture allows customers to build very robust interactive applications for such uses as training, advertising and promotions.
Web Browser Based Control - All video functionality such as view, save, rewind, fast-forward, and pause can be accessed and controlled from a web browser anywhere on the network.
Demographic Statistics - The system includes the ability to monitor an individual's viewing habits for purposes such as highly targeted advertising.

About the Acorn STB22
The Acorn STB22 is one of the most advanced interactive set-top boxes in the world, offering a combination of features not found in any other set-top box. These include an ATM25 interface, MPEG2 decode capability, a built in web browser and support for JAVA applications. Additionally the STB22 is available with an Ethernet Interface making it one of the most versatile products of its type. It specifically addresses the increasingly demanding requirements of today's interactive services, including interactive video and audio, online banking and shopping services, web-browsing, gaming, education services and multi-casting.

About the Optivision(R) LiveStation(TM)
MPEG video compression systems and components enabling video Intranet applications are available from Optivision today. These include MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 systems, intranet software applications and tools, JAVA class or SNMP MIB based API, 10/100 Mbps Ethernet or 25/155 Mbps OC-3 network interfaces, multi or single channel systems, support for IP broadcast, IP multicast and IP unicast, and complete plug-and-play support with Oracle's Video Server products.

About Oracle(R) Video Server
Oracle Video Server, a component of Oracle Universal Server, is an end-to-end software solution that enables customers to store, manage and deliver full-motion, full-screen video and high-fidelity audio to clients over broadband, intranet or Internet networks. Oracle(r) Video Server is available for a wide variety of general-purpose computing platforms.

About Acorn
Acorn Computer Group plc, head-quartered in Cambridge, UK, is one of the world's leading developers and suppliers of innovative technology designs and consultancy. Acorn is at the core of some of the world's best digital technology products.

Acorn's home page can be accessed at http://www.acorn.co.uk/

About Optivision
Founded in 1983, Optivision, Inc. is a leading developer of high performance MPEG-2 and MPEG-1 compression and decompression products supporting applications in three distinct areas: MPEG storage encoding systems, video transmission/broadcast systems and video-on-demand/video server systems. The company also custom-develops still image and video compression solutions, as well as photonics-related products, for the government and military markets. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Optivision has an engineering facility in Davis, California, and sales offices in Virginia, Massachusetts, Illinois and the United Kingdom, with distribution throughout Europe, Asia and the Pacific Rim.

The products are available through Optivision's direct sales force, as well as national and regional VARs and system integrators and internationally through distributors. For more information, call 1-800-562-8934 or fax in requests to 415-855-0222. Optivision can also be contacted through its World Wide Web site: http://www.optivision.com.

About Oracle
Oracle Corporation is the world's leading supplier of software for information management, and the world's second largest software company. With annual revenues exceeding $5.2 billion, the company offers its database, tools and application products, along with related consulting, education and support services, in more than 90 countries around the world.

For more information about Oracle, please call 415.506.7000. Oracle's World Wide Web address is (URL) http://www.oracle.com/.

March 10, 1997

Acorn set-top box is on top of the world.
The world's most advanced set-top box is released worldwide.

Acorn has released one of the most advanced set-top boxes in the world, the Acorn STB22. Available worldwide, the STB22 has an ATM25 interface, MPEG2 decode capability, a built in web browser and support for JAVA applications. It is the first in the world to combine these features in one unit. Additionally the STB22 is available with an Ethernet Interface making it one of the most versatile products of its type.

The Acorn STB22 is currently being trialled and evaluated in the USA, Europe and Asia. The STB and associated technology is also available for license from Acorn. It specifically addresses the increasingly demanding requirements of today's interactive services, including interactive video and audio, online banking and shopping services, web-browsing, gaming, education services and multi-casting.

