November 19 1999
ExtremeUSB Receiving Strong Reception at COMDEX
Icron Systems Inc.
ASE:ICM
COMDEX, Las Vegas – Icron Systems Inc. announced today that Inside Out Networks Inc. of Austin, Texas has agreed to become a founding member of Icron’s ExtremeUSB Team. To promote the technology, the two companies have constructed ExtremeUSB connections between their respective booths at COMDEX. A USB video camera mounted in the Inside Out Networks booth (USB 18) is connected to a PC in the Icron booth (USB 20), while a USB camera in Icron’s booth is connected to a PC in Inside Out Network’s booth. Icron’s ExtremeUSB technology was featured on ZDTV’s COMDEX Live broadcast on Tuesday November 16 and is to be featured on an upcoming broadcast on the German 3sat network.
The ExtremeUSB Team has been established to increase the total market for USB products by enabling a broad set of new applications. Members participate to obtain a competitive advantage through use of ExtremeUSB in their products. Icron’s proprietary ExtremeUSB technology extends the Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection distance from the current specification of 16.5 feet (5 meters) between devices to 330 feet (100 meters), moving USB beyond the desktop to fully distributed interconnectivity. ExtremeUSB also makes it possible to use standard Ethernet building wiring for high-speed peripheral connections.
With annual revenues growing at rapid pace, Inside Out Networks is representative of a growing number of innovative companies fostering the wide acceptance of USB. Inside Out networks is a privately-held company that develops and markets high-performance, data connection technologies which replace older PCI and ISA solutions with USB. They have developed strong relationships with many customers, including technology leaders such as NCR, IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft. Inside Out Networks’ products are utilized in a broad range of enterprise applications with particular success in the Point-of-Sale market. Their products have been integrated into major systems projects for Mail Boxes Etc., Starbucks, Bose, Wal-Mart, VingCard, QuikTrip, Pilot, Alitalia, Air Canada and many others. The Rapidport/4 has received excellent response and is the recipient of PC Week’s “Best of COMDEX, Fall 98” Finalist Award.
David Dunnison, Icron’s Vice President of Business Development, said, “We are very excited about this commitment from Inside Out Networks. Inside Out Networks is an important and rapidly growing company in the USB marketplace. They have a strong position in the Point-of-Sale and industrial control markets; markets that represent a significant ExtremeUSB opportunity. Inside Out Networks have also developed software for Windows NT4.0 that is compatible with ExtremeUSB. The combination of these technologies will create a powerful solution to open up new USB applications in the enterprise and industrial markets.”
Terry Fagin, Senior Vice President of Inside Out Networks, stated, “We have received interest in ExtremeUSB from both existing and potential customers at COMDEX. One of the features that attracted us to ExtremeUSB is the potential to utilize already installed Ethernet (Cat 5e) cabling. The Icron technology provides a practical solution to physically connecting USB devices virtually anywhere in a commercial or industrial environment. Early evaluations of the technology and discussions with our customers have been very positive.”
Icron Systems Inc. of Vancouver, BC has invented ExtremeUSB technology, a practical means of extending the range of USB connections from 15 feet (5 meters) to over 300 feet (100 meters). Icron has applied for patents covering its inventions and is integrating this technology into a series of products for PC users. Icron is a publicly traded company and trades under the symbol ICM on the Alberta Stock Exchange.
Inside Out Networks www.ionetworks.com
Terry Fagin terryf@ionetworks.com
Senior Vice President
512-306-0600
Note: The company relies on litigation protection for “forward-looking” statements. The Canadian Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: Except for statements of historical fact, all statements in this news release – including, without limitation, statements regarding production estimates and future plans and objectives of Icron – are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate; actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.