MathSoft Delivers Free Linux S-PLUS With UNIX Purchases

MathSoft Inc, provider of the broadest line of technical calculation and analytical software for business and academia, announced a promotion to offer free copies of S-PLUS for Linux to customers buying new UNIX licenses.

The promotion will be available for commercial and government customers from April 18 to June 30, 2000. S-PLUS is the data analysis tool of choice for leading analysts in finance, pharmaceutical, G.I.S., and manufacturing.

"Linux is currently being evaluated by most major corporations for commercial usage. We decided to launch this promotion to support commercial adoption of Linux running S-PLUS for statistical data mining," says Shawn Javid, senior vice president and general manager, MathSoft Inc, Data Analysis Products Division. According to a January survey by InformationWeek of IT managers currently deploying the technology, Linux technology will escalate in the next two years to 15% from 4%. Further, an IDC report released on March 31, 1999, estimates that commercial shipments of Linux will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25% from 1999 through 2003, compared with 10% CAGR for all other client operating environments combined. "We believe Linux-based data analysis tools have a strong future. This promotion provides new and existing UNIX customers with a powerful data analysis tool and an opportunity to experiment with the Linux platform," says Javid.

About S

MathSoft's data analysis product family, which includes S-PLUS and MathSoft StatServer, is based on S, an object-oriented language developed at Lucent Technologies specifically for data visualization, exploration and programming with data. S provides a rich, object-oriented environment designed for interactive data discovery. With a huge library of functions for all aspects of computing with data, S offers unmatched power, flexibility and extensibility. The S System was recently honored with the prestigious Software Systems Award given by the Association for Computing Machinery. Other hallmark technologies recognized with this award include UNIX, TCP/IP, Tcl/Tk, INGRES, and Mosaic. MathSoft has exclusive worldwide rights to develop and distribute products incorporating the S technology.

About MathSoft

Founded in 1984, MathSoft is the provider of the broadest line of technical calculation and analytical software for business and academia. With MathSoft's products, users can deploy technical calculations and exploratory data analyses across their entire organizations. The company has more than 1.3 million users of its Mathcad, StudyWorks, S-PLUS, MathSoft StatServer and Axum software worldwide. Users include technical professionals worldwide at more than 90% of the Fortune 1,000 companies and over 500 government installations, and students and faculty at over 2,000 colleges and universities. FreeScholarships.com, Inc, www.freescholarships.com, a subsidiary of MathSoft Inc, helps families and students meet the rising costs of education by giving away money for school in daily online drawings and auctions. Founded in 1999, the site provides information on schools, funding, and careers, while serving as an entertainment, shopping, and community center for visitors of all ages.

S-PLUS product information can be obtained via MathSoft's Website located at www.splus.mathsoft.com by phone at 1-800-569-0123, by fax at 206/283- 8691 or via mail at 1700 Westlake Avenue North, Suite 500, Seattle, WA 98109. MathSoft's corporate headquarters can be reached by phone at 1-800-628-4223, by fax at 617-577-8829 or via mail at 101 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142.

Contact MathSoft Inc, Judy McOstrich 206-283-8802 x356 jmcostrich@splus.mathsoft.com.