MSNBC on the Internet, CNET’s NEWS.COM Collaborate To Deliver Breaking News Directly to Desktop

REDMOND, Wash., May 5, 1997 — MSNBC on the Internet (http://www.msnbc.com) has reached agreement with CNET’s NEWS.COM (http://www.news.com) one of the world’s leading Internet-based technology news organizations, to include NEWS.COM technology news headlines and story synopses within an updated version, 2.0, of its MSNBC Personal News Alert program. The new service offers one of the most compact and bandwidth-efficient
“push”
technologies available on the Internet.

Scheduled to be available May 5 at www.msnbc.com/toolkit.asp/, MSNBC Personal News Alert 2.0 is a free service (connect-time charges may apply) that instantly notifies subscribers of personalized news, sports and other headlines, and stock quotes on their desktop without interrupting their work, delivering relevant news as it happens. MSNBC visitors will now have immediate access to the latest NEWS.COM technology headlines, along with other customized MSNBC news options. CNET’s NEWS.COM will now offer MSNBC subscribers immediate access to the latest technology headlines, along with other customized news options. Users can simply click the NEWS.COM headline or synopsis they are interested in to access the full story from the NEWS.COM site. CNET will also distribute the software for MSNBC Personal News Alert 2.0 on its DOWNLOAD.COM (www.download.com) site.

“We’re pleased to add the depth and variety of CNET’s technology news coverage to MSNBC’s extensive general and business news offerings,”
said James Kinsella, general manager of MSNBC on the Internet.
“MSNBC Personal News Alert 2.0 is a significant enhancement to today’s push technologies. Visitors to the MSNBC site can specify the news and information that’s important to them, choosing from the latest technology stories, sports scores or requested stock alerts. This is powerful personalization, giving those in the MSNBC audience what they want, when they want it and where they want it.”

“CNET is excited about delivering up-to-the-minute technology news directly to the desktop,”
said Barry Parr, vice president of news, CNET.
“This agreement with MSNBC allows us yet another way to reach an ever-expanding Internet audience in a timely and convenient way.”

CNET’s NEWS.COM is one of the many new customization options available with the new service. Personal News Alert 2.0 also offers subscribers a stock-alert feature, which monitors and automatically alerts users if a specific publicly traded company of their choice moves more than a selected percentage from the day’s opening price. Other features enable users to request headlines and synopses from specific news categories, or they can instruct Personal News Alert 2.0 to withhold delivery from sections that don’t interest them.

Personal News Alert 2.0 requires less than 20 seconds to download on a 28.8 modem and is 80 percent smaller than the original version. Future upgrades of MSNBC Personal News Alert will be made automatically to current versions of the Personal News Alert 2.0 application. Whether using a home- or office-based computer, MSNBC subscribers will have equal access to MSNBC Personal News Alert 2.0, which is configured to identify and work through modem and corporate firewall connections.

CNET: The Computer Network is at the leading edge of media companies, integrating television programming with a network of services on the World Wide Web. In both media,

CNET provides authoritative information on computers, the Internet and digital technologies. CNET’s Web sites combine breakthrough interactive technology with engaging content and design and are widely accepted as setting new standards for excellence in the medium. The company’s television programming, which airs on USA Network, the Sci-Fi Channel and in national syndication, reaches an estimated weekly audience of more than eight million viewers.

MSNBC is a joint venture between NBC, a leading provider of news and information, and Microsoft Corp., the leader in personal computer software and a major provider of Internet online services. Built on the worldwide resources of NBC News, MSNBC is a 24-hour cable news network and Internet news service at (http://www.msnbc.com/) .

Microsoft is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

For more information, press only:

Cheryl-Lynne Blackwill, MSNBC on the Internet, (425) 703-9490,
[email protected]

Debby Fry Wilson, MSNBC on the Internet, (425) 703-7059, [email protected]

Rae Richman, CNET, (415) 395-7805, ext. 1633, [email protected]

Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages

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