Monday September 21, 10:00 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Spyglass
Motorola Licenses Spyglass Internet
Technologies for Multi-featured
'Blackbird' Digital Set-top Box Platform
Multi-million Dollar Agreement is Largest Television Related Deal in
Spyglass History
NAPERVILLE, Ill., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ _ Spyglass (Nasdaq: SPYG - news) announced
today that Motorola (NYSE: MOT - news) Semiconductor Products Sector has entered into a
multi-million dollar agreement to provide Internet technologies for Motorola's interactive
entertainment architecture, code-named ''Blackbird.'' It was also announced that Spyglass' Cable
and Satellite Television Practice would team with Motorola to assist Blackbird OEM customers in
bringing advanced, interactive consumer services into the home. For Spyglass, it is the largest
interactive-television related deal since the company launched its cable and satellite television
practice at the end of 1997.
Motorola licensed a custom television version of Spyglass Device Mosaic, the industry's first
full-featured, small footprint browser, and Spyglass MicroServer, a small footprint Web server
used for control and messaging to the set-top box. Both Spyglass products will be bundled with
the set-top box platform. Additionally, Motorola entered into comprehensive consulting services
agreement where Spyglass will both customize its device technology and help plan, design, and
implement value added applications and content delivery services for the platform. Spyglass
Device Mosaic will run on Microware's (Nasdaq: MWAR - news) OS-9000 real-time operating
system.
''These next generation digital set-tops will be a significant enhancement for cable operators to
offer additional services,'' said Ray Burgess, vice president and assistant general manager of
Motorola's Consumer Systems Group. ''Spyglass Internet technology gives our customers the
best opportunity to take full advantage of Motorola's hardware design, enabling them to bring a
wide variety of new interactive entertainment services to consumers.
''We are also pleased to be allied with Spyglass' TV Consulting Practice which will be assisting
our customers in adding their own unique interactive services to this very robust platform,''
Burgess added.
Specifically, Spyglass will make modifications to Device Mosaic to support the Motorola set-top
design's digital television features and requirements, including video-on-demand and will port it to
the PowerPC(TM) platform. To accomplish this, Spyglass will create internal browser functions
to support Motorola's VCR-like functionality on MPEG-2 streams via Real Time Streaming
Protocol. Spyglass MicroServer will allow Motorola to provide cable companies network
management and communications capabilities with set-tops deployed in the field.
''We are very excited about the scope of this deal,'' said Randy Littleson, vice president and
general manager of Spyglass. ''As our Internet device technology gets deployed on Motorola's
powerful multimedia set-top box platform, we are positioned to help their customers add value on
top.
''Motorola SPS is committed to providing a PowerPC-based digital cable solution, rather than
just silicon,'' Littleson added. ''As such, they are an ideal partner for Spyglass because we too are
focused on providing complete solutions, not just single pieces of technology. Together, Spyglass
and Motorola have created a key, customizable platform that makes Internet-based services
available to set-top manufacturers and cable operators as an important new source of
differentiation and revenue.''
Motorola is already a key supplier of silicon components for the set-top box industry.
About Motorola
Motorola is a global leader in software-energized wireless communications, semiconductors, and
advanced electronic systems and services. Motorola creates cellular telephone, two-way radio,
paging, data and satellite communications systems and products that enable people to take their
worlds with them. Motorola's embedded semiconductors are essential digital building blocks for
consumer, networking and computing, transportation and wireless communications markets.
Other businesses include automotive electronics, components, computing and energy products.
Sales in 1997 were $29.8 billion.
About Spyglass
Spyglass provides Internet expertise, software and services for making devices work with the
Web. Particularly active in the cable and satellite television, wireless telecommunications,
consumer electronics and office equipment markets, Spyglass solutions are used by
market-leading companies including 3Com, Daimler Benz, GTE, JavaSoft, Lucent, NEC, Nokia,
Thomson Consumer Electronics (RCA) and Xerox. Spyglass headquarters are located at 1240
East Diehl Rd., Naperville, Ill., 60563; phone: 630-245-6512; fax: 630-245-6693; press email
inquiries: astokes@spyglass.com; Web site: spyglass.com.
Spyglass and the Spyglass logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Spyglass, Inc., in the
United States and other countries. Mosaic is a trademark of the University of Illinois. (Other
technologies and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective
companies.) This release contains information about management's future expectations, plans and
prospects that constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions
under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially
from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors
that are discussed in the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended September
30, 1997, which is on file with the SEC.
SOURCE: Spyglass
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