Corel to the Linux World: ``Thanks a Million!''- Corel WordPerfect 8 For Linux Hits Unprecedented One Million Download Attempts

Business Wire, May 19, 1999

OTTAWA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 19, 1999--

COREL(Nasdaq:COSFF) (TSE:COS.) Corel Corporation, award-winning developer of graphic and word processing solutions for the corporate, retail and academic markets, today announced that the free Corel(r) WordPerfect(r) 8 for Linux(r) has surpassed one million download attempts on the Internet.

The 23.6 megabyte file, which went live on December 17, 1998, has reached an outstanding level of an average of more than 70,000 downloads attempts per week. The first twelve hours online, alone, saw almost 83,000 download attempts.

"We expected the Linux version to do well," said Dr. Michael Cowpland, chief executive officer and president of Corel, "but one million download attempts is extraordinary. Not only does it speak volumes for WordPerfect, I think it is somewhat indicative of the growing popularity of Linux."

Corel WordPerfect 8 for Linux delivers the same word-processing capabilities as the Windows(r) version, plus has many features available only for Liet publishing capabilities, grammar and spelling tools, charting and drawing features, table enhancements, and revision tracking. The free download is available through www.corel.com and at various mirror sites on the Internet.

CNET's Download.com is one of the Web sites that features WordPerfect 8 for Linux. More than 600,000 download attempts of the software have been amassed on CNET alone. "WordPerfect 8 for Linux is our most popular program for Linux," said Nish Bhutani, Vice President and General Manager of CNET's Products Group. "A million download attempts is a fantastic accomplishment, and CNET is proud to have contributed to its success. We believe that Linux based software will continue to grow in popularity, and we plan to meet this demand through our continued commitment to the Linux operating system."

Mary Branscombe, Editor of the Computing Channel on AOL UK, welcomed Corel's success in the Linux application market. AOL UK has recently made a downloadable version of WordPerfect 8 for Linux available to all of its members, directly from the AOL UK software libraries. "Linux is revolutionizing the way computer and software companies approach the market, combining the best of the PC with Open Source development," said Ms. Branscombe. "By offering a downloadable version of WordPerfect for Linux, Corel is the first of the major software vendors in the desktop market to take Linux seriously and the only one with a timetable for producing a range of software for the platform."

Corel also announced in March its plans to introduce a user-friendly, simple to install graphical interface for the Linux Operating System later this year. Corel's Linux interface will create ease of use for consumers of all levels. Also in the same time-frame, Corel is on track to deliver a Linux version of their new flagship release, WordPerfect(r) Office 2000.

Corel Corporation

Corel Corporation is an internationally recognized developer of award-winning graphics and business productivity applications. Development of market-leading products such as the CorelDRAW(tm) line of graphics applications and the Corel(r) WordPerfect(r) Suite of business tools is continually evolving to meet the demands of the corporate, retail and academic markets. Committed to performance, compatibility, value and open standards, Corel develops products for the Windows(r), Macintosh(r), UNIX(r), Linux(r) and Java(tm) platforms. Corel's common stock trades on The NASDAQ Stock Market(sm) under the symbol COSFF and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol COS. For more information visit Corel's Web site at www.corel.com.

Corel, WordPerfect, CorelDRAW and the Go Further logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Corel Corporation or Corel Corporation Limited. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group. All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.