IMSI Targets AutoCAD With Release of TurboCAD Version Seven; New Software Release Includes More Than 75 Improvements.

Business Editors and High-Tech Writers

NOVATO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 4, 2001

IMSI(R) (OTCBB:IMSI), owner of TurboCAD.com, ArtToday.com, Design.NET and developer of visual content, design, and graphics software, Thursday announced a major upgrade of their flagship product, TurboCAD(R).

This upgrade marks a new standard in computer-aided design (CAD) for the professional and home user including State-of-the-Art Rendering, Complete 3D Modeling with Shelling and Lofting, AutoCAD(R) 2000i File Sharing, Internet Capability and New Courseware.

With more than 75 improvements and new features, TurboCAD v7 is the single largest upgrade to the software in its history and brings TurboCAD to the forefront of integrated 2D and 3D desktop CAD. The new TurboCAD v7 is completely customizable and Microsoft(R) Office compatible.

With more than a million copies of the TurboCAD product line sold to date, IMSI expects this upgrade to delight existing users and increase its market share among new users in the mechanical, architectural and design communities.

TurboCAD v7 and TurboCAD v7 Professional's comprehensive feature list rivals AutoCAD(R) 2000 and surpasses AutoCAD 2000LT(R) in depth and power.

"TurboCAD v7 delivers better CAD functionality with a more intuitive, easy-to-use interface at a fraction of the price of competitive products like AutoCAD," said Geoff Koblick, president and CEO of IMSI. "Our users told us what they wanted in a CAD product and we listened."

"With TurboCAD v7, I can render photo-realistic 3D scenes of houses, machines, electronic products and anything else I can imagine," said user Edward Gardner of GEM Designs. "AutoCAD users should port their drawings into TurboCAD and then buy two new workstations with the money they saved."

TurboCAD v7 Professional's 3D Modeling and Rendering engine incorporates Spatial Technology's(R) ACIS 5.3 solid modeling kernel. The new Shelling tool will allow the creation of shells to the inside or outside of ACIS based 3D models, while the sophisticated new Lofting tool allows multiple profiles to create complex 3D objects using NURBS.

Both TurboCAD v7 and TurboCAD v7 Professional deliver additional rendering improvements including Hidden Line Rendering in Perspective (HLRP). This rendering capability can clip objects behind the camera and light objects with properties such as ambient, point, directional and spot light that can be part of groups or blocks of light objects requiring changes in one quick step.

TurboCAD v7 provides users LightWorks photo-realistic technology for superb visualization of 3D objects and includes support for acceleration cards.

"TurboCAD has broken through the barrier of cutting edge software at a price point that is aimed to attract both novices and engineers," said TurboCAD user John Berg of Berg Refrigeration.

"This combination of the award-winning FloorPlan3D (PC Magazine Editor's Choice) and TurboCAD (PC Direct Editor's Choice) is set to revolutionize the home design software market in that everyone will be able to quickly create a professional-looking house plan with ease," said Rob Berry, director of CAD development at IMSI.

Going back to its roots, the new and improved drafting features in TurboCAD v7 are unrivaled. The product now includes new "attachable" Camera Objects that allow the definition of a precise view of 2D and 3D models, and as the attached camera moves, so does the view.

New dimensioning features include dual units in one dimension, geometric tolerancing and surface roughness options from pull-down menus, multiple dimension units on one drawing and user-defined text strings.

Additional enhancements include support for Multiple Paper Space, allowing for multiple independent pages per drawing, Regions for creating "island" profiles, Floating and Shaped Viewports with shape changes and editing on-the-fly, and a host of new Snap tools, Drawing Construction tools, and single-click Property Palettes.

Another new development in TurboCAD v7 is the new FloorPlan Bridge which allows users to create a house or other complex floor plan in FloorPlan(R)3D, then import it directly into TurboCAD and automatically create dimensioned plan and elevation views with hidden lines, door and window schedules, roofs, foundations and more.

TurboCAD v7 continues to integrate Web browsing technology, linking users to dynamic content via the Internet. TurboCAD users are very active in their participation in the TurboCAD user group on the TurboCAD.com Web site.

"The user group is a very real factor in the continued success of TurboCAD. The insight, suggestions and camaraderie from the users are what makes TurboCAD the product it now is," said Berry.

TurboCAD v7's new "Publish to HTML" and "Save As JPG" tools allow users to automatically create HTML pages for Web publishing with a choice of format: JPG, DWF or 3D VRML.

In addition, TurboCAD v7 allows users to access millions of drawings available on the Internet, create symbol libraries, and share drawings with other CAD products by utilizing the new AutoCAD(R) 2000i DWG/DXF File Sharing feature using the OpenDWG Alliance toolkit.

IMSI is one of the founding members of the OpenDWG Alliance, an alliance of vendors and users committed to the promotion of the DWG drawing file format as an open industry standard for the exchange of CAD drawings.

As with previous versions, TurboCADv7 Professional's programming and development tools include a comprehensive Software Development Kit (SDK) and full support for Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).

In addition to its historical business developing award-winning design software, IMSI owns and operates two Internet businesses -- ArtToday.com and Design.NET. ArtToday.com, is a wholly owned subsidiary of IMSI and offers 1 million images, photos, fonts and other digital content over the Internet. Design.NET's charter is to offer home design online with 3D viewing and editing.

The company is drawing on its graphics software development experience and technology gained over the last 15 years while developing the company's award-winning TurboCAD and FloorPlan3D home design software.

IMSI is a registered trademark of International Microcomputer Software Inc. All other products are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors including the ability of the company to successfully commercialize its new technologies as well as risk factors set forth under "Factors Affecting Future Operating Results" in the company's annual report on Form 10-K and such other risks detailed from time to time in the company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements, which may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.