IBM Begins Roll Out of Personal Conferencing Products

SOMERS, N.Y., June 20, 1995 . . . Allowing users to connect their computers
and work together as if they are in the same place, IBM today begins the
roll out of personal conferencing announcements. Business users can share
documents or spreadsheets and home users can share drawings and photo
images. Further, users can annotate and change their work by typing or
drawing in a number of colors. The work can then be saved to a file as a
record of the conference.

"We have a very strong desire to do person-to-person video conferencing,"
said David Tidmore, senior engineer of MCI's Intelligent Services Platform
Common Layers Department. "Imagine being able to join a video conference
from your hotel room. It's a very strong calling card."

Introduced this week is Personal Conferencing for AIX software for use on
the new ThinkPad Power Series also announced this week. Taking advantage
of the IBM ThinkPad microphone, speakers and high-speed 28.8 kilobits per
second (Kbps) modem, the conferencing software allows users to
simultaneously talk and transmit data over the same phone line. While
talking on the phone, users can work together on a shared document or
file, plus transfer files, or send images -- all over the same ordinary
telephone line.

IBM will offer comparable conferencing software for the ThinkPad Power
Series running on OS/2.

The ThinkPad Power Series 850 Video Camera option adds a tiny camera that
is integrated right into the cover, so that users can see each other as
well.

IBM reconfirmed its support for existing and emerging standards, such as
H.320, H.324 and T.120. (More detail on these follows.) By supporting
those standards, IBM personal conferencing products will work with others
in the industry that meet the same specifications. That should make
personal conferencing as natural as using a phone or fax.

"Our goal is for users to be able to connect no matter where they are and
what the time of day," said Marcia Gillespie, director of conferencing
products at IBM. "We will continue to deliver personal conferencing across
IBM's hardware and software product line. We believe the key to success
for conferencing technology is to make it irrelevant to users what
machine, operating system, or network type they are using."

Last year, IBM began distributing another key offering in its conferencing
product line, Person to Person, with the award-winning OS/2 Warp operating
system. More than 2 million copies of OS/2 Warp with Person to Person have
been licensed to date. Person to Person can be used with the OS/2 Warp
Internet Connection to facilitate communications among individuals who
have the need to work anywhere, anytime.

"Person to Person enables individuals to use the power of the Internet to
conduct multi-party desktop conferences with other Internet users anywhere
in the world," said Bob Rittle, manager of conferencing products at IBM.

"IBM offers a new twist on applying conferencing technology to the needs of
teleworkers," said Sarah Dickinson, senior analyst at Personal Technology
Research. "Delivering packaged solutions -- including operating systems,
application software, and hardware -- in concert with emerging standards
may be a winning combination in bringing usable conferencing solutions to
the marketplace."

Separately in the United Kingdom (U.K.), British Telecom and IBM recently
announced Person to Person Screencall, which adds personal conferencing to
a PC. The product offering includes the British Telecom VC8000 videocard,
camera, microphone, cables and IBM conferencing software developed on the
IBM Lakes framework for collaborative computing.

In addition, before the end of this year, IBM will:

        -       make available to selected users beta (pre-release)
                versions of enhanced personal conferencing products;

        -       expand the reach and capabilities of the IBM Global
                Network video conferencing services, including
                support for global multi-point video conferences and
                continued support of emerging standards;

Early 1996, IBM intends to make available beta software that supports the:

        -       H.320 videoconferencing standard for special
                high-speed phone lines, known as ISDN (Integrated
                Services Digital Network);

        -       H.324 videoconferencing standard for ordinary phone
                lines.
                (The H.324 standard is currently in the ratification
                process.)

        -       T.120 specification for shared "whiteboards."  This
                specification, now in the ratification process,
                allows users to work together in shared windows on

Product literature and additional information is available as follows:

        -       on the Internet WorldWide Web by accessing IBM at
                address http://www.ibm.com, or the Person to Person
                home page at address, http://www.hursley.ibm.com/p2p;

        -       self-service fax by calling 800-IBM-4FAX in the U.S.,
                or 415-855-4329 outside the U.S.

                Person to Person brochure is document #2139

                Person to Person fact sheet is #1525

                Lakes executive overview is #2219

                ThinkPad Power Series information (Press 3 on a
                touchtone phone, then 1);

        -       by calling IBM's general information phone number
                800-426-2255 in the U.S.

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