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Dimension X acquired by Microsoft; Java pioneers provide Microsoft technology expertise and Internet market savvy team

Business Wire, May 7, 1997

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 7, 1997--Dimension X, the market-leading provider of Java-based platforms and tools for interactive content creation, announced today a merger with Microsoft that will join the companies to address the burgeoning Internet multimedia market.

This agreement provides Microsoft the technology, vision and talent necessary to continue a successful Internet charge. Dimension X realizes a long-term strategic objective and will receive worldwide distribution of their products, Liquid Motion Pro and Liquid Reality.

"Dimension X has played a critical role in the Java revolution since day one," said Patrick Naughton co-creator of Java and president of Starwave Corp. "Karl Jacob launched the first Java startup and built the best Java team in the valley. Dimension X has shown the world what Java can do by delivering unparalleled multimedia tools."

Dimension X, the first Java start-up, defined a new strategy for small innovative companies in the midst of the rapidly changing Internet landscape. By introducing a business model that capitalized on the synergy between its tools development and Web site production operations, Dimension X successfully commercialized innovative products which satisfied the needs of content developers on Internet time.

The Dimension X Studio served as a creative test-bed and delivered exceptional experiences to high-end clients using Liquid Motion Pro and Liquid Reality.

"Our vision has been to empower end-users with the capability to create stunning Java multimedia," said Karl Jacob, CEO and president of Dimension X. "This agreement not only delivers an unequaled marketing and distribution infrastructure for our products, but provides the best platform for the delivery of rich interactive multimedia experiences with DirectX and Internet Explorer."

This announcement is the culmination of hard work and innovative thinking required in the Internet space. During its tenure, Dimension X created the first Java application, Liquid Motion Pro, the first Java/VRML implementation, Liquid Reality and the first 3D multimedia authoring environment to integrate the content creation and playback window, Liquid Reality Composer. It was an alpha site in 1994 for the initial release of Java, previously known as LiveOak. Dimension X was, after Netscape Communications, the first start-up company to license Java.

The company worked closely with both Sun and Microsoft on key Java products and initiatives. Its Liquid Motion Pro was the first Java application to be nominated for PC Computing's MVP Award and today is the standard testing ground for Java virtual machines.

"With the acquisition of Dimension X, Microsoft gains powerful Java-based multimedia technology, and a team of people that have been working with Java since its inception," said Brad Silverberg senior vice president of the Application Products and Internet Client Division. "Expanding DirectX support for the Java language will bring rich, interactive, high-performance Java-based multimedia applications to Windows and Internet Explorer."

Dimension X Products

Liquid Motion Pro is an easy-to-use, cross-platform tool for creating interactive, animated multimedia content in Java for all popular computing platforms including Windows, Solaris and Macintosh. This powerful application delivers an API to Java developers and an end-user solution for the 2D animation market.

Liquid Reality Composer allows end-users to animate, manipulate, edit and publish 3D content and the Liquid Reality Java and VRML platform gives the development community the tools necessary to create 3D applications.

Together the Dimension X "Liquid" product line provides a full range of tools and applications that put the power of content publishing, for both the Internet and intranets, in the hands of the broadest range of computer users.

Dimension X is a leading supplier of Java-based platforms and tools for multimedia creation and delivery on the Web. The company's products include Liquid Motion Pro for Java-based multimedia authoring and Liquid Reality for authoring and delivery of 3D interactive content. Dimension X (www.dimensionx.com) is privately held and based in San Francisco.

This announcement is brought to you by the artists, engineers, business and support staff of Dimension X: -0-

 Alan Greenblatt         Alistair Carty
 Allison Crawford        Ben Luna
 Bradford Karns          Charles Loop
 Chet Haase              Chris Laurel
 Curtis Bartley          David Gulbransen
 David "Quinn" Hoyer     Eva Rallis
 Gavin Schmitz           Greg Fry
 John Taylor             Josh Bell
 Julien Ninio            Karine Perttula
 Karl Jacob              Katie Nutt
 Kevin Long              Kurt Jacob
 Lance Trebesch          Luke Oberhuber
 Mark Halstead           Marlin Gilbert
 Matt Bankson            Megan McFeely
 Michael Crider          Patrick Schmitz
 Paula Buzzard           Rachel Blake
 Rebecca Roman           Roman Druker
 Ryan Watkins            Scott Haile
 Stephanie Tranter       Steve Chipman
 Terrance Hanold         Tom Nicknish

Business Services Industry

Dimension X acquired by Microsoft; Java pioneers provide Microsoft technology expertise and Internet market savvy team

Business Wire, May 7, 1997

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