New York City, NY (September 24, 1996) - In an effort to ease the growing technical support crisis, Phoenix Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: PTEC), the world’s largest supplier of system level software for PCs, and CyberMedia, maker of the best-selling First Aid 95®, are co-developing a new technology that will enable manufacturers to build a new generation of "self-healing" PCs that automatically repair their own technical problems, such as hardware conflicts and software crashes. This new automatic troubleshooting technology, called ActiveHelp™, will be demonstrated for the first time today at Intel’s Wired for Management Business Computing Forum at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

ActiveHelp is designed to significantly reduce technical support costs by automatically intercepting and fixing problems on the PC — before the user needs to call the help desk or technical support hotline for assistance. It can be customized to fix problems specific to each brand and model of PC, and is continually updated via the Internet.
"We believe ActiveHelp technology can make a significant contribution to reducing the cost of supporting Connected PCs," said Ed Eckstrom, at Intel Corporation. "Integrating self-healing capabilities with networks and the Internet will help accelerate making PCs universally manageable."

The Phoenix-CyberMedia partnership brings together the strengths of two of the industry’s leading experts in PC problem-fixing technologies to co-engineer a next-generation solution to the technical support bottleneck. ActiveHelp is based on mature technologies that have been developed, refined and market tested by both companies for several years.

Phoenix, the world’s largest developer of system-level software, is well known for developing two technologies that significantly reduce hardware-level PC conflicts — the company had a key role in co-developing Plug and Play for Microsoft Windows 95, and developed the DMI (Desktop Management Interface) BIOS specification for personal computers. Phoenix provides the basic operating system software (BIOS) for over 17 million PCs, including those from Compaq, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, NEC, and Packard-Bell NEC. Phoenix’s worldwide OEM relationships with the industry’s leading PC manufacturers will enable rapid distribution of ActiveHelp in millions of PCs used in corporations and in homes.

"Phoenix is committed to implementing technologies that help lower the total cost of PC ownership for the entire industry, including the PC manufacturer, the MIS department help desk, and the consumer," said Jack Kay, CEO of Phoenix Technologies. "CyberMedia and Phoenix will play a significant role in making PCs that are easier to use, even as they become more powerful and robust."

CyberMedia is best known for pioneering technologies that fix software application and Windows problems by using a knowledge base that is automatically updated via the Internet with the latest problem-solving information. The company’s First Aid 95 software has sold over 1million copies and is currently one of the top 10 best-selling retail software products in the United States. CyberMedia recently introduced Oil Change™, software that gives PCs a "digital oil change" by updating software over the Internet with new drivers, patches and bug fixes.

"Today’s PC is made of components, chips, boards, accessories and software from dozens of different vendors," said Unni Warrier, chief executive officer of CyberMedia. "This is one of the main reasons why PCs have become so difficult to support. As neutral companies, CyberMedia and Phoenix are able to develop a single technology that deals with the problems that happen when all of these products from different vendors interrelate."

How ActiveHelp Works
If a user experiences a PC problem, they just click one button to start the ActiveHelp software. ActiveHelp intercepts problems, diagnoses the PC software and hardware to determine the cause, and explains the problem in plain language. If possible, ActiveHelp fixes the problem immediately. If it can’t fix the problem, ActiveHelp searches the Internet, and CyberMedia’s constantly updated server, "Help Central", for a remedy — such as retrieving a new printer driver, bug fix, or patch. It then installs the fix on the PC automatically.

ActiveHelp uses a knowledge base of detailed information about applications and other software and hardware. This knowledge base is continually updated via the Internet. It also uses Artificial Intelligence (case-based reasoning) to "ask" questions that help diagnose the problem and suggest a solution.

Technical Support: A Serious, Growing Problem for Everyone
Technical support is an expensive computer industry headache. Its impact is felt by the corporate IS manager, OEM hardware manufacturer, software developer and end users. With ActiveHelp users can quickly solve computer problems without calling overburdened support lines and corporate help desks. That means fewer phone calls for hardware manufacturers and help desks to field, more satisfied users and less money spent on technical support.

Eases MIS Technical Support Burden
According to Gartner Group, an industry research firm, the total annual cost of corporate networked PC ownership, including technical support, hardware, software and administrative services, is a whopping $11,900 per PC. ActiveHelp reduces the cost of corporate PC ownership by intercepting problems and offloading calls that bombard the corporate help desk. Building upon CyberMedia’s First Aid technology and Phoenix’s expertise in system management, ActiveHelp will read DMI (Desktop Management Interface) files to help intercept problems at the desktop, and then notify the systems administrator via SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) mail when problems occur.

Increased Customer Satisfaction and Reduced Support Costs for PC Makers
PC manufacturers often bear the bulk of the support burden. According to Dataquest, users will make over 200 million technical support calls in 1996 to PC makers and their technical support
centers, costing the PC industry over $3.9 billion. These figures are projected to increase by 20 percent annually. Microsoft alone spent about $500 million on technical support last year. CyberMedia and Phoenix estimate that by intercepting crashes and problems on the PC before users need to call for help, the ActiveHelp software can reduce such calls significantly, resulting in an enormous potential savings to the PC industry in support call costs.

Makes PCs Easier to Use
ActiveHelp software makes PCs more reliable and less frustrating for novice and home users ¾ the fastest-growing market for PCs. According to International Data Corp. (IDC), support is one of the top five factors consumers consider when they choose a PC. ActiveHelp is aimed at increasing customer satisfaction by making hardware and software applications more reliable and less frustrating to use.

About Phoenix Technologies
Phoenix Technologies is the world's largest supplier of standards-based compatibility software to the personal computer industry. The company's system-level software products, such as PhoenixBIOS™ for desktops, NoteBIOS™ for portables, and ServerBIOS™ for servers, allow PC manufacturers to increase product differentiation, reduce product cycle time to market as well as cut internal engineering costs. Phoenix PICO line provides products and services for Special Purpose PCs, and the Virtual Chips line supports interconnect standards including PC Cards/CardBus, PCI, Universal Serial Bus and other emerging interfaces. Information on all Phoenix Technologies products is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.ptltd.com.

About CyberMedia
CyberMedia has developed an innovative, vendor-neutral, automated approach to technical support that enables it to deliver comprehensive and easy-to-use software support solutions for PC users. The company’s products are built on an ActiveHelp architecture that enables its products to be continually updated via the Internet. CyberMedia’s products include First Aid 95, the Tech Support Yellow Pages, and Oil Change. CyberMedia’s mission is to empower computer users to fix problems on their own, before they need to call technical support hotlines for help. Information on CyberMedia is available on the World Web at http://www.cybermedia.com.

Contact:
Jim Adamson
Phoenix Technologies Ltd.
408-452-6867
jim_adamson@ptltd.com