Apple Ships Translation Manager Software to Developers

Macintosh Easy Open Simplifies Opening Files from Other Programs,
Platforms

CUPERTINO, California -- January 4, 1993 -- Apple Computer, Inc. today
announced the immediate availability of the Macintosh Easy Open
Developer's Kit, an extension to System 7 and a translation manager
application programming interface (API) that provides Apple developers
with the ability to enhance their applications or translation systems to
open and convert documents on Macintosh personal computers, regardless of
the availability of the applications that created the files.

Designed to simplify access to information from a variety of applications
and across computing platforms, Macintosh Easy Open makes opening and
converting documents as easy as any other basic Macintosh task. Once
incorporated into third-party applications or file translation systems,
Macintosh Easy Open provides users with options for accessing and
manipulating documents quickly and easily. Apple developers and their
customers will appreciate that their applications require no modifications
to take advantage of most Macintosh Easy Open features.

"Macintosh Easy Open is a powerful tool for getting to information
regardless of where it came from," said Charlie Oppenheimer, director of
marketing for Apple's Macintosh Software Architecture division. "This new
extension has what it takes to make the Macintosh the preferred platform
for sharing and exchanging data among disparate applications and across
multiple computing platforms. With products like Macintosh Easy Open and
our popular Macintosh PC Exchange, Apple continues to provide customers
with entirely new levels of sophistication and ease of use in
cross-platform computing."

Macintosh Easy Open provides users with a number of ways to access
Macintosh and non-Macintosh files. For example, when a user double-clicks
on a document that normally couldn't be opened because the application
that created it is unavailable, Macintosh Easy Open intercedes and
searches for applications and file translation systems that are capable of
opening the document, and lists them for the user. Once the user selects
an alternate application, Macintosh Easy Open transparently manages the
conversion of the document using the application's internal translation
capabilities or by using specialized translation software.

"DataViz has adapted its entire MacLinkPlus library of file translators, so
Macintosh Easy Open will always offer users an application to open
'foreign' documents -- whether they came from a Macintosh or a personal
computer," said Dick Fontana, president of DataViz, Inc. of Trumbull,
Conn. "Incorporating Macintosh Easy Open into all our MacLinkPlus packages
vastly improves the ability of our customers to access information easily.
We're proud to be among the first to bring this exciting Macintosh
technology to users."

By incorporating a standard API, Macintosh Easy Open provides Apple
developers with unique translation-management services. These services can
be integrated into their applications or translation systems to provide
transparent data conversion whenever opening, copying, pasting, or
publishing data from one format to another. While Macintosh Easy Open does
not perform any data translation itself, it effectively manages access to
third-party translation systems and applications, which perform the actual
translation.

Apple developers that are working on integrating Macintosh Easy Open
support into their products include the following: DataViz, Inc., makers
of MacLinkPlus; Mastersoft, Inc. of Scottsdale, Ariz., makers of Word for
Word/Macintosh; Equilibrium Technologies of Sausalito, Calif., makers of
DeBabelizer; Aladdin Systems, Inc. of Watsonville, Calif., makers of
Stuffit; and Kandu Software Corp. of Arlington, Va., makers of CADMover.
Apple also plans to incorporate Macintosh Easy Open software into a number
of current Apple software products in 1993.

The Macintosh Easy Open extension also features added descriptive
information about documents, including non-Macintosh files, and color
icons in the Open and Save windows, making it easier for users to
determine document types at the Finder level.

The Macintosh Easy Open Document Converter, which comes with Macintosh Easy
Open, is a system utility that works with third-party translators to allow
users to convert a document from one file format to another, without
opening the document. With this feature, files can be converted easily and
quickly by simply dragging file icons to the Document Converter icon.

Availability 

The Macintosh Easy Open 1.0 Developer's Kit is available to developers for
$150 U.S. by contacting the Apple Programmers & Developers Association
(APDA), Apple's mail-order service for developers, at 1-800-282-2732 in
the United States, or 1-800-637-0029 in Canada. From other international
locations call 1-716-871-6555, or contact the country APDA representative.
APDA may be contacted electronically through the following addresses:

AppleLink: APDA 
America Online: APDA 
CompuServe: 76666,2405 
Internet: APDA@applelink.apple.com

Headquartered in Cupertino, Calif., Apple Computer, Inc. develops,
manufactures and markets personal computer systems for use in business,
education, science, engineering and government. A recognized pioneer and
innovator in the personal computer industry, Apple does business in more
than 120 countries. Apple has been named first in customer satisfaction
among business computer users in the United States for the past two years
by J.D. Powers and Associates.

Apple Computer Inc, 20525 Mariana Ave, Cupertino, CA 95014
408-996-1010

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