40% Price Reduction on Applica U2, A "Zero-Client", Multi-user System for Windows 95/98; Rapid Growth of Market Fuels Cost Reduction.

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 8, 1999-- Concurrent Controls, creator of Applica multi-user products for the Windows operating system, today announced a substantial 40% price reduction for its popular Applica U2 as a result of increased sales.

The Applica U2 package is the first and only Windows-based, "zero client" system for Windows 95 and 98. Applica U2 provides all the hardware and software necessary to add a second Windows desktop to any existing PC. The new estimated street price for Applica U2 is $149.00.

Applica U2 provides consumers and small businesses with a simple, extremely cost-effective way to double the computing access to each of their high-powered PCs. It can be used as an adjunct or alternative to a corporate Local Area Network, and extends the powerful yet underutilized multitasking capabilities of Windows 95 and 98. Using Applica U2 and the multi-user capabilities built into Netscape Navigator and Microsoft's Internet Explorer, two or more users can now surf the Internet simultaneously using only one modem, one phone line and one Internet connection through an Internet Service Provider.

"We're able to reduce the price of Applica U2 significantly as the direct result of increased sales of the product," said Dawn DeBruyn, president of Concurrent Controls. "The rapid uptake of Applica U2 by families, educational institutions and businesses demonstrates the need for a low-cost computing solution. Today's PCs can easily power desktops for two or more people and eliminate the bottleneck for PC time in many homes, schools and offices.

With Pentium-class CPUs running one hundred million or more instructions per second, a vast majority of the computer's processing power is wasted. Applica technology harnesses this power and allocates the available resources between two or more users.

Homes, schools and offices can achieve dramatic cost savings by using Applica U2. It is now practical to share peripherals, such as a printer, CD-ROM, DVD, modem, or hard disk instead of purchasing additional peripherals for an additional system. There is no need to install a second or third phone line or pay monthly charges for those extra lines. Setting up a second workstation with Applica U2 is very simple, requires no networking expertise, and requires less than fifteen minutes.

The Applica U2 adds a single user and includes a Plug & Play multi-display card and connector box (the user supplies a standard monitor, mouse and keyboard) combined with the Applica multi-user software. Applica WorkGroup is an industrial strength product that adds clusters of two to four users with extended distance and local peripherals.

About Applica Zero Client Technology

Applica "zero-client" technology was released in 1997, and is the first zero-client multi-user software to be announced for Windows 95/98 and Windows NT (Terminal Server Edition). Zero-client technology allows multiple users to connect additional user stations--each based on standard, off-the-shelf monitors, keyboards and pointing devices--to a Windows PC, and share data and system resources at full-motion video bus speeds, up to 64 mbs, displaying up to 60 frames per second. This technology provides significantly higher performance than any PC-based home network or thin-client solution, and reduces the total cost of systems ownership.

About Concurrent Controls

Concurrent Controls, Inc., was founded in 1986 and is the world's largest privately held provider in the development and delivery of high performance, flexible multi-user operating system technology. With an installed base of more than 250,000 users of their Windows and DOS based products, Concurrent Controls operating systems are used in a wide range of environments, including office automation, manufacturing, POS, process control and corporate.

Concurrent Controls is located at 349 Allerton Ave, S. San Francisco CA 94080. Contact by phone at [phone] or [phone]; fax [phone], or visit the website at www.applica.com.