PADS Software Introduces Latium Technology.

MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--October 12, 1999--

Latium Architecture Breaks New Ground in Electronic Systems Market;

Supports Internet-Enabled Solutions

PADS Software, Inc. today announced that it is launching an entirely new architecture, Latium, to address the multidimensional challenges of today's electronic systems design market. As design teams constantly struggle to balance the myriad of requirements needed to develop a product that is accurate, cost-effective, reliable, and competitive, issues of faster circuit speeds, smaller product form factors, and devices with higher pin counts and densities lead to increased complexity.

With the introduction of Latium, PADS is placing itself firmly ahead of its competitors with superior technology and a visionary approach to the physical design process that supports these increasingly complex requirements. In parallel, PADS recognizes the growing popularity of the Internet as the emerging platform for enterprise- wide information sharing and plans to deliver fully Internet-enabled solutions based on the Latium architecture.

"Most current EDA tools are a decade old and lagging behind technology advancements with an aged methodology. We believe that the current CAD methodology, which has not really changed since the days of hand-taped design, must be replaced with a Computer Integrated Design (CID) methodology that supports the multi-domain constraints being placed on the physical design implementation. This CID process can support the entire design team from engineering to test and assembly in a concurrent environment," commented Richard Almeida, vice president of marketing at PADS Software. "With the new Latium architecture, we are effectively executing on a long-term strategy to dominate the electronic systems market by aggressively introducing new interconnect technology and proactively identifying and addressing our customers' evolving requirements before they reach crisis level."

System and board-level engineers are constantly challenged with faster circuit speeds, smaller product form factors, and devices with higher pin counts and densities. These constraints have stressed tool performance on current EDA architectures, which have been stretched beyond their original specifications and are unable to effectively process the analysis of multiple design disciplines. As a result, the traditional CAD model is inadequate to fully support the growing number of constraints that must be addressed as customers seek to produce a product that is faster, smaller and cheaper than the competition. In addition, the industry computing platform preference is quickly moving from UNIX/Windows to the Internet. The use of the Internet as an efficient means of accessing and sharing data is becoming more popular among design team members, suppliers, and sub-contractors. The limitations of most EDA architectures currently available prevent companies from realizing the full benefit of the Internet platform.

"With Latium, PADS is introducing the first CID platform that can create an integrated approach to interconnect design and support Internet-enabled solutions," said Ken Tepper, director of research and development at PADS Software. "All of our future solutions, including those from our HyperLynx and ACT divisions, will be based on the Latium architecture. The first of these to be delivered to the market is BlazeRouter - a new autorouter that will provide our customers with unmatched efficiency and productivity."

The primary highlights and benefits of PADS' Latium architecture include: -0-

-    Electronic Performance Support System (EPSS) - Currently
     unmatched in the industry, Latium's EPSS is a context-sensitive
     help system that uses Embedded HTML Help to provide assistance
     based on the current operation in process. This 'intelligent'
     system guides the user through each operation, helping to prevent
     task failure and increasing the ease-of-use of PADS' solutions.
     Embedded Help is embedded within the application, so users can
     use Help and the application side-by-side. Embedded Help uses
     Microsoft's HTML-based Help and is currently seen only on Windows
     platforms. Using components of Internet Explorer, EPSS systems
     enable features such as pop-up displays, expanding text,
     drop-down hot spots, or guided steps. The Latium EPSS system
     greatly improves user efficiency and throughput.

-    System Scanner Technology (SST) - Latium's SST is a geometry
     engine that quickly calculates usable areas for application
     processes by fast clipping the entire database into malleable
     sections. This results in faster speeds for application routines,
     dynamic manipulations, and graphic performance.

-    Animation Quality Graphic Performance - Using SST for graphic
     optimization, the system refreshes and displays only the visible
     portion of the database on the screen at a constant rate. Current
     EDA graphic display typically refreshes at 8 - 10 frames per
     second. Latium's graphic performance, on the other hand, reaches
     animation level refresh rates of 24 frames per second. With a
     refresh rate this high, create redraw is virtually instantaneous
     on a design database of any size.

-    Command Window - Leveraging Microsoft Internet Explorer, Latium's
     Command Window combines reporting, Web browsing, operation
     status, query and selecting into a single operation. Unlike other
     systems status windows on the market, Latium's Command Window
     supports both input and output of information. In addition to
     HTML support, the Command Window also supports the SAX Basic
     engine to create custom macro applications using Visual Basic.

-    Graphic User Interface (GUI) - Building upon PADS' award-winning
     PowerPCB user interface methodology, the Latium architecture
     provides exceptional ease-of-use with minimum menu lists, dialog
     boxes and tool bars. Latium's highly customizable GUI complies
     with Microsoft's Windows Interface Guidelines for Software
     Design. This ensures a common user interface and compatibility
     with other complementary EDA and business applications.

About PADS Software, Inc.

Founded in 1986, PADS Software, Inc. is a worldwide supplier of software that aids in the design, layout, verification and manufacturing of printed interconnect systems that are used in electronics products. The Company is focused on providing sophisticated, comprehensive products that offer the flexibility and price/performance advantage of Windows-based tools. PADS also offers solutions for printed circuit fabrication with its Advanced CAM Technologies (ACT) product line and design verification products with its HyperLynx product line.

Headquartered in Marlborough, Mass., PADS has developed a user base exceeding 45,000 in 45 countries. For more information call 1-800-554-7253 or visit the company's Web site at www.pads.com.