This digital set-top box is intelligent and purpose built for interactive TV, which means it is designed to handle all forms of online media to an extremely high standard. It is equally suitable for corporate, commercial, educational and domestic markets, where delivery of interactive services across intranets and public networks into offices, homes, shops and public places is becoming ever more important. Acorn sees the STB22 being used for a wide variety of applications from PTT trials to Intranet video based applications in the corporate and vertical markets.

Simon Wyatt, Director of Acorn Online Media, a division of Acorn, said, "The STB22 takes us onto another level in the development of interactive technology. Its features give it a significant edge over its competitors, and we believe our box will be the number one set-top product of choice.

Its combination of features, in addition to its low cost/high performance RISC architecture make it pretty hard to beat. We have already had a very positive response to this product, and we expect it to take the market by storm."

The STB22 will be exhibited at CEBIT in March and also at NCTA, NAB and Networld/InterOP.

February 10, 1997

Acorn looks to the stars with new Galileo operating system

Open operating system designed to meet astronomic growth in consumer electronic appliances in the next millennium.

In the US today, Acorn revealed details of its forthcoming next generation operating system. Code-named Galileo, the new 'consumer device' operating system has been designed to run on a range of RISC and CISC processors and introduces what is a new and highly innovative concept in this type of operating system - a guaranteed quality of service. The development of the system is underway and it is planned that early versions for current Acorn customers will be distributed in the second half of 1997.

The new operating system will run alongside Acorn's existing operating system base which is already licensed for use with products such as Internet Appliances, Set Top Boxes, Network Computers, desktop platforms, games systems and digital cameras. Galileo will be available to current and future RISC OS licensees.

The new, innovative quality of service concept guarantees each process the resources (CPU, memory, etc.) they require to ensure reliable operation, regardless of the behaviour of other processes in the system. Once allocated, this service level cannot be interrupted without specific intervention.

Peter Bondar, Divisional Director of Acorn comments: "The new operating system will be another major step forward for Acorn as we continue to set precedents, bringing innovative designs to manufacturers of a wide range of digital products. We are already leading the field in providing high functionality, cost effective designs to a growing number of manufacturers around the world and I expect this to increase over the next few years. The challenge is already on for consumer electronics designers to increase functionality, whilst keeping costs and memory footprints as low as possible and Galileo will be a key element in achieving this. An example of this includes our anti-twitter software which provides very high quality, stable screen display for TV based applications where other manufacturers require hardware."

New families of devices
Galileo can be used across multiple devices from multimedia aware mobile phones to digital interactive set-top boxes. This will allow manufacturers and solution providers to produce compatible 'families' of devices using the same core operating system at substantially reduced cost both in development time and support.

Release schedule
Initial releases will provide an introduction to the innovative modular real time kernel. This will be followed by a series of middle-ware releases and then a series of communications applications including web-browsers, email, news-readers, pagers, fax together with applications allowing direct interaction with a range of consumer devices e.g. TVs, DVD players, digital cameras and PDAs.

Technical notes:

Defined quality of service

Runtime modularity
The Galileo system is highly modular, being composed of many small sharable code modules each with strongly typed interfaces between them. The system can be configured at either build time or dynamically at run time. This supports systems with any mix of ROM, Acorn flashDisplayTM and RAM and ensures longevity of any system deployed as updates can be reliably made in the field over networks.

Small size
The Galileo operating system is ideally suited to semi-embedded systems where small code and data size and yet rich functionality are required, together with the ability to load applications and to extend the functionality beyond that provided at build time.

Rich graphics, coder and network support
The Galileo system provides excellent support for graphics of all forms including anti-aliased outline 16bit fonts, postscript style drawing primitives, and 3D support. Comprehensive support is provided for commonly used audio and video coders used on the internet and in video conferencing systems. The network support is also crucial to the system with support for all relevant IP protocols and physical devices including modem, Ethernet, ISDN and ATM.

