Bill Gates, Founder of Corbis and Chairman & CEO of Microsoft, Addresses 'Imaging and the Internet' at ImageScape '99.

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 16, 1999--

Vision of a Consumer Digital Imaging Market Realized; Images Become

Part of Daily Life; Corbis' New Consumer Offerings Unveiled

Simultaneously

In his keynote breakfast today at ImageScape '99 to approximately 500 high-tech business and consumer journalists, Bill Gates, founder of Corbis and chairman & CEO of Microsoft, celebrated the proliferation of visual content usage by consumers and the explosion of the digital era.

Gates explained how digital images have quickly become a part of consumers' daily lives, with consumer acceptance of the Internet and such image applications as personal web pages, business presentations, family photo scrapbooks, e-cards, digital cameras, home scanners and digital printers.

"The vision is being realized," said Bill Gates, founder of Corbis. "The vision Corbis set forth ten years ago is now coming true. Many technology companies are joining Corbis, realizing the potential for consumers to have access to visual content."

Continuing the Vision

Gates talked about significant strides that have been made, but he felt that there is still plenty of work that needs to be done. He highlighted that major technology firms need to embrace hardware and software that allow better access to visual content, as visual content will become a more integrated part of daily life for their customers. Addressing the audience, Gates asked journalists and key business leaders in the imaging market, such as Kodak, Agfa, Digital Intelligence and Hewlett-Packard, to visualize the future penetration of visual content in the home and in the office much as they do now with the mass acceptance of music and the radio.

"Like music, consumers will have a choice in what content they want to see at any given time and place," said Gates. "Consumers can tune into art, history, or nature and target high-resolution screens on the refrigerator, in the living room, or anywhere else in the home for viewing."

On topic of consumer proliferation for visual content, Gates discussed other factors such as creating database technologies that allow easier consumer access, developing technologies that enhance the viewing of and interaction with images, and making available higher-quality hardware and software at consumer price points. He further added that businesses must utilize these kinds of technologies for their future success.

"Businesses in this industry must embrace imaging technology for consumer use in order to be part of the digital era," said Gates. "Corbis is already doing this, through its database technologies, protection of intellectual property rights, digitization of its content, and watermarking efforts."

Corbis.com Introduces New Suite of Products

In related news, Corbis (www.corbis.com), today unveiled the introduction of "The Corbis Picture Experience," a suite of personalized image products for consumers. With the aid of the Internet's most sophisticated image search tools, visitors to Corbis.com can easily find the pictures they need to create an array of personalized products -- ranging from screensavers to high-quality photographic prints, all at affordable prices. Highlighted in today's launch is The Living Lens, a new revolving gallery of limited-edition prints of the finest images in the Corbis Collection.

About Corbis

Corbis is the leading provider of visual content and services to creative professionals and consumers through innovative digital technologies. The Corbis Collection -- more than 65 million images, with more than 2.1 million available online -- contains the world's most significant photography and fine art from more than 1500 creative sources, including Ansel Adams and the Bettmann Collection as well as leading celebrity, commercial and news photographers.

Corbis, with over 850 employees worldwide, is a privately-owned company based in Seattle, with offices in New York, London, Los Angeles, and Paris. For more information about Corbis and its products and services, call 800/260-0444, 425/641-4505, fax [phone], or visit the Web site at www.corbis.com.

Note to Editors: Corbis is either a registered trademark or trademark of Corbis Corporation in the United States and other countries.