Compaq and Phoenix Announce Effort to Speed Development of USB and Make PCs
Easier to Use

PHOENIX TO PROMOTE AND SUPPORT COMPAQ'S OPEN HCI-COMPATIBLE ASIC DESIGN

HOUSTON, TX AND SANTA CLARA, CA, APRIL 22, 1996 -- In a move aimed at
making PCs easier to use, Compaq Computer Corporation (NYSE:CPQ) and
Phoenix Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:PTEC) today announced an agreement
intended to speed the adoption of the Universal Serial Bus (USB). USB is
an emerging industry standard that defines how many peripherals can be
connected to a single physical connector in the back of the PC, reducing
the number of cables and ultimately replacing the multiple ports currently
required.

The agreement allows Phoenix to actively promote and support Compaq's Open
Host Controller Interface (HCI) Application Specific Integrated Circuit
(ASIC) design, a program announced last fall to enable motherboard and
chipset companies to more quickly and easily develop their own USB-ready
products.

"Compaq continues to drive USB and Open HCI adoption in the PC industry by
working with a number of USB and Open HCI supporters," said Hugh Barnes,
chief technical officer, Compaq Computer Corporation. "Compaq has already
licensed its ASIC host controller design to several chip vendors. By
working with Phoenix -- an industry leader in PC compatibility with the
resources to provide worldwide engineering support for USB and Open HCI --
to promote the Open HCI ASIC design, we will work to accelerate the
adoption of this very useful and important standard."

"Compaq's implementation of USB Open HCI will become an essential
compatibility standard for the PC industry," said Jack Kay, president and
chief executive officer of Phoenix Technologies. "Phoenix is very pleased
to promote and support Compaq's ASIC design to manufacturers that are
seeking a solid, reliable USB Open HCI solution. Our strong commitment to
this program is being met by the formation of a new division within our
organization." "Microsoft is committed to supporting USB and the Open HCI
initiative," said Carl Stork, director Windows PC Platforms at Microsoft.
"We will be providing drivers for Open HCI in future versions of Windows.
The agreement between Compaq and Phoenix will accelerate the adoption of
USB."

Under the agreement, Compaq provides Phoenix with pre-packaged descriptions
of circuits, called macrocells, written in a high-level ASIC description
language called Verilog, used by chipset designers to speed development of
complex integrated circuits. The macrocell will be offered as a standalone
product and as an integral part of Phoenix's overall USB product line. The
Phoenix USB product line will include system BIOS extensions for USB
compatibility on PCs, as well as a macrocell for USB peripherals and USB
hub devices, complemented by a suite of related development software
tools.

The Open HCI Specification, developed by Microsoft, Compaq, and National
Semiconductor last fall, and backed by more than 25 companies, defines an
industry-standard common hardware interface for operating systems, device
drivers, and the basic input output system, or BIOS, to manage the USB.
USB is a serial bus capable of supporting up to 127 peripherals and
operates at 12 megabits per second (Mb/s), approximately the speed of
ethernet. USB supports low- to mid-speed peripherals like keyboards, mice,
joysticks, virtual-reality game input devices, audio, printers and
telephony devices. Phoenix has been involved with USB for over a year and
has authored the USB PC Compatibility Specification and the Mass Storage
Device Class Specification.

COMPANY BACKGROUNDS

Phoenix Technologies Ltd. is the largest supplier of compatibility software
to the personal computer industry. The company's system-level software
products, such as PhoenixBIOS, NoteBIOS, PhoenixPICO, and PhoenixCard
Manager, allow PC manufacturers to increase product differentiation,
reduce product time to market and reduce internal engineering costs.
Phoenix is also developing an expanding family of software products,
including Phoenix Telephony Suite and Phoenix MUSE, that increase personal
computer functionality and make PCs easier to use. Information on all
Phoenix Technologies products is available on the Worldwide Web at:
http://www.ptltd.com. Compaq Computer Corporation is the world's largest
supplier of personal computers, offering desktop PCs, portable PCs,
servers and options. The company reported 1995 worldwide sales of $14.8
billion. Compaq products are sold and supported in more than 100 countries
through Compaq marketing partners and sold directly to customers through
Compaq Direct Plus at 1-800-888-5858. Compaq provides 24-hour customer
support and can be reached through the Compaq forums on America Online,
CompuServe, Internet (http://www.compaq.com), and Prodigy, or by calling
1-800-OK-COMPAQ. Product information and reseller locations can be
obtained by calling 1-800-345-1518.
 
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