Fatbrain.com to Offer Silicon Valley Fundraiser's `Digital Cookbook' via Revolutionary eMatter Online Publishing Solution.

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 30, 1999--

Cookin' on the Net Fundraiser Aims to Help Provide Low-Income

Communities with Access to Technology

Fatbrain.com(TM) (Nasdaq:FATB), the Internet's most comprehensive bookstore for professionals, today announced it will offer online fundraiser Cookin' on the Net's world-class "digital cookbook" via its revolutionary eMatter secure digital publishing initiative. The six-week online fundraising campaign is designed to help bridge the gap between those who are empowered by access to technology and those who are not. eMatter is the first secure digital publishing channel to allow authors and publishers to publish and sell works online.

Cookin' on the Net's digital cookbook contains recipes contributed from star chefs from 10 cities around the country and will be available for digital download at http://www.fatbrain.com/ematter for a donation of $10. All digital cookbook donations will be forwarded by Cookin' on the Net to the Community Technology Centers Network (CTN), a non-profit organization with over 300 centers around the country that further technology education and acquisition for children and adults. The fundraiser runs from November 16 through December 25, 1999.

"The Internet has been crucial in drawing ideas and cultures together," said Judy Kirkpatrick, vice president and general manager of eMatter at Fatbrain.com. "The trouble is, those who have not been able to afford computers or don't have Internet access in their communities are being left out. Fatbrain.com is happy to help Cookin' on the Net bridge the gap between the technical 'haves' and 'have-nots' across the country."

"eMatter is a groundbreaking initiative and an excellent distribution channel for the digital cookbook," said Chip Hall, founder of Cookin' on the Net. "We are pleased that a company as reputable and revolutionary as Fatbrain.com is jumping on-board to help further awareness and raise funds for the non-profit organizations that provide access and training for underprivileged children and families."

The digital cookbook is also available from http://www.cooknet.org.

About eMatter

The eMatter program offers authors flexible publishing options and royalties of at least 50 percent on every copy sold. eMatter combines newly developed digital rights technologies with Fatbrain.com's established community of customers to provide the first-ever secure publishing channel for the exchange of information between writers and readers everywhere. To secure eMatter documents, Fatbrain.com has developed new patent-pending secure digital rights technologies to protect the ownership rights of the document in Windows versions of Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). eMatter documents are expected to be available in Macintosh and UNIX versions in early 2000. Downloaded eMatter files have a persistent security wrapper that ensures that content is protected even if it is redistributed; only users who have purchased the eMatter file will be able to read it. If a copy of the eMatter file is opened on a different computer, the new reader is offered the option to purchase the work.

About Fatbrain.com

Fatbrain.com, the Internet's most comprehensive bookstore for professionals, is the first e-commerce provider to deliver secure digital publishing through its eMatter initiative. Recently named the number two fastest-growing public company in Silicon Valley, Fatbrain.com offers a world-class selection of books, training materials and documentation for professionals in business and finance, technology and other industries. Through its corporate intranet bookstore program, Fatbrain.com is accessible from the desktops of more than 1.75 million employees at customer sites. Fatbrain.com offers discounts of up to 40 percent, and all in-stock orders placed by 4 PM PST ship the same business day. Visit Fatbrain.com on the Web at http://www.fatbrain.com.

Note to Editors: Fatbrain.com and eMatter are trademarks of Fatbrain.com, Inc. All company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.