Akimbo to Open Vast New World of Video Choices to Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 Users

Business Wire, Oct 12, 2004

SAN MATEO, Calif. -- Akimbo Service Will Be Featured in Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 Online Spotlight Guide

Akimbo(TM) Systems today announced that its video-on-demand service will be available on the Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Media Center family includes operating systems for personal computers and home entertainment systems. The Akimbo Service is designed to provide access to thousands of hours of programming, which can be selected for download via the Internet, and viewed on-demand. The Akimbo Service will bring Media Center users a wide breadth of video content, greatly expanding their television viewing choices. The Akimbo Service will be accessible from Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 in the first quarter of 2005.

With PCs running Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, consumers get the best version of Windows for the home that offers the capabilities of a Windows XP-based PC with exciting new experiences for music, digital photography, movies, television and more.

The Akimbo Service will automatically deliver an onscreen program guide filled with channels, video previews, editorial information and viewer options. From the Akimbo Guide, Akimbo subscribers can choose from thousands of programs available for download and later viewing. Then, each time Akimbo subscribers turn on their TVs, they have new videos, recommendations and previews waiting for them. The Akimbo Service will work with any broadband connection, either DSL or cable modem, and a home network.

"Bringing unprecedented convenience to our customers is one of our goals with Media Center Edition 2005," said Kevin Unangst, director of Windows consumer marketing for the Windows division at Microsoft Corp. "Akimbo's video-on-demand service is a great addition to the Media Center Edition options of digital entertainment solutions."

"Media Center Edition represents the integration of the computer with the television, making it a natural fit for Akimbo," said Josh Goldman, chief executive officer at Akimbo. "Akimbo will extend to Media Center Edition PC manufacturers the ability to easily integrate the Akimbo Service into their products. Users of these new products will gain a remarkable new way to get a broader range of video on demand than they've ever had before."

The Akimbo Service will be highlighted in Online Spotlight, an online guide created specifically for Media Center Edition PC customers that offers a central location for them to find the latest third-party services and software, such as music, movie trailers, news updates and even Karaoke. Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition evolves the home PC with easy-to-use integrated digital entertainment that consumers can enjoy when and how they want. It combines the functionality of traditional PC applications such as Microsoft Word and Excel with the ability to enjoy music, television, personal video recording (PVR), pictures, digital video and DVD with remote control access.

About Akimbo

With the Akimbo Service, your wish is on demand.(TM) Akimbo is the first company to deliver DVD-quality video-on-demand to any television via a broadband-Internet connection, allowing consumers to choose from thousands of hours of programs specifically suited to their tastes and to watch them whenever they choose. Akimbo partners with leading providers of specialty video to deliver more than 50 categories of unique entertainment, including film, comedy, music, health and fitness, sports, education, youth, foreign language, and cooking. By partnering with Akimbo, video providers gain a new opportunity to cost-effectively reach targeted audiences with content ranging from special interest to broad appeal, without building new infrastructure. With offices in Los Angeles and San Mateo, Calif., Akimbo is a privately held company funded by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Sprout Group and Zone Ventures. The company is founded and managed by executives from ReplayTV, Macromedia, CNET Networks, mySimon, Microsoft and Apple. For more information, visit www.akimbo.com.

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