Willow Pond Corporation/

For Immediate Release	

Newton, Massachusetts -- April 22, 1998 -- Willow Pond Corporation today announced the availability for download of WillowMEDIA, the successor to the company's popular Media Rack multimedia program. Media Rack, a Windows multimedia player and control program with the appearance of a home stereo system, has shipped with more than five million PCs and sound cards worldwide including products from leading manufacturers such as Hewlett-Packard. WillowMEDIA greatly expands on the capabilities of Media Rack and is designed specifically for Windows 95 and Windows 98.

WillowMEDIA is designed to support the broadest range of multimedia types. In addition to common formats such as audio CDs, wave files, and MIDI files, WillowMEDIA also plays MPEG files and disks, AVI video files, Photo CDs, RealAudio, and many other formats. The program will even play MP3 files using Microsoft's new NetShow and DirectShow software. When playing audio CDs, WillowMEDIA can access an Internet database to automatically display the CD title and track names, with no user data entry required.

WillowMEDIA also extends the definition of PC multimedia by the integration of related components not previously found in such programs. One example is inclusion of a TAPI-compatible telephone and answering machine designed to work with Unimodem/V voice-capable modems. According to Mark Aisenberg, VP of Marketing for Willow Pond, "Our mission with WillowMEDIA is to expand the definition of PC multimedia by incorporating a growing range of functions and formats. Telephony is just the first of the non-traditional multimedia types we plan to address." The program also includes a multimedia alarm clock which can play multimedia files as alarms, and can announce the time in a human voice.

A fully functional version of WillowMEDIA is available now for free trial download from the company's web site, at /.

Willow Pond has already licensed WillowMEDIA to several PC and sound card manufacturers for Spring shipment, including one of the world's leading PC vendors. The company will be able to announce these bundling arrangements separately over the next few weeks.

Willow Pond is a leading supplier of multimedia software, serving OEM companies worldwide and selling directly to users via its web site. Founded in 1993, the company licenses software to many semiconductor and PC system and peripheral manufacturers, including Hewlett-Packard, Olivetti, Rockwell International, Shark Multimedia, and others. Willow Pond is headquartered in Newton, Massachusetts. The company’s web site is at /.

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Willow Pond, WillowMEDIA, and Media Rack are trademarks of Willow Pond Corporation. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective holders and are hereby acknowledged.