February 10, 1997

Acorn's sun rises in Japan

In a move reflecting the growing importance of the Asian markets to Acorn's design and licensing business, the Acorn Computer Group plc (London Stock Exchange:GB0000061167) has today signed MP Technology Inc, Tokyo to act as its Japanese agent. MP Technology has an impressive portfolio in Japanese multimedia and internet technology.

Masuo Yoshimoto, President, MP Technology Inc comments: "We are looking forward to working with Acorn during its entrance into the Japanese marketplace. Acorn is heavily involved in the evolution of internet and multimedia based technology, which the Japanese have already taken to heart. Consequently, there are many companies in the IT and consumer electronics arena here in Asia which are looking for innovative internet appliance designs such as those being developed by Acorn."

Peter Bondar, director of Acorn Risc Technologies, a division of Acorn, adds: "We are delighted to be working with MP Technology as they really are the best in their field and their local expertise will open doors for Acorn in the Japanese market. This is an exciting time for Acorn as we continue to move into new global markets with the tailored design and licensing solutions we offer. Increasingly, this is a business model you will see Acorn follow as we expand our licensing business further into the heartland of the internet appliance manufacturers in the US and Asia." About MP Technology:

Established in 1986, MP Technology Inc is a privately owned company with 35 staff and has worked with some of the world's leading IT companies including IBM, NEC, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Toshiba, Mitsubishi, Samsung, OKI and NTT Data. MP Technology offers a range of services from interactive kiosk systems and CD-ROMs to digital handbooks, screensavers and websites.

Masuo Yoshimoto of MP Technology is Vice Chairman of the Windows Consortium, director of Japan Electronic Press Association and a member of Japan's Personal Computer Association.

MP Technology's home page on the World Wide Web can be accessed at http://www.mptech.co.jp/

January 13, 1997

Acorn Technology Provides Greater Flexibility and Performance for Curtis Mathes New Line of Interactive Television Components.

Curtis Mathes Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:CRTM) announced today that the company's forthcoming line of UniView(tm) interactive television products will utilize an Advanced RISC Machines (ARM) microprocessor originally developed by Acorn Computer Group, PLC, in Cambridge, UK. Acorn's technology is being used in some of the newest consumer and entertainment products being designed for leading manufacturers. This choice is indicative of Curtis Mathes' commitment to providing state of the art electronics.

"By choosing Acorn's RISC-based technologies, we have ensured that our products will perform with the superior graphics and features demanded by today's consumers," said Curtis Mathes CEO Patrick A. Custer. "We are convinced that working with Acorn will allow us to accommodate our need for greater expandability in the future to keep our products on the cutting edge."

Acorn is recognised as a technology leader and is working with major players around the globe. The company has the lowest cost and best power consumption technologies in its market." Custer said. "This, coupled with the wealth of software and hardware expertise, including TV technology, was another major influence in our decision." Peter Bondar, Director of Acorn Risc Technologies, a division of Acorn Computer Group plc said, "This is another example of a major company investing in the use of Acorn technology. Curtis Mathes came to us to provide a range of technologies because they were aware of our flexibility and experience in this market. We were very quickly able to provide a solution for their market requirement proving again Acorn's ability to allow a customer a real-time-to-market advantage."

Curtis Mathes' UniView set-top products plug into any standard TV and provide consumers with a host of useful features including Internet access, TV program listings, VCR programming, parental controls, telephony, e-mail, fax, and caller ID, among others. Initial set-top versions will retail for less than $400; UniView devices will also be integrated into a line of Curtis Mathes premier television sets.

Dallas-based Curtis Mathes is an electronics engineering, design, and marketing company. The Company also specializes in advanced televisions with large electronic display systems, as well as other new technologies.

Acorn Computer Group plc is one of the leading groups of high technology innovators and suppliers in the world. Within the group Acorn has expertise in the development and marketing of advanced technology products, services and licenses which exploit the emerging standards in interactive multimedia, from Internet to broadband digital iTV.

