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For Immediate Release
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SOPHISTICATED CIRCUITS ANNOUNCES "REBOUND!"
-- New Auto-Restart ADB Device Ensures Server Reliability, Automatically --
BOTHELL, Wash., March 27, 1998 -- Sophisticated Circuits today announced Rebound!, the newest member of the PowerKey family of products which continuously monitors an active server for failures and, when necessary, automatically reboots the system by sending the keyboard restart key sequence. A highly integrated hardware/software solution, Rebound! provides a fully automated system for ensuring reliability and optimal up-time for Mac OS-based servers worldwide. Currently available exclusively to StarNine's WebSTAR 3.0 customers through StarNine (see related press releases from StarNine dated 3.26.98), Rebound! will be available to the general public in the second half of May for an expected street price of $99.
"We were so enthusiastic when we first saw Rebound! in action that we just had to snag the entire first production run for our WebSTAR 3.0 users," noted Eric Zelenka, product manager for WebSTAR. "With Rebound! monitoring your server, you can get a good night's sleep and not worry about you server. It rocks! Rebound! is one of those essential products that all Webmasters must have."
"We were very pleased that StarNine was so impressed with Rebound! they acted to give WebSTAR users first priority access to this new technology," said Jonathan Feinstein of Sophisticated Circuits. "Rebound is a simple, focused, and effective tool which keeps your server up and running 24/7. It is the VW Beetle of Server Restart, and in this day of complex products, that is in itself remarkable."
Rebound! is World-Ready
The first product in Sophisticated Circuits' PowerKey family of products to be available to all international users, Rebound! is powered by the ADB rather than the wall current, allowing it to work in any part of the world, regardless of line voltage. Rebound! is fully CE compliant and FCC approved.
"Rebound! brings PowerKey Pro's Server Restart Option to markets where that product is not yet available, making it a very attractive reliability tool for international users," said Feinstein.
How Rebound! Works
Rebound!'s patent-pending technology constantly watches the operating system by communicating with the OS itself. Rebound! Extension software sends a ping to the Rebound! device, which resets its timer at regular intervals. Once set, this timer starts counting down to zero. As long as the operating system is running, the Rebound! Extension software will continue to reset the timer so it never actually reaches zero. If, however, the system freezes or crashes, the timer will naturally expire and Rebound! will send a command-control-power-on-key restart sequence.
In addition to watching the operating system, Rebound!, like its sibling PowerKey Pro, can also watch server applications. Sophisticated Circuits has created an Application Programming Interface (API) which software developers can use to support Rebound! and PowerKey Pro in their products. A product with Rebound! support periodically sets a timer in the Rebound! software, in much the same way that the Rebound! software sets a timer in the hardware. Rebound! includes patent-pending technology which allows it to simultaneously monitor multiple applications. Rebound! keeps separate timers for each application, and if any application stops responding, Rebound! can restart the system.
"We've been very pleased with the response," Feinstein explained. "Developers saw the advantage of providing their own 'heartbeat' immediately. Each developer knows the workings of their software better than anyone on the outside ever could. By relying on status information provided from within the running applications, we can be sure that Rebound! does not confuse a heavily loaded server for a crashed machine."
Vendors with software supporting this technology include: StarNine Technologies, Inc.; Maxum Development Corp.; Imagina, Inc.; Purity Software, Inc.; Stalker Software, Inc.; Spider Island Software; MDG Computer Services, Inc.; Social Engineering Inc.; and Fog City Software. We expect a number of companies to announce support for this technology in the near future.
"StarNine is very excited to be a part of this technology collaboration with Sophisticated Circuits," said Zelenka. "Rebound! is an excellent value for our customers, as it provides an easy, yet powerful way of adding fault-tolerance capabilities to their server."
About Sophisticated Circuits
Founded in 1985, Sophisticated Circuits, Inc. is a privately held corporation located in Bothell, Wash. Sophisticated Circuits, Inc. develops elegant, highly integrated hardware/software tools which make the lives of computer professionals easier by enhancing the reliability, remote access and automation capabilities of servers and personal computers. Further information on Sophisticated Circuits may be obtained by accessing Sophisticated Circuits' Web site at http://www.sophisticated.com/, calling 800/769-3773, or sending e-mail to .
#### Sophisticated Circuits, PowerKey, and Rebound! are trademarks of Sophisticated Circuits, Inc. All other brands and products referenced herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.