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      STACKER NOTE                                         STACKER NOTE
                         Stacker 4.0 Press Release                         
  
      STAC FAX  1112 (02-25-1994)
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        Stacker 4.0 Breaks 2:1 Real-Time Data Compression Barrier
        Industry's Most Reliable Data Compression Product Guarantees
        the Most Disk Space
      
      CARLSBAD, Calif., February 14, 1994  Stac Electronics
      (NASDAQ:STAC), the leading supplier of data compression products
      for increasing the storage capacity of personal computers, today
      announced Stacker 4.0 for Windows & DOS.  Stacker 4.0 is the
      first real-time data compression product to break the 2:1
      compression ratio barrier by using Stac's new Stacker SmartPack.
      
      By offering the best real-time data compression in the industry,
      Stacker 4.0 for Windows & DOS provides more disk space than any
      rival.  Stacker 4.0 also brings a fresh look to data compression
      on the Windows desktop with a new Stacker Windows Toolbox.
      
      The new release of Stac's award-winning software also includes
      new safety features for enhanced reliability, and a smaller
      memory footprint by incorporating Novell Inc.'s DOS Protected
      Mode Services (DPMS).  Stacker 4.0 is the first of Stac's products 
      to include technology cross-licensed from Novell as a part of the 
      strategic development agreement signed last year.
      
      "Stacker 4.0's new SmartPack technology has been in development
      for over two years", said Gary Clow, Stac's president and chief
      executive officer. "We're so confident that this new technology
      will give users substantially more disk capacity than the
      competition, that we back this claim with a money-back
      guarantee."
      
      Enhancements
      Stacker 4.0 includes numerous enhancements that have evolved over
      four generations of product development.  This new release
      includes improvement to the program's performance, reliability
      and ease of use in response to user needs and concerns.
      
      Tighter Compression:  Stac's patented Stacker LZS
      technology, now in its fourth generation, packs data even tighter
      then before.  For the first time, users can go beyond doubling
      their systems storage capacity.  Stac's new SmartPack
      technology, combined with Stacker LZS, allows Stacker to store
      data on the disk even more efficiently, providing the maximum
      disk space available.
      
      Expanded Windows Tools:  All Stacker commands can now be
      launched from the new Stacker Windows Toolbox.  These commands,
      which appear in the new Stacker toolbar include Compress, Check,
      Report, Optimize, Tune, Password, Stacker AutoSave, Configure,
      Warning and Details.  Users can now be alerted to changing disk
      conditions, such as fragmentation levels or available free space,
      by audio and visual cues.  Managing, diagnosing and repairing
      Stacker drives can now be done from this
      central Toolbox in Windows.
      
      Protected Mode Operation:  Novell's DPMS is built into
      Stacker 4.0 to reduce Stacker's memory requirement below 1MB to
      17 kilobytes, as compared with the 37 kilobytes required for
      DoubleSpace.  DPMS allows device drivers to reside in extended
      memory and execute in protected mode on 386 and 486 computers.
      With DPMS, the Stacker driver is moved to a protected area where
      other applications cannot interfere with it.  No other data
      compression product offers this added safety feature.
      
      Stacker AutoSave:   Stacker 4.0 maintains duplicate sets of
      both the DOS and Stacker file system information in an
      uncompressed state.  These important backups provide users with
      an added degree of confidence when working with compressed data.
            
      Compatibility
      Stacker 4.0 for Windows & DOS is compatible with DOS 3.2 through
      7.  Stacker drivers can be preloaded with MS-DOS 6.0 and 6.2, PC-
      DOS 6.1, and Novell DOS 7.
      
      When installed on computers with data compressed by Microsoft
      Corp.'s DoubleSpace or IBM's SuperStor/DS, Stacker 4.0 will 
      automatically convert the compressed data at setup time to the 
      safer and tighter Stacker format.
      
      Enterprise Version
      For companies taking advantage of Stac's Enterprise Licenses (100
      copies or more at a savings of up to 80 percent), Stacker 4.0
      provides network installation and monitoring.  Corporate site
      licensees of Stacker 4.0 can electronically transfer Stacker from
      the network server and install it on individual systems.  The
      monitoring capability allows information services managers to
      monitor and generate reports on both compressed and uncompressed
      clients on a local area network.  These capabilities help
      information services managers deploy and monitor data compression
      across a Novell network.
      
      Price and Availability
      Stacker 4.0 for Windows & DOS has a suggested retail price of
      $149.  An upgrade for users of previous versions of Stacker is
      available for $49.95.Stacker 4.0 is available through retail
      channels and directly from Stac.Stacs Enterprise Licenses are
      available through corporate resellers as well as directly from
      Stac.
      
      The Company
      Stac Electronics is the leading supplier of software and silicon
      high performance data compression products for personal
      computers.  Stac's products are sold through retail and OEM sales
      distribution channels worldwide.
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      Copyright 1994 Stac Electronics
