SUN MICROSYSTEMS, THOMSON MULTIMEDIA SET COMMERCIAL LAUNCH FOR INTERACTIVE
TV SYSTEMS

Nethold Pay TV Group to Bring Open TV to European, South African Viewers
Beginning Midyear

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - April 4, 1995 - The Sun Microsystems, Inc., and
THOMSON Multimedia interactive TV alliance today announced that Nethold,
one of the world's largest pay TV companies, will be the first commercial
service provider to implement the alliance's Open TV interactive video
system. In what is expected to be one of the largest implementations of
digital interactive television to date, Nethold, based in the Netherlands,
will, in mid-1995, launch interactive television services to its
subscribers in Europe and South Africa. The Open TV applications,
delivered via satellite, will give European and South African viewers
access to such potential services as home shopping, ticket ordering,
interactive commercials, interactive game shows, and improved electronic
program guides.

"With this first deployment, the THOMSON and Sun alliance has proven that
it has the interactive technology the marketplace wants," said Alain
Prestat, chairman and CEO of THOMSON. "This demonstrates our ability to
immediately deliver complete, cost-effective solutions. Interactive
television on a mass scale will soon be a reality."

"In just a few months, TV viewers in several countries will be enjoying the
full-featured, exciting interactive applications made possible by Open
TV," said Scott McNealy, chairman, president and CEO of Sun. "Our goal of
leveraging both companies' experience and expertise is now paying off. Sun
and THOMSON have joined forces to be first in a mass consumer field
deployment of interactive television."

The THOMSON/Sun alliance was formed last year to develop end-to-end
interactive TV solutions by leveraging Sun's expertise in network
management and video serves, and THOMSON's leadership in consumer
electronics and digital set-top devices. The Open TV operating system is a
platform-independent, open solution for delivering interactive services to
homes through existing networks.

Headquartered in Paris, THOMSON Multimedia is the world leader in digital
television. THOMSON is the world's fourth largest consumer electronics
company. It is number one in the U.S. marketplace with its RCA, GE, and
ProScan brands, and number two in Europe with several prestigious brand
names including Thomson, Ferguson, Telefunken, and Saba. THOMSON is an
industry innovator in the development of digital technologies, both for
professional and consumer applications. With the introduction of the RCA
brand DSS (Digital Satellite System) in the U.S., THOMSON became the first
consumer electronics company to develop and implement an all-digital
delivery system for video reception in the home.

Sun Microsystems is the leading supplier of network computing to the
telecommunications and cable industries. In concert with its business
partners, Sun delivers a comprehensive portfolio of solutions to address
customer management solutions, billing systems, operational support
systems and network management. Sun Microsystems is the world's top
supplier of open network computing solutions, built on Sun's legacy of
"The Network is the Computer." Sun's SPARC/Solaris workstation and server
family leads the UNIX market. The company has its headquarters in Mountain
View, Calif.

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