Folio Corporation Announces Open Infobase Architecture

Platform Lets Developers Create New Generation Applications For Accessing
and Adapting Free-format Information For Specific Business Needs

May 16, 1994, Provo, Utah -- Folio Corporation today announced its Open
Infobase Architecture (OIA), paving the way for third-party developers to
create next-generation information applications that take advantage of
Folio' s Infobase Technology (FIT) services. Folio' s OIA platform
consists of the following:

* Folio Infobase API (Application Programmer Interface) for
  accessing more than 100 Folio Infobase services
* Folio Application Builder (FAB), a set of tools for easily
  designing and creating client applications
* Folio Infobase Server for developing distributed client/server infobase
applications for wide-area networks (WANs) and local area networks
(LANs).

Folio Infobase API

Included with the Folio Infobase API is the Infobase Adapter, software
defining communication between infobase clients and infobase servers. The
Infobase Adapter' s responsibilities include keeping a database of all
known drivers and installing them as needed to service clients, using the
drivers to locate and connect to infobase servers, maintaining connections
between the client and server and providing a standard communication model
between the infobase client and server. The Folio Infobase API will be
published, documented and made available to qualified partners and
third-party developers.

Folio Application Builder

The Folio Application Builder (FAB) is a visual application development
environment for developing custom infobase applications. FAB enables
third-party developers to construct applications integrating components of
the Folio VIEWS Infobase Manager client along with other custom components
using a Folio-provided scripting language. Example components include the
Folio Rich Text Document Window, Table of Contents Window, Edit Controls,
Dialog Boxes, and Menus. FAB components will be compatible with the
Microsoft OLE 2 component model and other popular object component
models.

Folio Infobase server

The Folio Infobase Server is the actual data storage and retrieval engine
of the Folio Infobase API. It provides access to and manipulation of the
information contained in the infobase through services such as text search
and retrieval, data compression, real-time indexing and editing, flexible
data fields, shadow file reconciliation and security.

Availability

Folio' s Infobase API is scheduled to be available to beta testers in the
fourth quarter of 1994 with release scheduled for 1995. The Folio
Application Builder and Folio Infobase Server are scheduled for
availability in 1995.

Accessing and Adapting Information

"Despite the increasing availability of business information, corporations
continue to suffer from an inability to effectively use that information
to make better informed decisions, improve customer satisfaction and
increase profitability," said Curt Allen, Folio's executive vice
president.

Effectively accessing information means finding the right information at
the right time, regardless of where it resides. Adapting information means
customizing information to make it more useful.

"In order for individuals or organizations to reap the full value from
their information, they must be able to not only access the information,
but also adapt it to their particular needs, as well," said Tracy Scott,
Folio's president. "Adapting information means taking information that has
been accessed and customizing it in ways that best serve, for example, an
organization' s specific needs and reflect its unique points-of-view."

Adapting information is not a new concept. Business people adapt the
information they use on a daily basis as they retrieve, sort, highlight,
photocopy, cut and paste, and then re-compile information. In the process
they add personal insights and data from other sources, accept input from
their peers and eventually convert it all into meaningful reports,
proposals and other business tools. The only difference now is that Folio
has technology to allow people to conduct these same activities faster and
more efficiently, adding unique abilities which paper doesn't provide --
such as instant retrieval, multi-user editing, hypertext linking,
multi-media support and the ability to view information in multiple
contexts.

For example, front-line service providers, those interacting directly with
customers, must have the assurance that the information they share with
customers is current and accurate. FIT enables up to 125 users to edit and
update information simultaneously while an unlimited number of people on a
local or wide-area network can access that information to answer customer
inquiries. All the changes to the central infobase are indexed and
available in real-time, ensuring its accuracy and raising the probability
that customers will get the information they need.

Another example is the process of developing a new corporate business plan.
Under normal circumstances, paper drafts are distributed, edited,
re-compiled, re-printed and then redistributed for the next round of
reviews. With FIT, users can all view and modify the document stored on a
central server and changes are reflected immediately, drastically reducing
the time required to approve and implement the planned changes. In a
recent article, sports equipment manufacturer, Nike Inc., was cited as
using current versions of Folio VIEWS to reduce the time required for
business plan revisions, enabling them to produce new drafts twice a day,
rather than just five times in three months with their former process.

Infobase '94

Many of Folio's developers, commercial publishers, and corporate customers
will be on hand to present technical details, case studies and product
demonstrations at the upcoming Infobase '94 conference to be held June
28-30, 1994 in Salt Lake city, Utah. Those interested in attending can
register by calling the Infobase '94 Hotline at (800) 228-9437. (Note to
members of the press: Press attendees registering with proper credentials
are invited to attend at no charge.)

About Folio Corporation

It is estimated that Polio software currently resides on more than 30
million desktops in the form of Folio VIEWS, Novell NetWare Help, Banyan
VINES technical documentation and as the delivery mechanism for more than
a thousand titles from 135 commercial publishers on CD ROM and diskette.

Folio VIEWS, the flagship product in Folio' s family of infobase products
and a showcase for Folio Infobase Technology, has been recognized by many
corporate customers, commercial publishers and leading software industry
publications for its unique and innovative approach to managing
free-format information.

Recently, Folio VIEWS 3.0 for Windows was honored with the following
industry awards:

* 1993 MVP (Most Valuable Product) award
  from PC/Computing magazine 
* 1993 Award of Distinction from BYTE magazine
* 1994 WIN 100 Award from Windows Magazine
* 1994 Award of Technical Excellence
  from France's PC Expert magazine

Folio Infobase software helps business people access and adapt information
in ways that make it more valuable to them. Applications for individual
users, workgroups and enterprises all benefit from Folio' s unique ability
to rapidly index and retrieve information, store and display multimedia
objects, link information together, and update information on-the-fly.

Folio's parent company is Mead Data Central (MDC), Dayton, Ohio, provider
of the LEXIS and NEXIS online information services. MDC is a division of
Mead Corporation, "MEA" on the New York Stock Exchange. Mead Corp. had
1993 revenues of $4.8 billion.

Folio Corp
2155 North Freedom Blvd, Provo, UT 84604
801-344-3700,   800-543-6546

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