Patriot's ShBoom featured in Microprocessor Report; Patriot president outlines ShBoom strategy.

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 15, 1996--Patriot Scientific Corp. (OTC:PTSC) Monday reported that its ShBoom CPU is the subject of a feature article in Monday's issue of Microprocessor Report, the Insiders' Guide to Microprocessor Hardware.

The article, authored by Jim Turley, is titled ``New Embedded CPU Goes ShBoom -- Patriot Scientific's Unusual 32-Bit Stack Machine Has 8-Bit Instruction Word.''

The article addresses many of the unusual proprietary features and advantages that distinguish the ShBoom architecture from conventional processors.

The final paragraphs include the following comments: ``Patriot has bucked design convention by embracing a long-established, but little-used, stack-based architecture. It's an unusual approach that most companies would not have taken... Patriot believes that the unique benefits of postfix notation, tight object code and deterministic I/O performance will help its ShBoom chips eke out a niche in the crowded embedded market... New devices like Internet terminals are just taking shape, however, and the needs of that market (if, indeed, any ever develop) have not been established. With new applications come new criteria for success, and ShBoom might be just the fresh approach these applications need.''

Elwood Norris, president, stated: ``We are very pleased with the favorable review that focuses on the fundamental differences that make our PSC1000 unique in the industry. While the author recognizes we face hurdles in introducing a new architecture, we believe our strategy is sound.

``Our strategy for exploiting the ShBoom technology includes (1) licensing the current version of the processor and our patented architecture, (2) developing alliances to champion ShBoom's PSC1000 in key markets and (3) developing products exploiting PSC1000's performance advantages both internally and through other existing end users to incorporate the PSC 1000 in volume applications.

``Our early efforts provide confidence that we will have success in these strategic areas. Recent unsolicited inquiries, and the resultant exposure of our ShBoom technology to major prospective licensees, improves our confidence that we own important technology.''

The ShBoom design is uniquely targeted for important emerging embedded markets. The PSC1000 is a 32-bit RISC processor, using the patented ShBoom microprocessor technology in a highly integrated CPU that includes two processors, a microprocessing unit (MPU) for performing conventional processing tasks, and an input-output processor (IOP) for performing time-synchronous IO functions.

Users program the IOP to replace many of the dedicated peripheral functions found in other processors. Other PSC1000 features include an interrupt controller, a direct memory-access controller and a glueless programmable memory interface. Its moderate die size, modest power consumption and compact object code are also important factors designed to facilitate market acceptance.

The PSC1000 is the first MPU to combine the best features of RISC and zero operand stack architectures. Unlike other RISC chips, ShBoom uses a computation stack which allows instructions to be one byte instead of four and provides a significant advantage for stack-based languages like JAVA. It is important to note that other RISC architectures must emulate a computation stack with software.

With features like its local register stack, the PSC1000 very efficiently supports object-oriented languages like C++, a serious flaw in past stack architectures. The ShBoom also has integrated system functionality to make it easier as well as less expensive to design in and use.

Millions of dollars have been invested in a more modern, streamlined design that distinguishes the PSC1000 from simple stack architectures of the past.

PSC1000's unique merged stack-register architecture is very efficient for executing languages such as C and C++, and even more so for stack-oriented environments such as the stack virtual machine internal to JAVA.

Many JAVA byte codes require only a single 8-bit instruction to be executed on the PSC1000, providing a significant performance increase over other more expensive processors that require six 32-bit instructions to perform the same task.

The underlying ShBoom architecture is invisible when programming using Patriot's ANSI Compiler, and the assembly language accepts both native and synthetic register-architecture-type instructions.

The PSC1000 is not intended to compete with nor is it designed as a compute engine such as the Pentium or UltraSPARC. Such high-cost multimillion transistor chips are not applicable for many high-volume embedded applications like Internet aware devices and network computers.

The PSC1000 approaches Internet-related processing from a unique and patented design to achieve superior performance in a low-cost package. ShBoom's integrated system support also lowers overall system cost. Although born from basic stack technology, the PSC1000 is a novel design supported by numerous patented and patent-pending features.

Norris continued: ``Licensing the ShBoom technology is a key strategy to which we have assigned experienced executives. The second prong of our strategy involves creating strong outside corporate alliances with the aim of incorporating the PSC1000 into emerging technologies and products.

``Our first alliance was recently announced with Evolve Software Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Universal Electronics Inc. Evolve has agreed to represent Patriot's PSC1000 to the set-top box, satellite and cable-modem industries. We anticipate similar sponsoring relationships in other market areas to develop industry use of the PSC1000 and future versions of the ShBoom technology.

``The third part of our corporate strategy is to use the PSC1000 in internally developed products and to assist other end users to exploit the advantages of the ShBoom architecture. This strategy inspired the development of our CyberShark line of ISDN digital modems designed to incorporate the PSC1000 as soon as volume production of silicon is available.

``Incorporation of the ShBoom architecture PSC1000 processor in the CyberShark provides distinct performance and price advantages to distinguish the CyberShark from offerings of competitors.

``ISDN will remain a large potential market in the near term, and the telcos are developing new digital formats to compete with cable modems. All interconnectivity tools require high-speed inexpensive processing -- ideal ShBoom applications.

``Our alliances with Labway and Innoware provide cost-effective manufacturing and distribution for CyberShark, allowing us to focus efforts on other ShBoom strategies.

``Our engineering experience with ISDN modems will be important as we work with a variety of prospective customers and licensees on PSC1000 applications in such areas as cable modems, TV set-top boxes, satellite communications and new digital technologies.''

Norris added: ``Another example of our end-user strategy involves assisting customers to incorporate the PSC1000 in innovative new applications.

``The WebBook Co.'s selection of the PSC1000 as the JAVA runtime engine for the WebBook, a portable computer-based device to access the World Wide Web of the Internet, is the first of many applications that are possible with a low-cost high-performance processor.

``Whether or not Internet PCs or Web browsers are a success, there are numerous other market opportunities to use an efficient JAVA processor both in connection with Internet-related operations and in embedded processing. We do not believe the success of the PSC1000 to be dependent on any one product or one technology.''

Patriot's acquisition of the ShBoom technology in 1994 arose from a need with its radar technology. Like the CyberShark, Patriot's innovative penetrating microwave radar technology is another internally developed product intending to employ the ShBoom processor to provide improved performance and processing.

Norris concluded: ``We have identified other product applications for the PSC1000 that can be exploited by us or in cooperation with other end users. Examples include motion controllers, industrial controllers, a variety of digital communications, laser printers, video terminals and video games.

``ShBoom's architecture was designed with such applications in mind. With a two- to three-times performance advantage over many existing sophisticated embedded systems, the ShBoom can offer superior performance at a reduced cost. We expect much more activity at the end-user level as development boards and PSC1000 silicon become available.''

Patriot Scientific is engaged in the development of proprietary technologies including patented microprocessor technology and ISDN interface products, both with a strong commitment to development for the growing Internet market.

The ShBoom-architecture PSC1000 microprocessor is being developed and targeted as a highly efficient and cost-effective JAVA processor and for use in sophisticated embedded control environments. The company also owns radar and antenna technology.

For more information on the company and its technologies, visit www.ptsc.com. -0-

NOTE TO EDITORS: JAVA is a trademark of SUN Microsystems, and other product names are trademarks of the respective companies.

CONTACT: Patriot Scientific Corp., San Diego

Elwood G. Norris, 619/679-4428

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