Asymetrix Launches Compel 1.0; Brings Power of Interactive Multimedia to
Business Presenters

Users Can Create Stunning Multimedia Presentations in Minutes

BELLEVUE, Wash.--March 15,1993--Asymetrix Corporation today introduced
Compel 1.0, the first software product that lets users easily create
interactive business presentations with multimedia data, including video,
animation and sound. Compel includes robust tools for creating and
delivering dynamic on-screen presentations as well as traditional
presentations with slides, overheads or hard copies. Compel was designed
for the on-screen presenter, and as such offers powerful interactivity,
extensive multimedia support and portability to create and package
presentations to be delivered at remote sites. At its introductory U.S.
price of $99 for the first 99 days, followed by a U.S. suggested retail
price of $295, Asymetrix Compel sets a new price/performance level for
presentation software.

"Before developing Compel, we took a hard look at what today's
business-person needs to create a powerful presentation, and what
audiences are coming to expect out of them," said Glenn Morrissey, group
manager, multimedia marketing and technology at Asymetrix. "So we deliver
the flexibility of on-screen presentations with stunning, yet
easy-to-incorporate multimedia effects in a package that's built to be
completely portable. We believe Compel redefines what a presentation
package is, and what it can offer users."

Asymetrix designed Compel for both business presenters and professionals
who create presentations for business use. Market research shows these
users are rapidly adopting multimedia technology. This is due partly to
the increased sophistication of audiences, which expect more in
presentations than static slides or overheads; and is also due to the
rapidly increasing affordability and availability of hardware and software
needed to incorporate multimedia data.

"Asymetrix is already the market leader in development tools and
entry-level applications for Windows-based multimedia users. So it's
natural for us to be the first to provide interactive multimedia
productivity software for business presenters," said Bert Kolde, executive
vice president at Asymetrix. "Online, interactive presentations have been
proven to have more impact and offer better message retention than
traditional, static presentations. But until Compel, there's been no easy
or affordable way for business presenters to include interactive
multimedia in their presentations."

On-screen Presentations Made Easy and Effective

Presentations delivered on-screen naturally allow for very tailored,
flexible and more powerful delivery. Compel is designed for easy on-screen
delivery of both multimedia or traditional presentations, and also
provides support for more conventional delivery methods such as slides or
overheads. Benefits and features include the following:

* Ease of use. Compel was designed to make it easy for users of all levels
to incorporate multimedia data into a presentation. In many cases, adding
a multimedia effect is as simple as right-clicking on an object, selecting
the media type (i.e., digital video or animation) and choosing a media
clip from the over 100MB of clips provided, or the user's own media.

* Flexible, interactive on-screen presentation tools. Hyperlinking, which
allows for audience interaction and the ability to navigate through a
presentation in customized ways, boosts audience responsiveness and
presenter effectiveness. Users can arrange to click on any word, bullet or
graphic to instantly provide supporting information in response to
questions or comments, or to skip to another part of the presentation. Or,
Compel's Autobuild feature can automatically create links between slides.
The TwinClick pop-up control panel provides on-the-fly navigation and
help.

* Extensive, native multimedia support. Compel was architected from the
ground up to be an on-screen, multimedia presentation package. The product
allows users to work with all types of multimedia data, as well as
manipulate that data using built-in editing tools for sound and video.
Compel includes complete support for all MCI-compatible multimedia devices
under Microsoft Windows, including Microsoft Video for Windows with Intel
Indeo video technology, CD, WAVE and MIDI audio, animation and Videodisc.
A built-in sound recorder permits easy voice annotation to bullets or
other objects. Animation capability is built in and can be triggered
automatically. More than 100MB of multimedia clips are included, including
over 200 sample sound files and 350 editable clip-art drawings. Compel
also supports Kodak Photo CD for easy integration of photographic-quality
still images.

* Presentation portability. Several features make it easy for mobile or
field users to package their shows for presentations away from the
desktop. Compel Show run-time software allows royalty-free distribution of
presentations. Package Presentation compresses and organizes files for
easy use on floppy disks, and automatically splits large files (such as
video) across multiple disks for distribution. Given the size of some
multimedia files, particularly digital video files, Package Presentation
removes a common storage barrier. To prevent mishaps once a remote
presentation is underway, Compel' s Check Media Links utility quickly
confirms the availability of all required software media, and the System
Information tool checks for all required peripherals and device drivers
before the presentation starts. MAPI support even allows users to package
and send fully formatted interactive multimedia presentations through
Microsoft Mail.

* Object linking and embedding. Full OLE client support makes it easy to
embed any OLE server directly into Compel. Once linked, the information is
automatically updated when the source information changes.

* Extensive transition effects. These include 34 slide transitions, nine
bullet transitions, 29 graphical bullets, and capabilities for
customizing, dimming and building bullets to add interest and impact to
slides and bullet lists.

* More than 100 templates. Users also get support for multiple templates in
a single presentation, giving them the freedom to pick the best possible
look for a slide, while guaranteeing high quality. Users can share Compel
color schemes or templates across an organization for a consistent visual
style, and all templates are easily modifiable by the user.

* Additional presentation tools. These include full charting tools, a slide
sorter with thumbnail views, drawing tools and the ability to share media
clips and color schemes and palettes across presentations. Also, Asymetrix
MediaBlitz 2.0 is being bundled with Compel, so users can create
synchronized multimedia "scores" or storyboards of video, animation and
audio and insert them in Compel presentations.

Pricing and Availability 

Compel is available for the next 99 days from Asymetrix and software
retailers nationwide for an introductory U.S. price of $99. During that
time, Compel will also be bundled with MediaBlitz! 2.0 in the U.S. After
the first 99 days of shipment, Compel will sell for a U.S. suggested
retail price of $295, and an aggressive competitive upgrade will allow
users of any other presentation software to trade up to Compel for $99.
Users of Asymetrix Multimedia Make Your Point can upgrade to Compel for
the U.S. price of $49. Compel comes with a 90-day money-back guarantee and
ships with online help and documentation. Technical support is offered
from Asymetrix at no extra charge. For more customer information, contact
Asymetrix at (800) 448-6543 in the U.S. and at (011) 49-89-59047109
internationally.

System Requirements

Compel requires an IBM-compatible PC with a 20MHz 80386 or higher
processor; MS-DOS 3.1 or higher and Microsoft Windows 3.1; 2MB of RAM (4MB
are recommended); Windows-compatible graphics adapter card (VGA or Super
VGA recommended); and a Windows-compatible mouse or other pointing device.
A sound card and CD-ROM drive are recommended.

About Asymetrix

Asymetrix Corporation is a privately held, employee-owned software company
based in Bellevue, Washington, committed to a mission of bringing
pioneering productivity to all levels of Windows users with affordable,
easy to use software.

Asymetrix, 110-110th Ave NE, Suite 700, Bellevue, WA 98004
206-462-0501;  fax: 206-455-3071

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