Acorn is a trademark of Acorn Computer Group plc. All other brand names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders, and are hereby acknowledged.

November 8, 1996

Acorn Computer Group Unveils Range of New NC Devices.

SAN FRANCISCO _ November 5, 1996 _ At Oracle Open World '96, The Acorn Computer Group today demonstrated a variety of network computing devices including the Acorn NC, the Office NC, the Set-top Box NC (STB NC), the ExecPhone NC, and the NC TV. The Acorn NC has been shipping since August to organisations who are developing their NC strategies. The Office NC and STB NC are new models being prepared as Reference Designs from Network Computer, Inc. (NCI). The ExecPhone NC and NC TV are working prototypes designed to demonstrate new concepts in network computing.

Acorn has been developing and licensing technology to NCI since January as part of an agreement to develop reference designs for a range of easy-to-use, low cost computing devices based upon open Internet standards. Many of the network computers on display in the NCI pavilion at OpenWorld are based on these Reference Designs.

"As one of our premier partners, Acorn is developing new and innovative NC prototypes," said Jerry Baker, President of Network Computer, Inc. "They've been instrumental in providing cutting edge technology and know-how to the industry that has helped turn the NC into reality."

Acorn NC
The Acorn NC is based on the ARM7500FE, a fully integrated RISC processor, video and I/O controller offering much of the functionality of a network computer on a single chip. The device offers a built-in network interface supporting 33.6kb modem, Ethernet, ISDN or ATM25. Its operating system and software are embedded in ROM to allow Web-browsing, email, word processing and other applications to be performed quickly and easily even though it has neither hard disk nor large amounts of RAM. The Acorn NC includes NC SmartCard support, and comes with either a TV-style remote control handset or a wired keyboard and mouse.

Office NC
The Office NC takes the original NC reference design a step further by providing even more processing power to address corporate needs. The Office NC uses the ultra-fast 200 MHz StrongARM 110 processor, a joint development of ARM Ltd, a sister company of Acorn, and Digital Equipment Corporation. The Office NC is intended to run the wide range of JAVA applications which are now being offered to address corporate productivity needs on the network. The SmartCard allows users to roam between NCs, with their personal data being accessible from each via a secure mapping across the intranet.

STB-NC
The STB-NC, or Set-Top Box NC is capable of displaying quality real-time video from an MPEG 2 data stream. This NC provides an ideal solution for interactive TV applications when attached to a suitable network structure. Capable of running new Java-based applications, providing web browsing and video delivery, the STB-NC addresses a range of digital, interactive TV needs for the consumer and entertainment markets. The SmartCard again gives individual users secure access to their service provider and personal data, and the SmartCard slot opens up opportunities for future micro payment schemes.

ExecPhone NC
By coupling NC technology with the normal desktop phone, the ExecPhone NC concept demonstrator provides an ideal executive workstation. The ExecPhone NC includes all features of the original NC design, including Web browsing, word processing and email, as well as secure access to personal data under SmartCard control and access to other corporate productivity tools and telephone systems.

NC TV
The NC TV prototype shows how NC technology can be applied to the field of consumer electronics. By including the NC design within an existing consumer product, the cost of providing NC technology to the home is reduced even further. Users can explore the web from the comfort of their hotel or living room using a remote handset which includes a full alphanumeric keyset and special function keys designed for web use. Personal data and email can be taken from the office, to the home or a hotel, simply by carrying the SmartCard.

November 1, 1996

Korean Goverment adopt Acorn's technology.

Update:

The Cambridge-based firm's Advanced RISC Technologies division has licensed its operating system software to the Korean Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI). The institute will be using the software in developing a device that integrates a PDA with mobile communications, much like a Nokia Communicator 9000.

This agreement plays an important part in the Korean Government's drive to become one of the leaders in Information Technology of the future. ETRI's mission is to generate new intellectual property for Korea and with this agreement ETRI can use RISC OS in any Acorn approved prototypes.

