Best OS System by compatible systems vendor;
                    Mac creative foothold on the Internet

    SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Powerful publishing and Web design
tools, a Mac System developed by a Mac OS licensee, and individual pioneers in
the fields of user interface and game programming took top honors Monday night
at the l2th Annual MacUser Editors' Choice Awards (Eddys).
    The industry's most prestigious awards were announced at a ceremony at the
Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco.  MacUser magazine editors selected
winners in 36 categories, including best Mac OS System, Hardware and Software
Products of the Year and two personal achievement awards.
    MacUser Publisher John Blake said the 1996 Eddy Awards finalists reflect a
dramatic growth in the number of companies producing Mac systems.  The awards
marked the first time that editors selected a compatible systems vendor's
product -- Power Computing's PowerTower Pro 225E RAID -- in the best Mac OS
System category.
    "As I look around the room I'm reminded of just how far we've come in a
very short period of time," Blake said.  "A segment of the industry once built
around a single dominant brand has grown to support hundreds of vendors, many
of which have assumed a technology leadership role."
    MacUser Editor-in-Chief Pamela Pfiffner said the Eddy Awards help the
market recognize the best of that technology.  "Our staff thoroughly examines
and tests hundreds of products," Pfiffner said.  "Our reputation for
thoroughness has made the Eddy Awards the Macintosh industry's most
significant honor.  To product buyers, the Eddy represents the ultimate
product recommendation."
    The PowerTower Pro 225E RAID, introduced in the third quarter of 1996 as
the fastest personal computer on the market, won the editors' praise for
pushing the envelope on the price/performance ratio.  The editors said they
believe the heated competition among vendors will contribute to overall growth
of the Mac platform.
    Another indication of trends shaping the market was the number of products
that apply Macintosh traditional strength in creative content development to
the graphic-rich environment of the World Wide Web.
    A host of new products for Mac content creation on the Internet were
introduced in 1996, including the Adobe PageMill 2.0, selected as Best
Software Product of the Year.  PageMill 2.0 simplifies the process of
designing a creative Web page in the same way PageMaker simplified desktop
publishing in the '80s.
    The Apple Network Server took top honors as Hardware Product of the Year.
The editors noted that the server shows that Apple can not only build machines
known for creating content but can also deliver that content.
    Eddy personal achievement awards recognized individual contributions to
the Macintosh industry.  The John J. Anderson Distinguished Achievement Award
was given to Steve Capps, co-designer of the Finder and much of the Mac's
Graphical User Interface -- the basis of all interface innovation for the last
decade.
    The Derek Van Alstyne Rising Star Award was given to Aaron Giles.  Giles,
who began developing tools for the Internet while still a college student, was
cited for the impact that his career has had on two hot Mac markets: the
Internet and games.
    For the first time in the history of the Eddy's, the ceremony was
available for live on-line access from the MacUser Eddy Awards Web site at
http://www.eddyawards.com.  The Webcast took place during the ceremony from 8 p.m. to
9:30 p.m. PST on Monday.  The complete results, along with detailed products
descriptions and audio commentaries by MacUser editors, can be found at the
same Web address.

    The 1996 MacUser Editors' Choice Award winners are:

    Best New Page-Design Application
    Adobe PageMill 2.0 (Adobe Systems)

    Best New Graphics Application
    Macromedia FreeHand 7 (Macromedia)

    Best New Production Tool
    ScanPrepPro 3.1 (ImageXpress)

    Best New Design Tool
    Extensis PhotoTools 1.0 (Extensis)

    Best New Graphics Resource
    Mountain High Maps 2.1 (Digital Wisdom)

    Best New 3-D Application
    Fractal Design Detailer 1.0 (Fractal Design)

    Best New Animation Application
    Adobe After Effects 3.1 (Adobe Systems)

    Best New Interactive Authoring Application
    mTropolis 1.1 (mFactory)

    Best New Multimedia Utility
    Movie Cleaner Pro 1.3 (Terran Interactive)

    Best New Desktop-Video Product
    Data Translation Media 100 Whole Deal (Data Translation)

    Best New Music/Sound Product
    LOGIC Audio 2.5.4 (EMAGIC)

    Best New Communication Product
    WebRamp IP Router (trancell Systems)

    Best New Networking Product
    Apple Network Server 700 (Apple Computer)

    Best New Internet-Access Application
    Microsoft Internet Explorer Starter Kit 3.0 (Microsoft)

    Best New Development Tool
    BBEdit 4.0.1 (Bare Bones Software)

    Best New Internet Server Application
    NetCloak 2.0.1 (Maxum Development)

    Best New Cross-Platform Product
    Reply DOS-on-Mac Card -- PCI Pentium (Reply)

    Best New Data-Management Application
    FileMaker Pro 3.0 (Claris)

    Best New Small-Business-Accounting Application
    M.Y.O.B. 6.0 (BestWare)

    Best New Personal Organizer
    Quicken Deluxe 7 (Intuit)

    Best New Utility
    RAM Doubler 2 (Connectix)

    Best New Input Device
    Logitech Cordless MouseMan (Logitech)

    Best New Children's Software
    Trudy's Time & Place House (Edmark)

    Best New Documentary Product
    Critical Mass: America's Race to Build the Atomic Bomb (Corbis)

    Best New Reference Product
    Select Phone 1997 Edition (Pro CD)

    Best New Game
    Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness (Blizzard Entertainment)

    Best New Desktop Diversion
    Kai's Power Goo (MetaTools)

    Best New Scanner
    Agfa DuoScan (Agfa)

    Best New Professional Digital Camera
    Minolta RD-175 (Minolta)

    Best New Consumer Digital Camera
    Olympus D-200L (Olympus America)

    Best New Display Product
    In Focus LitePro 220 (In Focus Systems)

    Best New Graphics/Video Card
    miro miroMOTION DC20 (miro Computer Products)

    Best New Monochrome Printer
    Xante, Accel-a-Writer 8300 (Xante)

    Best New Color Printer
    Tektronix Phaser 350 (Tektronix)

    Best New Storage Product
    MicroNet DataDock 7000 (MicroNet Technology)

    Hardware Product of the Year
    Network Server 700 (Apple Computer)

    Software Product of the Year
    Adobe PageMill 2.0 (Adobe Systems)

    Breakthrough Technology of the Year
    BeOS (Be, Inc.)

    Best New Mac OS System of the Year
    Power Computing PowerTower Pro 225E RAID (Power Computing)

    John J. Anderson Distinguished Achievement Award
    Steve Capps

    Derek Van Alstyne Rising Star Award
    Aaron Giles

    MacUser's product-intensive editorial content focuses on Macintosh and
Mac-related personal computer products.  The monthly magazine features
laboratory-based product reviews and information on enhancing productivity
through the use of Macintosh products.
    Ziff-Davis, a Softbank company, is the leading provider of special-
interest content about the Internet and computing.  The quality and quantity
of this content attracts the largest and most powerful audience of early
adopters and opinion leaders in both the business and consumer markets.  Ziff-
Davis enables advertisers to reach this audience effectively and efficiently
through an integrated system of print, online and broadcast media.

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