Curl Corporation Announces Surge-TM- 1.1 Software Environment.

Business/Technology Editors

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 9, 2001

Enhancements to Groundbreaking Web Development Platform Include

Support for Web Services, Backward Compatibility 

and Superior Browser Integration

Curl Corporation continues to raise the bar in developing next-generation Web applications. The company today announced the immediate availability of the Surge(TM) 1.1 software environment, the new release of its landmark software. Curl's software technology is considered by many in the international business community to be the most important development since the creation of the Web.

Robert A. Young, chairman and chief executive officer of Curl, said: "Surge(TM) 1.1 demonstrates our continued commitment to providing developers, Web content providers and creators of e-commerce sites the technology to develop and deploy the new breed of Web applications."

The Surge(TM) 1.1 software environment is based on the Curl(TM) content language that uniquely combines - in a single platform - key technologies including text formatting and layout, scripting, rich 2-D and 3-D graphics, networking connectivity including HTTP and SOAP, and a full object-oriented programming language. Developers worldwide use Curl technology to build and deploy highly interactive, extensible client-side Web applications and applets that deliver a dramatically faster, richer Internet experience.

Improved networking support in the 1.1 release puts the Surge(TM) software environment at the forefront of the Web services revolution. As the premier client-side platform for delivering Web applications, Curl(TM) technology allows developers to create dynamic user interfaces which can communicate real-time with their back-end Web services implementation.

The performance gains in the Surge(TM) 1.1 software environment include improvements to Curl's rendering technology, enabling crisp text displayed in a variety of graphical environments. The new release also offers several enhancements for rendering graphical containers, 2-D shapes and off-screen drawables. The Surge(TM) 1.1 software environment boasts more robust performance by reducing the cold startup time for the Surge(TM) plug-in.

Additional Surge(TM) 1.1 software environment enhancements include:

-- Backward compatibility - Users who install the Surge(TM) 1.1 software environment can run content written for prior versions. The Surge(TM) 1.1 software environment contains patent-pending configuration and versioning technology that enables content built with any version of the Curl(TM) content language to be executed.

-- GUI improvements - The Surge(TM) 1.1 software environment greatly enhances forms capability. It allows multi-line text entry in applets written in the Curl(TM) content language through a new TextArea control in the GUI toolkit.

-- Browser integration - Plug-in implementation allows better printing and menu control. Curl has converted its browser plug-in implementation for Microsoft(R) Internet Explorer (IE) to an ActiveDoc. This allows the Curl engine to interact more closely with the browser, and offers more control over the browser environment. Users have improved access to printing content written in the Curl(TM) content language from the browser, and superior control over the browser menu.

-- Improved I/O - The Surge(TM) 1.1 software environment expands access to both request and response HTTP headers. This allows the creation of distributed applications using emerging standards such as SOAP. It also offers improved image download (asynchronous loading). Multiple asynchronous connections can be opened at the same time, which improves download efficiency by allowing the plug-in to download multiple images simultaneously.

-- Third party image loading - Curl(TM) technology makes the interface more secure for end users. It uses a patent-pending opaque image interface to allow an unprivileged applet to access third party images. The applet can display an image without having access to the actual bytes that comprise the pictures.

-- Support for very large/precise numbers - The new release fully implements the Int64 and Double data types for greater precision or very large numbers.

In addition, Curl announced performance improvements to the Surge Lab(TM) Integrated Development Environment (IDE), as well as the ability to run content from the Web browser.

Availability

The Surge(TM) 1.1 software environment, which includes the Surge(TM) browser plug-in and the Curl(TM) content language, is available immediately for Microsoft(R) Windows(R) operating systems (Windows(R) 95/98, Windows NT(R), Windows(R) ME and Windows(R) 2000). Support for other platforms will be announced later this year. The Surge(TM) 1.1 software environment supports Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher and Netscape(R) Communicator 4.x or higher. The Surge(TM) software environment Version 1.0 and Version 1.1 are available at no charge to end users or developers. Curl charges for commercial usage of its technology based on the total volume of Curl content executed. For more information, call 617-761-1200 or visit www.curl.com.

About Curl Corporation

Curl Corporation enables Web content providers, creators of e-commerce sites and programmers to develop and deploy next-generation Web pages and applications by providing full application-level functionality and a substantially richer, more interactive user experience. Curl's client-side processing capability significantly boosts performance and dramatically improves the online experience for conducting business, supporting e-commerce and enhancing entertainment. The Curl technology substantially reduces file sizes typically associated with rich media. This allows for faster downloads at a cost lower than standard Web content delivery. Curl, located in Cambridge, Mass., was founded by a team of internationally renowned computer scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. For more information, visit www.curl.com.

Curl, Surge and Surge Lab are trademarks of Curl Corporation. Microsoft, Windows, and Windows NT are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Netscape is a registered trademark of Netscape Communications Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks appearing in this news release are the property of their respective owners.