Dan Bricklin's TimeLOCK New from Lifeboat Publishing; Creates Fully-Functional 'TimeLOCKed' versions of Windows Software.

SHREWSBURY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 27, 1995--Dan Bricklin's(R) TimeLOCK(R), the first commercially avail-able developer's toolkit that creates fully-functional timeLOCKed(TM) versions of Windows(R) software, is new from Lifeboat(R) Publishing, a division of Programmer's Paradise(R), Inc. (NASDAQ: PROG).

"Since the arrival of commercially available software in the late 1970s, software vendors have needed a toolkit with the security and the ease-of-use offered by TimeLOCK," said Dan Bricklin, the legendary computer industry pioneer and inventor of the electronic spreadsheet. "They have longed for a way to demonstrate their wares while safeguarding their products. Now, with TimeLOCK, their prayers have been answered, and their profits have finally been protected.

"TimeLOCK opens the door for developers to new distribution channels, including the World Wide Web and popular on-line services," Bricklin added. "And it lets them create and distribute trialware with the knowledge that it will function as it was designed to, and that it can be converted to full-time operation ("unTimeLOCKing") only when the user pays for a license."

Lifeboat acquired the worldwide publishing and distribution rights to TimeLOCK from its developer, DynaSoft Publishing Corp. of Riverside, California, to make it part of its Dan Bricklin's suite of high quality developer's tools, including Dan Bricklin's demo-it!(TM), which simplifies creation of small, active and freely-distributed demos of Windows and Windows 95 products and services, and Dan Bricklin's DEMO II(TM), the leading rapid prototyping tool for DOS. It is available immediately from Lifeboat-authorized dealers and through Programmer's Paradise catalogs in the U.S., Canada, France, Germany/Austria, Italy, and the U.K.

Meeting Users' Needs, Protecting Publishers' Profits.

"TimeLOCK was designed to meet the needs of users while protecting publishers' profits," said Karl Hirsch, president of DynaSoft. "Today's users demand try-before-you-buy access to software, whether purchasing from a software superstore or downloading a demo or a crippled version from the Internet or an on-line service. Industry figures show publishers spend $5000 to $25,000 -- plus valuable weeks of development time -- trying to write code that shows off their product's capabilities while still protecting their investment. Now, TimeLOCK gives them a fully-functional trialware version in minutes with a single line of code for less than $500."

TimeLOCKed versions are ideal for sales lead fulfillment, direct mail promotions and online distribution. Trialware produced with TimeLOCK automatically can prompt the user for registration information, which is valuable to the publisher, and then lock the software with a unique time-based code. Users can run the application in its entirety, or in any version a vendor chooses, for the time period specified by the publisher.

How TimeLOCK Works

Publishers can choose/set the TimeLOCK period for as short or as long as desired -- a few days, a month, or more, or by the number of hours the trialware may be run. With a single function call, TimeLOCK transforms vendor code into a fully-functional TimeLOCKed version. When the user runs the application for the first time, the publisher-set period for evaluation begins. Each time the application is launched, a publisher-customizable pop-up window reminds the user of the evaluation time remaining, and provides vendor input on how to purchase the software by calling or E-Mailing the vendor or the on-line reseller for the deactivation key. Using the simple TimeLOCK KeyCode Module, the sales staff can immediately provide that customer's unique unlocking key.

Included with TimeLOCK are .INI files with suggested text for the user dialog boxes. "The only changes a vendor needs to make are the name of the product and contact instructions," Hirsch said. "The user never sees the TimeLOCK name. Only vendor-related information appears anywhere within the application.

"If a user wants more time to evaluate the application, the vendor can reset TimeLOCK," he added. "Each unLOCK key code is unique, and once used to reset the application, it's no longer functional. The chance of the same key code working twice with the same application is like finding a needle in a haystack!" Hirsch said vendors can determine how fully-functional they want their trialware to be, and can completely or partially disable specific parts of the product, or even TimeLOCK particular functions.

TimeLOCK's Role in the Launch of ASAP 

Prior to its commercial introduction, Dan Bricklin's TimeLOCK played a key role in the highly successful and innovative launch of ASAP(R), the intelligent presentation and report application developed by Software Publishing Corporation of Santa Clara, California. "We distributed many thousands of trialware versions of ASAP via the Internet, Compuserve(R), other on-line services, and even directly to customers using TimeLOCK to protect our product and our investment," said Dan Fraisl, the company's vice president of research and development. "We're totally satisfied that TimeLOCK has delivered as promised, and we're anxious to continue to use it to create trialware for other new products."

Widespread Platform Support

TimeLOCK supports popular Windows development environments, including Microsoft(R) Visual Basic(R), Microsoft C++, Borland(R) C++, Borland Delphi(R), PowerBuilder(R), and operates in Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups(R), Windows NT(TM) and Windows 95. The TimeLOCK system includes a royalty-free DLL and the exclusive TimeLOCK KeyCode Module. TimeLOCK is available for $495 from Lifeboat-authorized dealers and Programmer's Paradise catalogs. Site licensing pricing is also available.

For additional information, contact: Tom DeGarmo, Lifeboat Publishing, 1163 Shrewsbury Avenue, Shrewsbury, NJ 07702; telephone [phone]. -0-

Lifeboat Publishing is a division of Programmer's Paradise, Inc. (NASDAQ: PROG), the world's leading distributor and reseller of technical PC software. Current titles from Lifeboat include Dan Bricklin's Demo II, the leading DOS prototyping tool, Simple Software's WinWidgets, and Media Cybernetics' HALO Visual Image and HALO(R) Imaging Library. The Programmer's Paradise Catalog Division markets development tools for Windows, Windows NT and OS/2(R) directly to users through catalogs in the U.S. and Europe, and through mini-catalog inserts in leading publications. Through the third quarter of fiscal 1995 ending September 30, Programmer's Paradise reported revenues of $66.5 million, up 42% over the same period of the previous year.

Lifeboat and Programmer's Paradise are registered trademarks, and demo-it! and Demo II are trademarks of Programmer's Paradise, Inc. Dan Bricklin's is a registered trademark of Daniel S. Bricklin. Other trademarks are properties of their owners.

CONTACT: Tom DeGarmo - Lifeboat Publishing (908-389-8950, X265)

or

Dan Bricklin - Software Garden (617-332-2240)

or

Karl Hirsch - DynaSoft Publishing Corp. (909-780-1508)

or

David A. Kaminer - The Kaminer Group (914-332-4114)