FutureTense, Inc. Announces First Shipments of FutureTense Texture System for Designing Interactive Web Publications; Texture Designer, Java Viewer Provide Powerful, Intuitive Web Page Layout Tools; Microsoft to Distribute Texture Viewer with Internet Explorer 3.0; Informix Software to Integrate and Resell Texture with Web Database Products

Business Wire, July 22, 1996

ACTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 22, 1996--FutureTense, Inc. today announced it is now shipping FutureTense Texture Version 1.0, the first Web publishing system that provides the powerful, intuitive page design and layout tools needed by designers and publishers of interactive Web publications.

The Texture system combines a Windows 95/NT Web publication design tool (Texture Designer) with a Java viewer (Texture Viewer). Texture lets designers create Web publications that are visually attractive, highly interactive, easily updated, and customizable -- without requiring users to tackle any HTML coding or Java programming. Because Texture enables designers to treat page content separately from page format, Texture-built interactive Web publications can feature quick, frequent content updates from databases and other sources -- without changing the layout and look of the publication.

FutureTense also announced two major new marketing partners, Microsoft Corporation and Informix Software. Microsoft will distribute the Texture Viewer within its Internet Explorer 3.0 Web browser. Starting in August, Informix Software - leading providers of innovative database technology, including the Informix Illustra Server - will resell the Texture system, integrated with the Informix Web DataBlade module for Web application development and management.

Described by The Seybold Group as "PageMaker for the Web," Texture offers designers and Web publishers full control over their Web page design. Pages are created in Texture Designer, using intuitive, drag-and-drop techniques that free designers to work just as they would with popular desktop publishing tools such as PageMaker and QuarkXPress. Web publications designed with Texture can provide a better reading experience that attracts and holds Web site visitors, compared to what is commonly experienced on today's Internet.

"Just as PageMaker allowed designers and editors to harness the power of PostScript, so Texture lets designers and editors bring the power of Java to bear on today's Web pages," said Peter Dyson, Editor of The Seybold Report on Publishing Systems. "Seybold views Texture as having a tremendous potential impact on the face and format of Web publishing."

Texture debuted in February as a Premiere product at PC Letter's Demo 96 Conference - one of only seven chosen for Premiere status, from a field of 85 showcased products. Selected as a "Hot Pick" in March at Seybold Seminars Boston Expo by The Seybold Report on Publishing Systems and The Seybold Report on Desktop Publishing, Texture has continued to receive high marks from industry insiders.

Texture is a Web page layout and publishing system designed for: independent Web design firms; traditional publishers who want to enhance their Internet offerings; organizations using the Internet for sales, customer support and marketing communications; and corporations building "intranets" for internal publishing and employee communications.

Texture should appeal to designers looking to apply the power of familiar desktop publishing tools and techniques to build interactive Web publications. By providing Internet designers and publishers with a more flexible design tool, FutureTense Texture makes possible a new wave of rich on-line publications that can deliver clear compelling messages, exhibit distinct graphic character, and communicate strong visual brand identity.

FutureTense Texture will be offered at an introductory price of $495, available direct from the Company. Evaluation copies can be downloaded from FutureTense's Web site at: (http://www.futuretense.com). Texture Designer is available now for Microsoft Windows 95 and NT machines, with the Macintosh version expected to ship this fall. The Texture Viewer - always free for private, non-commercial use - can be used with any Java Compatible browser on Windows, Macintosh, and UNIX platforms.

Texture-built on-line publications can be hosted on any standard Web server, and viewed with Internet Explorer 3.0, Netscape Navigator 2.0 or any other Java Compatible browser. Unlike Adobe Acrobat, QuarkImmedia, and other similar products, the Texture Viewer requires no prior installation. Users can obtain the Texture Viewer simply by visiting a Texture-built page, where the Java viewer automatically downloads to view the page. If they like this "test drive," users can download and permanently install the Texture Viewer locally, to support faster viewing, local printing and FutureTense's NetFonts network font management.

Web designers use Texture Designer to place and layer text, images and graphics anywhere on a Web page. Using FutureTense's NetFonts network font management technology, designers are free to select any Type 1 or TrueType font on their system to depict text. NetFonts ensures that the fonts specified during document construction are used to accurately render the Web publication during viewing and printing, whether or not those fonts have been previously installed on the user's system.