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SOPHISTICATED CIRCUITS ANNOUNCES REBOUND! NOW AVAILABLE TO GENERAL PUBLIC

-- Auto-Restart ADB Device Ensures Server Reliability, Automatically --

BOTHELL, Wash., June 29, 1998 -- Sophisticated Circuits today announced Rebound!TM is now available to the general public. Previously available exclusively with WebSTAR 3.0, the leading Web server on the Macintosh platform, Rebound! is 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. Rebound! is now available to the general public for a street price of $99 at http://www.sophisticated.com/.

"Every well-designed web site or mission critical server should have a Rebound!," said Eric Zelenka, product manager for WebSTAR. "Our WebSTAR customers are using Rebound! as an essential part of their overall server reliability strategy, addressing one aspect of back-end fault tolerance. Rebound! is inexpensive enough that no server should be without one."

"The Macintosh Server G3 is built on the strength of the PowerPCTM G3 microprocessor, delivering twice the network performance of previous Apple server products," said Stan Ng, Apple Computer product manager. "Rebound! provides a great tool for increased server reliability. Its simple, yet powerful, capabilities fit extremely well with the ease of use and flexibility of Apple's new G3 servers."

Rebound! is World-Ready

Sophisticated Circuits has been refining its proven Server Restart Option (SRO) technology since January of 1997, however, Rebound! is 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 Jonathan Feinstein of Sophisticated Circuits.

How Rebound! Works

Rebound!'s patent-pending technology starts working immediately and constantly watches the operating system by communicating with the OS itself. An update to the Rebound! Extension software is also being released today (see related release dated 6.29.98). The 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 keyboard restart sequence. Rebound! uses a background application, rather than a driver, allowing the widest range of potential freezes and crashes to be detected.

"This has to be one of the coolest things I have seen," said John Bertagnolli from US West Dex in Aurora Colorado. "I am running some batch processes and have had to deal with network hangs by babysitting six machines about 16 hours a day. Now I have the Rebound!s installed, and a startup application that pages me whenever the machine restarts, which means I only have to deal with the machines whenever I get a page. I am able to get so much more accomplished."

Fully scriptable, Rebound! software can receive and respond to AppleEvents. Rebound! has Apple Guide online help built-in. The market-leader for Mac auto restart devices, Sophisticated Circuits has been in the Macintosh business since 1984 and has a tremendous amount of support from the developer community, allowing Sophisticated Circuits to be the only company offering multiple levels of protection and application-level crash detection.

Only Restart Device with Application-Level Support

In addition to watching the operating system, Rebound!, like its sibling , PowerKey Pro can also watch server applications with sophisticated application-level crash detection. Sophisticated Circuits has created an Application Programming Interface (API) which software developers 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, ensuring each application is functioning the way the developer intended. Rebound! keeps separate timers for each application, and if any application stops responding, Rebound! can restart the system.

"Developers immediately saw the advantage of providing their own 'heartbeat,'" Feinstein explained. "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.

"Rebound! is quite simply the most elegant tool available for increasing your server's reliability," stated Nathan Nunn, president of Purity Software. "I highly recommend this product for use with any Mac OS-based server -- especially when you consider how much money it saves you each and every time your server could potentially go down for hours on end without it."

Pricing and Availability Rebound! is priced at $99US and is available today directly from Sophisticated Circuits by calling 800/769-3773, +425/485-7979, or accessing the Web site at http://www.sophisticated.com/. A Crash Test Application is also available to test the functionality of the set-up. Special volume and dealer pricing is available by contacting Sophisticated Circuits.

About Sophisticated Circuits

Founded in 1984, 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 or sending e-mail to . International inquiries can also reach Sophisticated Circuits by calling +425/485-7979, or by sending a fax to +425/485-7172.

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Rebound! is a trademark and PowerKey is a registered trademark of Sophisticated Circuits, Inc. All other brands and products referenced herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.