Xiphias Introduces New Video History Series for CD-ROM

Xiphias introduces a new series of home reference CD-ROMs, entitled
Illustrated Facts. The products, shown at the Chicago Consumer Electronics
Show, retail for $39.95 and will ship in August for the PC and the Mac on
the same disc. The products, designed as companions to Xiphias' acclaimed
CD-ROM-based Time Table of History series, use video rather than text as
the means to tell the key stories of history.

"We crafted these products to accomplish two purposes," says Peter Black,
President of Xiphias. "First, we wanted to explore the excitement of
digital video, in association with our new Matrix Interface design.
Second, we wanted to have a lower-priced product for parents on a budget,
or for those customers who are new to CD-ROM, and want to spread their
software investment over a larger spectrum of titles. The Illustrated
Facts titles are for the parent who wants to share the fun of interactive
media with their kids in a lighthearted, but educational fashion. Unlike
the Xiphias Time Tables, which are suited to the more serious history
buff, the Illustrated Facts titles are meant to provide quick,
entertaining access to the big stories of history.

Illustrated Facts: How Things Work is dedicated to explaining the most
important developments in the history of Transportation, Weapons,
Communication, Computation, Tools, Time Measurement and Sensory Extension.
Each of the 70 stories is half a minute to a minute's worth digital video.
The style is light, and often whimsical, but most stories boast a
substantial background chronological drawn from Xiphias' Time Table of
History titles.

Illustrated Facts: How The World Works is structured in exactly the same
manner, but treats 70 key events and achievements in the history of
Government, Justice, War, Culture, Money, Industry and Standard of Living.
How the World Works boasts a musical score featuring the classic 60's
group, the Yardbirds.

Xiphias' Matrix Interface gives the audience the ability to play through
the stories as if they were a linear presentation, like a TV show. Or a
parent can select which stories will be displayed one by one, or even
create a custom "canned" sequence to play back for the kids. The Matrix
interface, specifically designed to reduce complexity in the operation of
video-intensive CD-ROMs, was introduced at the TED4 conference in Kobe,
Japan, in early May.

Xiphias is a Los Angeles-based publisher of interactive CD-ROM products.
The current Xiphias product line includes The Time Table of History
series, The American Heritage Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary and the
New Basics Electronic Cookbook.

Xiphias is located at 8758 Venice Boulevard, LA, CA 90034. Phone (310) 841
2790. Fax (310) 841 2559.

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