Digital:Convergence Deploys Millions of :CueCat™ Devices and :CRQ™ Software Free to American Consumers
First Class Roster of Partners Link Traditional Media to Relevant Web Content

Dallas, TX, August 29, 2000 — Digital:Convergence today announced the national deployment of its proprietary technology that links traditional print and broadcast media to specific, relevant pages on the Internet. Along with its partners — including Forbes and Wired magazines, Parade, RadioShack, NBC, Belo and Scripps Howard — Digital:Convergence will distribute more than 10 million of its new :CueCat™ devices and :CRQ™ software free to consumers by the end of this year.

"In our research, consumers told us they want a way to instantly link from stories they read and programs they watch to corresponding information on the Internet," says J. Jovan Philyaw, Chairman and CEO of Digital:Convergence. "So we built an easy-to-use technology that does just that. :CRQ and :CueCat technology will revolutionize the way people interact with the World Wide Web."

Forbes magazine is the first partner to integrate the technology in its September 11^th "Best of the Web" edition, which will feature Internet-enhanced editorial and advertising applications. In tandem with the issue, Forbes will distribute free "convergence" kits that include a :CueCat device and :CRQ software to its more than 800,000 subscribers. Consumers can also pick up free copies of :CRQ software and :CueCat devices through partner RadioShack's more than 7,000 stores nationwide. Digital:Convergence plans to have more than 50 million :CueCat devices on consumers' desktops by the end of 2001.

"Forbes readers are a sophisticated group with a wide range of interests," says Jim Berrien, President of Forbes magazine. "Now, through the :CRQ software and :CueCat device, our readers are able to choose which stories and advertisements they have a high degree of interest in and directly link to relevant web content on only those topics. It provides a new level of flexibility and personalization to our readers."

:CRQ Software — The Key to Finding Relevant Web Content
The core of Digital:Convergence's technology is its :CRQ (See Our Cue) software, which acts as an Internet navigation system by directing consumers to relevant Web content without the need to type in lengthy URLs or hunt through a typical search engine. The software links all products and forms of media — including broadcast and cable television, newspapers and magazines, videotape, CDs, DVDs and radio — to the Internet through printed UPC-like codes and/or audio signals known as cues.

:CueCat — The Eyes of :CRQ Software
Approximately the size of a PC's mouse, the :CueCat device is an optical reader with light emitting diode (LED) technology. The :CueCat device gives consumers the power to swipe any existing product codes (e.g., UPC, ISBN) or the company's proprietary cue codes to link to relevant content on the Web.

BrightPlanet, a Sioux Falls, South Dakota start-up, recently reported that while approximately 550 billion documents are stored on the Web, search engines only index one billion Web pages. The Digital:Convergence technology will enable consumers to access unwieldy deep Web content that, until now, has been difficult to access. "If you think of a search engine as a compass that guides you on the Web, think of our :CRQ software as GPS for the Internet," says Philyaw.

Initially, consumers will receive the :CRQ software and :CueCat devices nationally through two main channels: print media outlets and retail outlets.

• Print Media Outlets — In addition to Forbes, Wired magazine will distribute convergence kits to its 350,000-plus subscriber base in conjunction with its October edition, and AdWeek publications will distribute the technology to subscribers of Adweek, Mediaweek, Brandweek and Marketing & Computers magazines in early fall. The Dallas Morning News will be sending kits to a select mailing of its wired subscribers in tandem with its October 1 launch.
  
• Retail Outlets — The :CueCat devices and copies of :CRQ software will be available for free at more than 7,000 RadioShack locations. On August 16^th, RadioShack became the first consumer electronics store to market a fully interactive catalog using :CRQ technology.
  

Other publications planning cue-enhanced editorial and advertising content this fall include Forbes' sister magazines Forbes ASAP and Forbes FYI, and Parade magazine, which reaches 37 million American homes each week. Newspapers include East Valley Tribune (AZ), The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI), Providence Journal (RI), Scottsdale Tribune (AZ), Sun City Daily News Sun (AZ) and Riverside Press Enterprise (CA).

Several broadcast media partners will be launching broadcast-cued programming later this fall and early next year, including NBC, Belo, Pappas Telecasting and Benedek Broadcasting Corporation stations.

About Digital:Convergence
Digital:Convergence is a privately held Internet technology company headquartered in Dallas with offices in New York and London. Working in conjunction with industry-leading partners such as Forbes magazine, Young & Rubicam Inc., Belo, and RadioShack Corporation, the company's proprietary technology can link almost all media or products instantly and easily with the Internet, allowing users to obtain relevant information or conduct e-commerce activities. The company's management team includes a roster of industry veterans from Time Warner, AT&T, GE, ING Barings and Disney.

Press Contacts:	Peter Eschbach	Phone: 214.292.6200
	Kristen Rosenzweig	Phone: 212.614.5265