FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For more information, contact: Angela Grady 415/570-7736 angela@lighthouse.com LIGHTHOUSE DESIGN ACQUIRES KEY NEXTSTEP TECHNOLOGY FROM APPSOFT, INC. AND PINNACLE RESEARCH February 1, 1994 - San Mateo, CA -- Lighthouse Designi, Ltd. today announced that it has acquired key NEXTSTEP technology from Appsoft, Inc. and Pinnacle Research, including Appsoft's spreadsheet program, Appsoft Solution; Appsoft's next generation word processor, Appsoft Write; and, Pinnacle Research's image processing and paint program, WetPaint. Lighthouse will immediately release WetPaint 1.2 as a beta product, with the shipping version available in April, and will incorporate the acquired Appsoft technology into its current and future productivity applications. Lighthouse has no immediate plans to release Appsoft Solution and Write as separate products. "The technology we have acquired gives us a significant development advantage as we prepare for the broader market OpenStep is creating," said Jonathan Schwartz, president of Lighthouse Design. "The Appsoft and Pinnacle programs have been well designed and well tested. We feel fortunate to have acquired such solid technology." Lighthouse plans to release an enhanced version of WetPaint in early April. Customers who purchased WetPaint from Pinnacle Research will receive this upgrade at no additional charge. The product will require NEXTSTEP 3.1 or later. Retail pricing for WetPaint will be set in April, with the standard Lighthouse academic pricing available. WetPaint is a general purpose image manipulation and paint program that features an extensive collection of paint tools, filters and special effects. Designed for scalability, WetPaint provides explicit support for "loadable modules," accepting third-party filters, tools and patterns. WetPaint was used in the creation of application icons and user interface elements found in each of Lighthouse's commercial products (Diagram!, Concurrence and TaskMaster), and is expected to be popular with custom application developers who want to enhance the graphic presentation of their NEXTSTEP products. "WetPaint is a powerful design tool that provides Adobe Photoshop capabilities to the NEXTSTEP environment," commented Garrick Toubassi, a software engineer at Lighthouse Design, and one of the application's original authors. "This program provides easy access to a comprehensive collection of tools and filters, and is a perfect addition to the in-house developer's suite of tools." Founded in 1989, Lighthouse Design is a privately-held software firm based in San Mateo, California, dedicated to delivering high quality, well-integrated productivity solutions to the enterprise desktop. For further information on Lighthouse Design and its line of productivity software, contact Lighthouse Design, Ltd. directly at 1-800-366-2279 or 1-415-570-7736. For a beta copy of WetPaint 1.2, send electronic mail to wetpaint@lighthouse.com. -30- Lighthouse Design, Ltd., WetPaint, TaskMaster, Diagram!, and Concurrence are trademarks of Lighthouse Design, Ltd. NEXTSTEP is a registered trademark of NeXT Computer, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.