You Software Launched by Founder of Extensis and Now Software; Team Includes Senior Engineers Responsible for Award-Winning Extensis and Now Software Products

Business Wire, Nov 13, 2003

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 13, 2003

Craig Barnes, the founder of Extensis and Now Software, is launching a new company, You Software, to develop and market a complete line of productivity software that will fundamentally make the software you already own (such as operating systems and applications) easier to use and customize, so your computer works the way you want it to work.

The You Software strategy is based on a proven business model pioneered by Craig Barnes. As the founder and former CEO of Extensis, Inc., Barnes grew a venture-backed start-up into a leading productivity software company serving millions of creative professionals worldwide. In 2000, Barnes negotiated the sale of Extensis for more than $100 million in cash and securities to ImageX, Inc., which was subsequently acquired by Kinkos, Inc.

Prior to Extensis, Barnes founded Now Software. Within three years Now Software grew to be the largest vendor of software devoted exclusively to the Macintosh. The award-winning Now Software product line included Now Utilities as well as networked calendar and contact management software, Now Up-to-Date and Now Contact.

"With his acumen, track record and talented technical team, Craig has put together another winning combination," said Colin Crawford, Executive Vice President of Business Development and Operations for International Data Group and former CEO of Mac Publishing LLC. "Craig has a gift for successfully bringing enhancement and utility software to market that helps users get the most out of the time, money and emotion they invest in the software they use everyday."

In addition to Barnes' personal investment to start the company, You Software has secured a first round of financing from SmartForest Ventures of Portland, Oregon. The investment will fuel product development and fund marketing and sales efforts for the You Software product line. "Our investment in You Software reflects our excitement about Craig and his team coming back to the Macintosh market," said Debi Coleman, SmartForest Ventures Partner and former CIO, CFO, and VP, Worldwide Operations, for Apple Computer. "We believe You Software is going to be a huge success because they understand what people really need to be more productive."

The You Software Product Strategy

In the next 90 days, You Software will ship several titles designed for Mac OS X. These initial System Enhancement Utilities are focused on the real-world needs of users and make using Mac OS X faster, easier and more efficient. You System Enhancements add features, enable customization and give users more control over the power of their operating system. You System Enhancements will be delivered both as stand-alone products and in collections of utilities. In addition, over the next 12 months the company will also introduce client/server offerings that will bring You Software productivity gains to networked workgroups.

Like Extensis and Now Software before it, the You Software product development strategy combines internally developed products with both publishing arrangements and acquisitions of independently developed products and technologies. Earlier this year You Software acquired the intellectual property assets of PTH Software, a developer of system utilities that have been consistently recognized as best of class for the Macintosh operating system.

Experienced Technical Team

You Software development is driven by a talented technical team experienced in building world-class software products. Vice President of Research and Development, Eric Hayes, and Chief Technology Officer, Tim Brown, are long-time collaborators with Craig Barnes. During their tenure with Extensis and Now Software they led teams that earned dozens of industry awards -- including five Macworld Editor's Choice "Eddy" awards and an Apple Design award. Both Hayes and Brown are inventors of several patent-pending technologies.

Eric Hayes has 18 years experience in the systems architecture and development of successful desktop and networked applications. As the Director of Engineering at Extensis, Hayes led the development of award-winning products, including Preflight Pro and Suitcase Server. Prior to Extensis, Hayes was the principal architect and lead developer of Now Software's Now Contact and co-author of Now Up-to-Date, the world's best-selling Macintosh personal information management software.

Tim Brown was the architect and lead engineer for several Extensis products, including the cross-platform client/server asset management application Extensis Portfolio. At Now Software, Brown was the lead engineer for several versions of Now Utilities, an award-winning system enhancement utility collection.

Paul Haddad, the founder of PTH Software, joins the You Software technical team as a Senior Software Engineer. Haddad has extensive experience designing software for the NEXTSTEP, OPENSTEP and Mac OS X environments. At Apple, Haddad was instrumental during the transition of NeXT Step technology to the Mac OS X server environment.