SoftArc Inc.
FirstClass 3.5

Product Highlights

FirstClass 3.5 Client Enhancements

* Support for Client Extensions, including WWW Browsing -- FirstClass 3.5
clients and servers will support new FirstClass "Client Extension"
technology. The FirstClass Client Extensions Toolkit, to be introduced
with FirstClass 3.5, will allow third-party developers to write modules
that add functionality to FirstClass. Client Extension support will open
the door for developers to write products such as viewers for files
attached to FirstClass messages, collaborative whiteboard add-one, voice
or video conferencing modules, or services such as World Wide Web
browsing-all from within FirstClass. 

* Work Offline -- FirstClass 3.5 will give FirstClass clients the ability
to read and write mail and conference postings while disconnected from the
FirstClass server. Offline work will be enabled by a new SoftArc product,
FirstClass Personal -- a personal replication agent for users of
FirstClass Clients for Windows and Macintosh. 

Used in conjunction with FirstClass 3.5 clients, servers and settings
documents, FirstClass Personal will reproduce users' mail, FirstClass
directories and conferences of choice on their local workstation or mobile
computer. Server replication will be possible over modem, Internet or LAN
connections. Once the FirstClass server is replicated, users will be able
to work while disconnected. All features of a conventional FirstClass
client/server session will be available to users of FirstClass Personal --
including multimatch addressing of mail, filing of mail, reading and
responding to conference items, custom forms, etc. -- with the exception
of Private Chat and database access. 

FirstClass Personal will work in the background and be almost invisible to
the user. New scheduling and option forms in FirstClass 3.5 clients will
allow users to configure FirstClass Personal once installed and set times
for replication, etc. FirstClass Personal will be configured with
conventional FirstClass settings files, allowing users to preserve
existing customized graphics, sounds, icons and forms associated with
specific FirstClass servers. 

* Interface Enhancements -- It will be easier to localize FirstClass 3.5
clients in international languages, and enhancements for double byte
languages -- such as Japanese and traditional Chinese -- will be offered.
In addition, new button bars and style shortcut controls will provide
convenient access to commonly used FirstClass commands and text formatting
options. 

FirstClass 3.5 Server Enhancements

* Support for SMTP/MIME/NNTP -- FirstClass 3.5 servers for both Windows and
Macintosh will be enabled for new SMTP, MIME and NNTP products from
SoftArc scheduled for release later this year. These new, high-end
Internet services -- specifically optimized for use with FirstClass --
will offer instantaneous mail and news translation delivery to and from
the Internet; MIME support for international language translation and
attachments; translation of SoftArc's new reply quoting text style to
Internet equivalents and vice-versa; plus RFC 1036 references header
threading. SoftArc's Internet services will be designed to run on the same
CPU as the FirstClass server. 

* Real-Time Database Access -- FirstClass 3.5 clients and servers will
support improved connectivity to corporate databases or other information
sources. Changes to SoftArc's Database Toolkit will allow third-party
developers to write powerful real-time connections between FirstClass and
SQL, DAL or ODBC databases networked to the FirstClass server. 

Database extensions written for FirstClass 3.5 will allow database records
to be easily updated, as well as allowing users to execute relational
queries and display the results of queries in a single form. Multimedia
information support will be enhanced. 

* Internet RFC 1036 References Header Threading -- FirstClass 3.5 servers
for Windows or Macintosh will map FirstClass threading information to and
from the popular Internet RFC 1036 standard, when used in conjunction with
FirstClass Internet products. Third-party vendors committed to adding this
new support to their products include Delphic Software (developers of
ExpressNet/SMTP for FirstClass) and SoftBahn Inc. (developers of the
forthcoming GateWay Pro SMTP for FirstClass). Future Internet products
from SoftArc, as previously mentioned, will also take advantage of these
new threading abilities. 

* Enhanced Directory Synchronization -- FirstClass 3.5 will support
directory synchronization enhancements and other directory options for
large sites with networks of FirstClass servers. FirstClass 3.5 servers
can be configured as dedicated "directory hubs" for existing FirstClass
mail networks. 

* Administration Enhancements -- Large organizations with multiple
FirstClass 3.5 servers will have additional routing options for mail
between servers. In addition, improvements to the Batch Administration
system in FirstClass 3.5 will allow administrators to automate a larger
number of labor-intensive tasks. Finally, the optional Command Line
Interface for FirstClass 3.5 will support full 8-bit international
characters. 

* Power Macintosh-Native Server -- The FirstClass Server 3.5 for Macintosh
will be offered in both 68K and Power Macintosh-native versions. The Power
Macintosh server will offer slight performance improvements over the 68K
version and several increased capacity limits. The FirstClass Server 3.5
for Power Macintosh will support Apple's Open Transport networking
architecture, and offers significant speed improvements over network
connections to the FirstClass server. The Power Macintosh version will be
offered as a free upgrade to registered owners of existing FirstClass
Macintosh servers. 

FirstClass 3.5 servers for Mac OS and Power Macintosh will be easier to
back up than previous versions. Administrators will no longer be required
to create a FirstClass Post Office Map, but will be able to simply back up
their post offices using common backup tools for Macintosh. 

Pricing & Availability

As with all upgrades to FirstClass clients and servers, version 3.5 will be
made available free-of-charge to registered owners. FirstClass server
upgrades will be available electronically on SoftArc Online for registered
owners, or will be available for a nominal fee by purchasing SoftArc's
traditional $95 U.S. upgrade package, including new diskettes and the
latest documentation. 

End-users of the freely distributable FirstClass client software will be
able to obtain the new 3.5 client versions from their FirstClass
Administrator, SoftArc's public FirstClass server, or SoftArc's World Wide
Web site (upon the software's availability). 

Pricing for the FirstClass 3.5 server remains the same as existing Windows
and Macintosh servers. Each server is available for $495, including five
user licenses. Additional user licenses range from $35-$79, based on
volume. Pricing for the new FirstClass Personal replication product will
be announced at time of shipping. Additional protocol modules and gateways
are sold separately. 

All components of the FirstClass 3.5 product family are scheduled for
availability in the third quarter of 1996. 

FirstClass 3.5 Components List

FirstClass Client 3.5 for Mac OS (both Power Macintosh and 68K native)
FirstClass Client 3.5 for Power Macintosh
FirstClass Client 3.5 for Mac OS 68K

FirstClass Client 3.5 for Windows 3.X
FirstClass Client 3.5 for Windows 95/NT

FirstClass Server 3.5 for Mac OS (both Power Macintosh and 68K native)
FirstClass Server 3.5 for Power Macintosh
FirstClass Server 3.5 for Mac OS 68K

FirstClass Server 3.5 for Windows NT

FirstClass Personal 3.5 for Mac OS
FirstClass Personal 3.5 for Windows 95/NT
 
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