Dr Cheehang Park, Vice President, Computer Division, ETRI, comments: "Acorn is the world's leading developer of RISC technologies with a long history of innovation. As one of the leaders in the interactive multimedia market place, Acorn was the ideal choice for us to work with."

Peter Bondar, Director, Acorn Risc Technologies division of Acorn Computer Group plc, adds: "This agreement represents Acorn's entrance into the Korean market and moreover it is a major landmark for Acorn's business strategy for technology licensing. Given the importance of Korean companies on the world stage, the partnership with ETRI gives our technology a pre-eminent position in one of our key target markets. In fact this could not have come at a better time, Acorn will be in at the start of the Korean Government's trail blazing initiative to be at the forefront of internet technology thanks to its work with ETRI."

To support Acorn's business growth it has also strengthened its presence in Korea with the appointment of Conhan Co. Ltd as its representative agency. Conhan is an IT product and service organisation, specialising in the multimedia and Internet related sector of the Korean technology marketplace. Conhan have an excellent track record and have built close relationships with the main players in the Korean IT market. The company is managed by the founders, which include Mr In Hoe (Henry) Kim, President and Mr Young Sub (Sam) Kim, Sales and Marketing Director, who were key members of IBM Korea before starting their own business.

Acorn Computer Group plc is one of the leading groups of high technology innovators and suppliers in the world. Within the group Acorn has expertise in the development and marketing of advanced technology products, services and licenses which exploit emerging world standards in interactive multimedia, from Internet to broadband digital iTV.

Acorn's home page on the World Wide Web can be accessed at: http://www.acorn.co.uk/

November 1, 1996

ART's NewsPad is put on trial.

1st November 1996 - The days of soggy newspapers and inky hands could soon be over. Acorn Risc Technologies, part of the Acorn Computer Group plc, Cambridge UK has developed a prototype interactive newspaper - NewsPAD. The EC sponsored OMI-NewsPAD is a portable "multimedia viewer" which could take the place of newsprint.

The NewsPAD is about the size of an A4 sheet of paper and houses a large, high-resolution colour SVGA active matrix LCD panel. As it is fully interactive, a touch panel overlaid on the display controls the system and the user can personalise the content received as if published uniquely for that individual. Ediciones Primera Plana (a Spanish publishing house) is in the process of trialing the concept and spearheading its long-term drive into multimedia news gathering, distribution and feedback.

The NewsPAD is capable of displaying motion video and audio, colour still images, infographics and animated information sequences as well as the more traditional newspaper text and graphics. Also included is provision for an integral microphone and compact colour motion video camera to be built in. The NewsPAD therefore offers its users several additional capabilities over those normally associated with a newspaper - in certain situations it enables readers to become journalists themselves!

Tim Caspell of Acorn Risc Technologies said, "We have taken steps along the road which will change the lives of many hundreds of thousands of people and make an impact on millions of others in the next 25 years. This is because devices such as the NewsPAD will affect the entire time-dependent print media such as magazines and newspapers, and could make them obsolete in years to come. This change is unlike any other in the last 100 years to have affected the paper based technology process. The consumer will have ultimate flexibility and will be able to access information as and when they require it. The relationship between the information supplier and the reader will be turned on its head."

Acorn's home page on the World Wide Web can be accessed at http://www.acorn.co.uk/, where further details of the range of products and technologies can be obtained.

October 26, 1996

Acorn Risc Technologies in a £1 million French Connection.

In January 1997, a major French bank will install the interactive stock exchange monitors in its branches. The public and bank staff will be able to obtain the latest share prices and quotations for buying French shares using a remote control, just like a regular television.

Lorys Tildian, Managing Director, from Acorn's distributor in France, Ashiv, comments: "Using Acorn's technology for this venture will provide a truly interactive service. A well thought-out kiosk approach like this has much in its favour as consumers can get hands-on, real-time information. Kiosk technology will bring speed and accessibility to the public."

