MSNBC Offers Three Personalized News-Delivery Options

REDMOND, Wash., Oct. 15, 1996 — MSNBC, the online joint venture between Microsoft Corp. and NBC (http://www.msnbc.com/) , announced today three news-delivery options that make it easier for MSNBC readers to get the most up-to-date news while having it delivered in a time-saving package. Personal Delivery will allow MSN members to receive their customized page of MSNBC news topics via e-mail. Another offering, MSNBC News Offline, produced in tandem with FreeLoader Inc., provides MSNBC users the option to view personalized news coverage when they are not connected live to the Internet. News Alert is a feature that notifies MSNBC users of breaking news with a flashing icon. With News Alert, users can simply click and browse the headlines and abstracts and then be linked directly to the corresponding MSNBC news story.

“We want to make it easy to get the most up-to-date and customized MSNBC news,”
said Peter Neupert, vice president of strategic partnerships at Microsoft.
“We will continue to bring together new technology with our editorial content to deliver the leading Internet news service.”

Personal Delivery

Personal Delivery will allow members of MSN
™
, The Microsoft Network, to receive their MSNBC personalized front page in e-mail daily. Members can view their favorite MSNBC topics simply by clicking an attachment in the e-mail message. They can then enjoy the full benefits and graphical richness of their front page in e-mail. MSN members can sign up for Personal Delivery from the MSNBC Personal Front Page; it is scheduled to be available soon after the release of the new version of MSN, slated for November 1996.

MSNBC News Offline

Developed jointly with FreeLoader, creator of the leading offline browsing and agenting software for the World Wide Web, MSNBC News Offline provides users with news coverage delivered directly to their desktop at home or at work using a customized version of FreeLoader’s software integrated within the msnbc.com site.

At user-defined intervals, MSNBC News Offline will connect to the Internet and collect user-specified information. For example, with MSNBC News Offline, users can schedule updates of its Personal Front Page, including favorite information such as individualized stock quotes, sports scores or industry-specific news. In addition, users can select entire news sections from MSNBC, with full text and pictures, for later reading. Users then can view the information offline, without waiting for it to be downloaded from the World Wide Web, because it is stored on the hard disk. MSNBC News Offline also features a screen-saver option that displays headlines and abstracts of current stories available on MSNBC. MSNBC News Offline can be downloaded from (http://www.msnbc.com/) .

News Alert

News Alert informs MSNBC users connected to the Internet of breaking stories by delivering an alert to their desktops. Alerts can be geared to individual topics of interest with user-defined key words or phrases. In addition, users can choose among three methods of notification: with sound, with a flashing icon or with a graphical alert window that contains the headline and abstract. Users may also specify how often they want to be alerted. They can sign up for the News Alert option using the MSNBC Personal Front Page at (http://www.msnbc.com/) .

Founded in October 1995 and based in Washington, D.C., FreeLoader Inc., a unit of Individual Inc. (NASDAQ
“INDV”
), is the creator of the world’s first offline service that delivers World Wide Web and screen-saver content to consumers. The company’s flagship product is a free, advertiser-supported application that makes the Internet faster and easier by retrieving Web sites, storing them on an end-user’s hard disk for later viewing, and displaying them on a screen saver for easy viewing. Since its debut on May 1, FreeLoader has been downloaded by more than 200,000 users.

MSNBC is a partnership between NBC, a leading provider of news and information, and Microsoft, the leader in personal computer software and a major provider of Internet online services. Built on the worldwide resources of NBC News, MSNBC is both a 24-hour news, talk and information cable network and a news and information Internet service ( (http://www.msnbc.com/) ). Programming is being developed simultaneously for cable and the Internet so that MSNBC will offer truly integrated television, interactive news and dynamic discussion of topical events.

Microsoft and MSN are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

The Microsoft Network is operated by Microsoft Corp. on behalf of Microsoft Network LLC.

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