Major Interactive Home Shopping Pilot Announced by Apple, EDS and Redgate

Test Program Allows Intelligent Personalized Shopping; Combines 21 Name
Brand Catalogs with Information from Noted Authorities and Leading
Publishers

CUPERTINO, California--November 23, 1993--Ushering the digital revolution
into the home shopping arena, three leading information industry companies
today announced an interactive CD-ROM-based pilot program. The pilot --
called En Passant -- involves Apple Computer, Inc., EDS and Redgate
Communications Corporation. En Passant showcases 21 catalogs from 18
prominent retail companies, and features expansive editorial content
including Dow Jones information on personal finance. The comprehensive
multimedia disk will be distributed nationwide in early December to
approximately 30,000 CD-ROM drive owners--primarily consumers in the home
as well as select business locations.

The companies undertook the pilot to test a new concept that provides a
powerful, intelligent and personalized way to shop. En Passant provides
consumers with benefits not available from other home shopping
alternatives. For example, shoppers can easily specify personal
preferences and En Passant will then provide a range of product and gift
suggestions. The result is an interactive CD-ROM that consumers can browse
as a collection of catalogs, customize to meet personal preferences or
even use as a lifestyle magazine. All products on the CD-ROM can be
ordered with a single phone call.

"Apple has aggressively grown the multimedia industry by shipping more than
one million CD-ROM drives in this year alone," commented Ian Diery,
executive vice president of Apple's Personal Computer division. "We are
now ready to build new consumer businesses targeted to this audience. With
the combined strengths of Apple, EDS and Redgate, we hope to use this
pilot to define an entirely new distribution vehicle for the retail
industry.

More than 20 Catalogs Featured 

In one easy-to-use disk, En Passant features brand-name merchandise from
such leading companies as Lands' End, Williams-Sonoma, Tiffany & Co., The
Horchow Collection, Pastilles, LL Bean, The Nature Company, 800-FLOWERS,
Biobottoms, Biordi Art Imports, The Apple Catalog, Hanna Andersson,
Patagonia, Inc., Pottery Barn, Right Start Catalog, SelfCare Catalog and
Winter Silks, among others.

Several catalogs have been enhanced to include features such as fashion
coordination which shows users the best clothing combinations, on-screen
color changing so consumers can see how an item appears in the different
color choices, as well as video and audio product descriptions. Consumers
can also create an order list of products they are considering buying as
they browse through the disk.

"We are very interested in participating in this opportunity to help define
exactly what people expect from interactive technology and how to meet or
exceed those demands," said Mike Atkin, vice president of marketing for
Lands' End. "Personalized service has always been key to our relationship
with our customer and this pilot greatly expands the services available to
shoppers who prefer computer technology to the printed page. We anticipate
that our well-educated customer profile will be well represented among
CD-ROM users."

"En Passant provides an exciting new medium for merchandising our
products," said Patrick J. Connolly, senior vice president, mail order,
Williams-Sonoma. "CD-ROM -- with audio, video and editorial content --
makes an especially attractive vehicle for personalizing the shopping
experience and providing the level of information that today's customer is
demanding."

En Passant is organized so consumers also have the choice of exploring
department areas or browsing through specific catalogs. Departments
include:

* Fashion Avenue
* For the Home
* Just for Kids
* Personal Finance
* At The Office
* Electronic Gallery
* For Someone Special
* Healthy Living
* Going Places
* Discoveries

Editorial Content Features Information from Experts

Each department is augmented with appropriate editorial content. For
example, consumers selecting the department titled "For the Home" would
see articles from Elle Decor magazine as well as merchandise from catalog
companies such as Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Bam and The Horchow
Collection.

Designed to educate and inform consumers, the editorial content included on
En Passant ranges from articles to video interviews from such leading
experts as management consultant Tom Peters, medical authority Dr. Dean
Edell, and fashion consultant Leah Feldon. Video clips from each of the
experts have been captured using Apple's QuickTime video technology. In
addition, En Passant features articles and excerpts from The Wall Street
Journal Guide to Understanding Personal Finance, Family Life, Inc. and
Hachette Filipacchi Magazines' Elle Decor. Also included are excerpts from
books published by Prentice Hall Computer Publishing, Alfred A. Knopf, and
Foghorn Press. The editorial selections provide advice on topics ranging
from financial planning, to helping with homework, to the 20 best places
to drive.

"We are committed to being successful in the digital interactive world and
the En Passant program is one of the important first steps we are taking."
said David J. Pecker, president, CEO and COO of Hachette Filipacchi
Magazines which publishes Elle Decor. "En Passant is an innovative vehicle
for Elle Decor to reach new audiences while providing consumers with ideas
and information."

"By providing Dow Jones' content for this pilot, we will learn how we can
best sene consumers' personal finance needs using CD-ROM technology," said
Thomas Pace, an executive director of Dow Jones Business Information
Services.

Custom Search Capabilities Make Shopping Easy

Other interactive shopping features of En Passant include the Gift Register
and the Personal Valet. The Gift Register reminds customers in advance
about important gift-buying dates, such as anniversaries and birthdays.
The Personal Valet searches through more than 3,000 products on the CD-ROM
to provide the consumer with a catalog customized to his or her needs.
With this feature, the customer can search for a specific item within a
designated price range, such as sweaters under $100, or the individual can
build his or her own customized catalog by choosing specific product
categories such as Desk Accessories, Fitness or Women's Apparel.

"The En Passant consumer will be an informed shopper...not an overwhelmed
shopper," said Steve Franzese, project director of En Passant in the New
Media division at Apple Computer. "En Passant uses the power of
interactive multimedia technology to showcase both product offerings from
world-class catalog retailers and information from leading authorities.
This is an information age of technology at its best. Everyday consumers
can now access thousands of products and get unique personalized service
and high customer satisfaction."

"En Passant finally delivers on the promise of interactive, digital content
delivery and personalized shopping in an environment that will bind buyers
and sellers closer together," said Ted Leonsis, president of Redgate
Communications Corporation. "I believe this is the largest and most
developed nationwide consumer test of such a service. We will soon know
more about how consumers interact with digital content than all of the
interactive television shopping trials combined."

"We believe the three companies' unique talents, expertise and resources,
combined with innovative technology can help define a powerful medium that
will bring buyers and sellers closer together. EDS is positioned to
support this effort by developing a technology infrastructure that is
tailored to the evolving needs of the business," said Toby Tobaccowala,
president, EDS Media division. "We at EDS are committed to En Passant and
we are excited about our pivotal participation in this pilot program,"
added John R. Harris, group executive responsible for EDS' Communications
Industry Group.

Recipients of the pilot CD-ROM disk include a sample of registered
owners--primarily home-based users--of CD-ROM drives compatible with the
Apple Macintosh. Future plans include expanding the service to Windows
users with CD-ROM drives. Pilot participants in the U.S. will be able to
purchase items featured on the CD-ROM until January 31, 1994. Apple, EDS
and Redgate expect to analyze the results of the pilot at that time. To
order, customers will call into a central En Passant 800 number so orders
can be tracked. The caller will then be transferred to the retailer of
their choice.

Companies and consumers interested in future editions may write to: 

En Passant
c/o Apple Computer, Inc.
20525 Mariani Ave., MS 81/MM
Cupertino, California 95014

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