Chris Cox, Sales & Marketing Manager, Acorn Risc Technologies, adds: "Applications for Acorn technology and expertise are increasing in number and scope throughout the world. This contract represents an important win for Acorn, recognising that our technology is ideally suited to the delivery of Point of Sale information through the rapidly developing multimedia kiosk market."

This new system, developed by Ashiv, is based on Acorn's 32bit Risc technology and incorporates a teletext receiver which decodes the live information sent in an encrypted format. Information is sent in Acorn's vector graphic format on the teletext lines of a broadcast TV signal.

October 8, 1996

Acorn adds character with help from Bitstream

Acorn has a strong background in the use of outline front systems and pioneered the use of anti-aliased text and anti-twittering code to ensure that even small writing can be displayed on a range of display types from a low resolution monitor, such as a TV set, to high quality displays. Combining their previous work with that of Bitstream, Acorn will gain access to libraries of character fonts including the extensive 16bit Asian font sets.

The Bitstream technology includes a highly compact font format (PFR) that is being increasingly used to transport fonts, and this maps well to Acorn's developments with Network Computers and other multimedia devices such as multimedia kiosks and desktop PC's. This will enable manufacturers all around the world to develop products using Acorn's technologies, knowing that they can quickly adapt these to different markets and still benefit from the ability to scale fonts, display them on TV's and transmit them across networks with minimal overhead.

Andy Martin, business development manager, Bitstream UK, adds: "Acorn is one of the leaders in the information technology market and working with them is beneficial for the development of our technology. Between us we can provide a high quality product range using the best of both companies' technical expertise." Malcolm Bird, Chief Executive, Acorn's Network Computing Division, comments: "Acorn is increasingly working in the world of open standards and we are always looking for emerging technologies that support open communications across multiple platforms. In our quest to supply technology around the world we also need to support a wide variety of character fonts including the 16bit fonts for eastern markets. The Bitstream technology meets our aims and we have been pleased to work with a team who share many of our goals."

This development will widen the accessibility of Acorn's technology across new platforms and will support Acorn's plans to ensure its operating system will, in time become widely used in embedded systems."

Understanding Bitstream's Type Technologies: Bitstream's TrueDoc Imaging Technology is the latest in Bitstream's 15-plus years of experience in the digital type industry. Originally designed for compressing and transporting formatted text across networks and the Internet, Bitstream's TrueDoc technology is an optimal solution for embedded systems due to its small size and high quality. TrueDoc consists of three components. TrueDoc's character shape recorder (CSR, approximately 55K) records character shapes during the creation of a document, stores the character shapes in an easily transportable and highly compressed data structure known as the portable font resource (PFR) and then TrueDoc's character shape player (CSP) recreates the characters on demand when the document is viewed. The CSP (approximately 45K) also offers full 16 bit character support and various output modules including greyscaling.

About Bitstream Inc. Bitstream is a leading developer of graphical and imaging communication software solutions. Bitstream licenses type libraries and font technology to hundreds of hardware and software developers worldwide. Headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. USA, Bitstream licenses its products and technologies directly through subsidaries, business agents and distributors in the US, Europe and the Pacific Rim. For more information, contact Bitstream at 617-497-6222 or visit the home page on the world wide web at http://WWW.bitstream.com.

2nd October 1996

NAVIS TECHNOLOGIES Ltd. Announces Selection to Supply Infrared Pointing Technologies for Network Computer.

NAVIS TECHNOLOGIES Ltd. Announces Selection to Supply Infrared Pointing Technologies for Network Computer

BURLINGTON, VT, October 2, 1996 _ Navis_ Technologies Ltd., a developer of infrared remote control devices, announced today that the company has been selected by Acorn Computer Group plc to supply infrared peripherals for the Network Computer (NC) reference design. Acorn Computer Group plc has been designated by Oracle, the world's largest supplier of database software, to design the hardware for the Network Computer.

