Oakdale, Minn. (Nov. 13, 1996) -- Plans to establish LS-120 diskette technology as the replacement for the 1.44 MB floppy diskette were strengthened today, said officials at Imation Corp. (NYSE: IMN), as American Megatrends, Inc. (AMI) announced that it is now offering BIOS supporting the LS-120 diskette platform to PC manufacturers.

BIOS, an acronym for Basic Input Output System, is the first link between hardware and software in coordinating the startup configuration of computers. A computer's BIOS automatically configures the computer's hard drives, disk drives, processors, chipsets, memory, and boot-up of the operating system.

"This is a very positive advancement enabling widespread adoption of LS-120 technology," said Ray Meifert, director, PC Markets Segment, Imation. "AMI's announcement is a clear step toward standardization of the LS-120 platform. The availability of AMIBIOS 97 supporting LS-120 technology enables the integration of bootable LS-120 drives into the new systems of virtually any PC maker -- at a time when customer demand for the solution is building."

Imation, the new information and imaging company recently spun-off from 3M, markets the 3M-brand LS-120 Diskette. Imation co-developed LS-120 technology along with Matsushita-Kotobuki Electronics Industries, Ltd. (MKE), Compaq Computer Corporation, and OR Technology.

"By providing support for the LS-120 platform, AMI continues to implement new features quickly and provide its customers access to cutting edge technology," said Mark Huffman, AMI software sales manager. "LS-120 technology offers unique advantages for the replacement of standard 1.44MB floppy drives."

LS-120 technology enables users to store 120 MB on a single diskette -- more than 80 times the capacity of today's 1.44 MB diskette. Moreover, LS-120 drives are fully read/write backward compatible to the 1.44 MB diskette, meaning that users will not render their existing diskette libraries obsolete as they upgrade to LS-120 technology. LS-120 drives are fully supported under Windows 95 (OEM System Release 2) and Windows NT 4.0, offering an easily integrated, high-capacity solution for PC users.

Other companies that manufacture products based on the LS-120 platform, or have announced plans to do so, include Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Hitachi-Maxell, Ltd. and Kaifa Group.

In over half the computers in the world with AMIBIOS, American Megatrends, Inc. has an 11 year track record of producing leading technologies for leading companies. The Atlanta-based company also produces a variety of software and hardware solutions including utility software, keyboard controllers, PCMCIA software, motherboards, and RAID controllers. AMI can be reached at 800/828-9264 or 770/246-8600 and on the World Wide Web at http://www.megatrends.com.

Imation supplies a variety of products and services worldwide for the information processing industry, specializing in imaging applications and information storage. The business units that make up Imation had 1995 revenues of $2.2 billion while part of 3M. The company employs approximately 9,400 people worldwide and is based in Oakdale, Minn.

Additional information about Imation is available on the company's website at http://www.imation.com.

Copyright 1996 Imation. All rights reserved.