FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Lisa Weinstein
phone: 203/840-5540  ... fax: 203/840-9540
lweinstein@reedexpo.com 

Microsoft Managing Director to Deliver Keynote Address at the February Home Automation Show & Conference

NORWALK, CT, October 15, 1998 - Highlighting both the vision and the tremendous resources behind the growth of the home automation industry, it has been announced that Mike Paull, Managing Director of the Intelligent Home Systems Group at Microsoft Corporation will deliver the keynote address at the 1999 Home Automation Show & Conference in February. The Keynote Address, titled "The Bits That Bind: Enabling The Infrastructure for Home Automation" will be the opening event of the exhibits and will be held at 11:00 a.m. on February 6, 1999 with the ribbon cutting ceremony immediately following at noon.

The Home Automation Show, scheduled for February 5-8, 1999 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL, is the only international trade event exclusively focused on the business and technology of home automation. With more than 70 technical, financial and marketing seminars and workshops and over 100 exhibits showcasing the latest equipment and systems, the event promises hundreds of practical tips, tools and techniques. Conference tracks include seminars on audio/video, business management, home theater, lighting control, sales and marketing, security, structured wiring and systems integration.

Microsoft's participation comes on the heels of an announcement appearing in the Marketplace Section of the Wall Street Journal on October 12. Six electronics companies plan to jointly develop a common software link to control home-electronic appliances from personal computers. (Compaq Computer Corp., Honeywell Inc., Intel Corp., Microsoft Corp., Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and Philip Electronics NV.) The companies hope a common Application Programming Interface will spur software developers to write more Pbased programs for home automation.

"We believe that, because of our interest, and that of our partners in the Home API Working Group, we will "raise the tide" in the home automation industry, and move it into the mainstream. By doing so, we hope to lower the cost of systems installation and support for the professional installer industry, while at the same time, enable the home-owner/user to buy and install simple, reliable and powerful systems on their own" said Mike Paull.

"We're very excited that Mike Paull has agreed to give the keynote address," said Eileen Baird, Industry Vice President for Association Expositions & Services (AE&S), managers and producers for the event. "We're always striving to deliver a conference that focuses on timely and important industry issues while offering a wide range of educational opportunities and the best of product exhibits."

Having a representative from Microsoft fits in well with the show's agenda. Microsoft is a member of the Home RF Working Group, whose purpose is to make standard and provide a low-cost, widely available way for devices and systems in the home to be automated, controlled, or share information in a wireless manner. The software giant also has licensed a powerline carrier technology from Intellon Corp. in Ocala, FL. Based on this license, Microsoft intends to provide a low-cost, widely available way for devices and systems to be automated, controlled, or share information over existing AC wiring in the home.

According to Paull, "Our work in the Intelligent Home Systems Group is an extension of the "desktop" work we've done to date. The ultimate goal is creating responsive or adaptive environments. To get there, we are working in "no new wires" and "from anywhere in the home" networking and connectivity technologies. We are working on creating an infrastructure that allows home devices and systems to be discovered, queried, networked and controlled. We're also working on creating sensors and transducers that can allow systems and devices to adapt to changing environmental conditions, user behavior, and voice input and prompting."

The Home Automation Show & Conference is sponsored by the Home Automation Association (HAA) and is produced and managed by Association Exposition Services (AE&S), a division of Reed Exhibition Companies (REC). The Home Automation Association is the trade association of the home control industry. HAA members include manufacturers, utilities, distributors, dealers, installers and service providers of home automation products.

Reed Exposition Companies is the world's leading organizer of trade and public shows with a current portfolio of 335 events servicing 55 industry sectors. A total of 112,000 exhibiting companies take advantage of Reed's marketing opportunities which attract over 8 million buyers globally.

The Home Automation Show & Conference is one of four related Reed events. The other events are: ISC EXPO/Las Vegas '99 to be held March 9-12, 1999 at the Las Vegas Convention Center; the inaugural edition of ISC EXPO/Miami to be held May 3 -5, 1999 at the Miami Beach Complex; and ISC EXPO/New York '99 to be held August 31 - September 3, 1999 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. Reed Exhibition Companies is part of Reed Elsevier plc group, one of the world's leading publishing and information businesses.

For information on attending the Home Automation Show & Conference, call Customer Service at 203/840-5658. For information about exhibiting at the event, contact Mark Hawkins at 203/840-5482. You may also visit the website at http://homeautomation.reedexpo.com . Written inquiries may be sent to: The Home Automation Show & Conference, Association Expositions & Services, 383 Main Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06851. E-mail inquiries may be sent to: inquiry@homeautomation.reedexpo.com . For information on the Home Automation Association, call 202/712-9050.