The NC is Oracle's implementations of the NC Reference Profile that has been defined by Oracle in partnership with Apple, Netscape and SUN. It is based on open Internet standards and provides an easy-to-use, low-cost approach to accessing the Internet and corporate intranets. For many NC applications, remote control via infrared offers a convenient method of operation.

Navis_ Infrared Technology enables an explosion of point-and-click software for the NC as the desktop mouse did for PCs a decade ago. Working with Acorn and SolutioNet, an IR system has been defined that supports both uni-directional and bi-directional IR communication. The IR system also supports multiple peripheral devices per NC and allows many NCs to operate in one room. Finally, the low power consumption of IR protocol combined with touch sensitive operation allow Navis_ infrared devices to seamlessly provide a user-friendly interface with a variety of applications for the home, office, or classroom.

Malcolm Bird, chief executive of Acorn Network Computing division explains: "There are very few companies around that understand the diverse and demanding requirements placed on an IR product for use in applications like the NC. Several companies and standard organizations are discussing such IR solutions but Navis and SolutioNet were prepared and are capable of actually doing it!"

John Varsames, president of Navis_ Technologies, envisages the NC as a device that can eliminate many of the barriers of entry that are perceived by the computer-averse population as well as providing low-cost information technology to businesses, schools, and households. "The NC has the potential of exposing millions of people to the robust, exciting technology of today at a low cost and at a high level of user friendliness. It also provides an excellent solution to those individuals and businesses that are concerned with software obsolescence."

Navis_ Technologies Ltd., a privately held corporation, aims to be the premier supplier of cursor control peripherals and IR subsystems to the rapidly growing market of Internet-based applications. These applications range from PC/TV web browsers to interactive TV set-top box appliances.

19th September 1996

Digital ART in partnership with Casio.

Acorn RISC Technologies (ART) have made their first move into the digital camera arena. They have recently been commissioned by Casio to manufacture an image handling and rendering package that enables Casio's new digital camera to interact with RISC OS computers in a similar manner to that available for PC and Mac platforms, but taking advantage of the unique capabilities of the RISC OS system. ART are also in discussion with Casio about the incorporation of imaging technology within the other domains and how their new partnership can be fully utilised to take advantage of this rapidly increasing market.

The partnership is particularly significant for web page creation. Using ART's software, downloaded images taken using the digital camera can be easily transferred onto the web.

The digital imaging marketplace is a key area for ART's technologies, and Casio, a worldwide leader in digital camera technology, produce many multimedia products that could benefit from ART's software skills. There is a large market force for portable high performance products such as videophones, PDA's and navigation systems presenting tremendous opportunities for the combination of ART's computing and Casio's consumer based applications. Casio's imaging techniques in particular promise some exciting products for the future.

Casio's National Sales Manager, Geoff Durrant said, "This agreement with ART is a crucial progression for our digital imaging business. The demand for new and improved digital products is incredible, and is one of the key areas we are looking develop. ART are at the forefront of development in a number of areas of technology, and when our skills are combined with theirs, the possibilities are endless. We are looking forward to working closely with them in the future."

Peter Bondar, Director of ART, said, "The potential of our partnership with Casio is enormous. Our fields of expertise are very compatible and our established marketplaces compliment each other perfectly, giving us both the chance to expand our horizons. We're working on some extremely interesting projects at the moment and expect to make some new announcements later on in the year."

This recent agreement also gives ART exclusive rights to exploit Casio's digital camera in the RISC OS market place and their educational customers operating with the RISC OS platform.

Acorn's home page on the World Wide Web can be accessed at http://www.acorn.co.uk/, where further details of the range of products and technologies can be obtained.

Acorn and the Acorn device, Acorn Online Media and the Om device. Acorn RISC Technologies and the ART device, and Acorn Network Computing are trademarks of Acorn Computer Group plc. All other brand names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders, and are hereby acknowledged.