New DOS Browser Brings the Graphical Web to Older Machines, Reports CMP's TechWire

PRNewswire
MANHASSET, N.Y.
Feb 5, 1997

The millions of DOS users languishing in a world dominated by graphical user interfaces will soon have a graphical Internet/intranet browser, according to a report posted today on CMP's TechWire™, http://www.techwire.com/. The product, called Arachne 1.0, was developed by a Czech firm -- xChaos Software.

"There are lots of laptops that cannot run, say, Netscape's Communicator," said TechWire Internet Editor Margie Semilof. "The fact is, however, there are still plenty of DOS systems in use and millions of copies of the venerable operating system are still shipped each year. There might be a huge demand for a DOS-compatible program like Arachne."

Prior to this release, DOS users who wanted to access the Web primarily used Lynx, a simple browser that supports text, links and a very limited amount of formatting, but no graphics. Arachne, which requires only an i8086- compatible CPU and a mere 640 kilobytes of memory, is a stark contrast to today's Web browsers -- which usually require a minimum of eight megabytes and either Windows 3.1, 95 or the MacOS.

CMP's TechWire is an international news wire service owned by CMP's TechWeb®, the technology super site. TechWire was singled out in a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle. "The site's international focus and investigative reporting make for some juicy reading that you won't find elsewhere on the Net," the Chronicle wrote.

TechWeb is a leader in engineering new sites and features to address the unique needs of various high-tech audiences, particularly high-end, technology-savvy users who are responsible for buying technology for themselves and others. In recent months, TechWeb has launched more than six individual sites, all free to users, all advertiser-supported and all filling a gap left open by other high-tech sites. Recent additions include TechTools™, TechCalendar™, TechInvestor™, TechPrice™ and TechHelper™.

CMP Media Inc., now in its 26th year of uninterrupted growth, is the only provider of publishing, marketing and information services to reach the entire spectrum of the high-technology market -- the builders, sellers and users of technology. With sales of $418 million in 1996, CMP marked a quarter century of success with an average annual growth of 20 percent. All of CMP's publications and a series of innovative news and interactive services are available on the World Wide Web through CMP's TechWeb, http://www.techweb.com/, the industry's first free daily technology news and interactive services super site. CMP Media is also the creator of NetGuide Live (http://www.netguide.com/), the first comprehensive daily listing of live events on the Internet and commercial online services, and First-TV (http://www.first-tv.com/), the Internet's first 24-hour TV/video network.

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SOURCE: CMP Media Inc.

CONTACT: Steve Rubel, 516-562-7434 or srubel@cmp.com, or Leslie Dunbar,
516-562-7040 or ldunbar@cmp.com, both of CMP Corporate Communications