NCD announces industry's easiest touse Internet Access and Navigation Tool; Single application and familiar windows file manager provides one interface to all Internet resources.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 13, 1995--Network Computing Devices Inc. (NASDAQ:NCDI) Monday announced Mariner, an easy- to-use Microsoft Windows-based Internet tool which enables users to use one application to access all information sources on the Internet.

Unlike other Internet products which package a group of applications, Mariner provides a unified user interface to all Internet services and protocols, including World Wide Web (WWW), Electronic Mail (send and receive), Net News, Internet Relay Chat (IRC), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Gopher, and Telnet. The result is an exceptionally simple, powerful environment where users learn one application, not many.

This enables them to concentrate on using the information and resources found on the Internet, rather than how to find those resources. NCD's Mariner is distinguished from all other Internet offerings in that it is the first to use the familiar Windows File Manager paradigm to offer superior file management and dynamic mapping capabilities. It also supports off-line operation and optimizes performance for dial-up and corporate LAN environments.

"The Internet is quickly becoming the standard way to communicate, present information and conduct commerce electronically," said Mike Harrigan, co-founder of NCD and vice president of Internet Technologies. "Yet it is our belief that in order to achieve mass acceptance, the user needs to be shielded from the intricacies of the Internet.

"By unifying all of the Internet applications, services and protocols into one package, and incorporating our advanced navigation technology, Mariner makes it easy for new users to quickly begin using the Internet while providing enormous power for experienced users."

Easiest way to manage all Internet information

Mariner is the only Internet client which uses a Windows File Manager-like user interface to provide a consistent way to present, manage, structure and record all Internet information. Using OLE 2.0 drag and drop functionality, Mariner makes it easy for users to incorporate information from anywhere on the Internet into their own personal subject folders as well as other applications.

For example, a user can develop a "sports folder" which includes E-mail messages from friends, stats from the WWW, analysis from Newsgroups, and historical records from Gopher sites all in one folder. In addition, NCD's unique navigation tool dynamically creates a map of the user's travels through the Internet, then stores that information on a local disk drive.

The user can go back later and in a single click, re-trace his steps and get updated information. No other application provides the ability to incorporate all types of Internet information into a single subject folder or provides this dynamic mapping capability.

First Internet client to operate "off-line"

Mariner is also the only integrated Internet client that can operate "off-line." Its persistent cache technology records items on a local disk so E-mail messages, documents, newsgroups and other information sources can be viewed and worked on off-line -- eliminating the need to be "plugged in" continually. This same technology enables practically instant response when subsequent requests are made for information. When Mariner is back "on-line," it can check the dates of the marked documents and update them with the most recent versions available.

Designed for high performance

NCD's Mariner is built around a multi-tasking architecture which allows many activities to be performed simultaneously. Thus users can record and explore multiple web sites, send and receive E-mail, and read Net News, all at the same time. Mariner also supports dynamic rendering of images, which means the user can be reading the HTML text and navigating to other hyperlinked documents, while the images are being retrieved.

The Windows File Manager paradigm and persistent caching capabilities dramatically speed up navigation in dial-up and corporate LAN environments. The combination of these capabilities makes Mariner one of the fastest products on the market.

TCP/IP stack incorporated in unified package

Mariner includes everything needed to begin using the Internet in one comprehensive package, including a complete Winsock VxD TCP/IP protocol stack with PPP, SLIP, CSLIP, and Ethernet drivers; support for all Internet services and protocols; and support for common in-line image formats such as GIF 89A, JPEG, BMP, and XBM.

Security

NCD will provide an Open Secure Transaction Architecture that will support multiple security implementations, including Secure Hyper Text Transport Protocol (SHTTP) and other emerging standards.

Using Mariner to build new class of Internet-enabled applications

Perhaps one of the most exciting aspects of NCD's new product is that it provides a platform for building a new class of Internet-enables applications. Instead of using proprietary services, protocols and networks, these news applications will use the standard protocols and services of the Internet to solve both corporate and consumer networking issues using a client/server model.

"We believe that in the very near future application developers will want to combine the information and computing power available on a local PC with the information and computing power of remote servers via the Internet," said Harrigan. "These Internet-enabled applications will do everything from dynamically updating stock portfolios to providing information for CD-based multimedia games.

"By combining all the required Internet services and protocols into one highly unified package, and providing an object-oriented architecture, Mariner is uniquely suited to facilitate the development of these new applications."

NCD will significantly simplify the development of these applications by delivering an Internet-enabled toolkit, which developers can use to build their applications. This toolkit will include APIs for access to Mariner's services and applications, as well as access to the other unique capabilities, such as persistent cache and off-line operation.

Price/availability

Mariner runs under Windows 3.1, Windows for WorkGroups 3.11 and Windows NT. It will be available in late June through NCD resellers or directly from NCD. A special introductory price of $99, which includes a full TCP/IP stack, will be offered through Sept. 30, 1995. After that, Mariner will be priced at $125. A special 60-day trial copy will be available in June via anonymous ftp at ftp.ncd.com.

Macintosh and Windows `95 versions will be released in Q3 and Q4 respectively. For further information, call 800/416-1956 or send E-mail to [e-mail], or see the NCD home page at www.ncd.com.

Network Computing Devices Inc., formed in February 1988, provides desktop information access solutions for network computing environments. NCD is a leading worldwide supplier of X Window System terminals and PC-X server software products which integrate Microsoft Windows- and DOS-based PCs into X/UNIX networks.

The company also supplies the Z-Mail family of cross-platform electronic-mail and messaging software for open systems environments, as well as Mariner, an Internet access and navigation software tool that provides a unified interface to all Internet resources. -0-

Note to Editors: Mariner is a trademark of Network Computing Devices Inc.

CONTACT: Network Computing Devices

Carey Mitchell, 415/691-1314

e-mail: [e-mail]

Miller Communications

Irwin Greenstein/Jozelle Cox, 415/962-9550

e-mail: [e-mail] or [e-mail]