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Aladdin Systems, Inc. Announces Spring Cleaning(tm), A New Utility Designed to Clean up Macintosh Hard Drives

Aladdin Systems Acquires New Utility Package

Watsonville, CA (October 30, 1996) -- Aladdin Systems, Inc., developer of the worldwide Macintosh compression standard, StuffIt, has acquired LaundroMac from The Excelsior Group. Aladdin is working closely with the original developer and will release a new version called Spring Cleaning in November. Spring Cleaning is the first uninstaller for Macintosh users and helps them to optimize their hard drive by targeting and removing redundant and unnecessary files, folders, and fonts.

Spring Cleaning's eight utilities search a user's hard drive to safely uninstall old applications, remove duplicate and unused fonts, find invalid alias files, trim fat binary applications, find orphaned help files, and clean out users' Preferences folders.

"Spring Cleaning is the safe and easy way to clean up your Mac. It is a perfect addition to the Aladdin line of utility software," said Hillel Cooperman, Spring Cleaning product manager. "We have always stayed in close contact with our customers and do all we can to meet their needs. Spring Cleaning fits a niche that currently is unavailable on the Macintosh. We expect this suite of housekeeping utilities to be a big hit with Macintosh users."

Spring Cleaning helps to save disk space by tidying up a user's files. Each utility is designed to search for specific types of files, folders, or fonts that may be wasting disk space. The utilities include: MacUninstaller (removes applications and associated titles), Alias Resolver (repairs invalid aliases), Application Slimmer (slims applications), Folder Remover (clears empty folders), Font Remover (removes unnecessary fonts), Help Remover (finds unneeded help and documentation files), Orphan Adopter (assigns orphans to new applications), and Prefs Cleaner (cleans out Preferences folder).

MacUninstaller is designed to help a user safely remove an application and its related files completely to eliminate unneeded, space-wasting files.

"As applications grow more complex, software developers include more related files and folders with each installation and upgrade. MacUninstaller removes or moves these files without hassle," said Jonathan Kahn, vice president and general manager, consumer group.

Alias Resolver searches for invalid alias files. (An alias file is a file that is used to point to another file.) Alias Resolver will repair alias files found during the search and display any that cannot be repaired. The user can then delete the files, move them to another location, redirect the alias, replace the alias, or add it to the Alias Resolver memory so it will be ignored in future alias searches.

Application Slimmer searches for fat binary programs. Fat binary applications are programs that contain a full set of program code for both PowerPC and Motorola 680x0 systems. Depending on whether a user has a PowerPC or a 680x0 based Macintosh, Application Slimmer will allow the user to delete the unnecessary code. For example, a Power Macintosh user could have all 680x0 code removed from their selected applications.

Folder Remover searches for empty folders. Although these folders do not take up a lot of space, there are limits on the number of files and folders on any hard disk. Removing the empty folders helps users avoid reaching this limit, improves file searching speed, and helps clean up a cluttered hard disk.

Font Remover builds a list of the installed fonts on a computer and searches for all three types of fonts: bitmap fonts, TrueType outline fonts, and PostScript font files. Font Remover will group these fonts into their appropriate families and allow you to work with them individually or in groups.

Help Remover searches for the most common types of help and documentation files. A user has a choice of deleting or moving these files to create more room on their system.

Orphan Adopter finds files that do not have the original application that created them and lets users assign them to another compatible application. Then users can open and print these files using their newly assigned parent applications.

Prefs Cleaner searches for Preference files that are no longer needed. Power Macintosh users tend to accumulate many unneeded Preference files through installing demonstration software and shareware. Prefs Cleaner will eliminate these orphaned Preference files.

"We have worked hard to bring Spring Cleaning to market as quickly as possible," Cooperman continued. "As we work on version 2.0 we are excited to include our customers in the development process. We will be encouraging our customers to register their comments about Spring Cleaning on our web site and will be offering free upgrades over the Internet of version 2.0 for registered users of version 1.0."

Availability and Requirements

Spring Cleaning has a street price of $69.95 and will be available in November from major distributors (Ingram Micro, Merisel), mail order catalogs and Aladdin Systems directly. An introductory price of $49.95 and a free upgrade to version 2.0 is being offered for a limited time.

Spring Cleaning requires a Macintosh or MacOS compatible computer running System 7.0 or later. Four megabytes of RAM is recommended. Spring Cleaning is 680x0 and PowerPC native, and takes advantage of features in System 7.5 or later.

About Aladdin

Aladdin Systems, Inc. is the developer of the best-selling compression software on the Macintosh. The award-winning StuffIt family of software is the Macintosh compression standard for desktop and Internet users. Over 4,000 software developers, including Apple, Claris, Intuit, and Microsoft, have licensed Aladdin's data compression and installation technology.

Aladdin is located at 165 Westridge Drive, Watsonville, CA 95076, USA; telephone: (408)761-6200; URL: http://www.aladdinsys.com, e-mail: info@aladdinsys.com.

###

Spring Cleaning and the Aladdin Logo are trademarks of Aladdin Systems, Inc. Spring Cleaning copyright (c) 1996 The Excelsior Group, portions copyright (c) 1996 Aladdin Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. MacUninstaller is a trademark of The Excelsior Group. Macintosh is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. All other product names are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders.

CONTACT INFORMATION
Jennifer Lyng
Aladdin Systems, Inc.
(408) 761-6200 x251
pr@aladdinsys.com

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		Aladdin Systems, Inc. Announces Spring Cleaning(tm), A New Utility Designed to Clean up Macintosh Hard Drives Aladdin Systems Acquires New Utility Package Watsonville, CA (October 30, 1996) -- Aladdin Systems, Inc., developer of the worldwide Macintosh compression standard, StuffIt, has acquired LaundroMac from The Excelsior Group. Aladdin is working closely with the original developer and will release a new version called Spring Cleaning in November. Spring Cleaning is the first uninstaller for Macintosh users and helps them to optimize their hard drive by targeting and removing redundant and unnecessary files, folders, and fonts. Spring Cleaning's eight utilities search a user's hard drive to safely uninstall old applications, remove duplicate and unused fonts, find invalid alias files, trim fat binary applications, find orphaned help files, and clean out users' Preferences folders. "Spring Cleaning is the safe and easy way to clean up your Mac. It is a perfect addition to the Aladdin line of utility software," said Hillel Cooperman, Spring Cleaning product manager. "We have always stayed in close contact with our customers and do all we can to meet their needs. Spring Cleaning fits a niche that currently is unavailable on the Macintosh. We expect this suite of housekeeping utilities to be a big hit with Macintosh users." Spring Cleaning helps to save disk space by tidying up a user's files. Each utility is designed to search for specific types of files, folders, or fonts that may be wasting disk space. The utilities include: MacUninstaller (removes applications and associated titles), Alias Resolver (repairs invalid aliases), Application Slimmer (slims applications), Folder Remover (clears empty folders), Font Remover (removes unnecessary fonts), Help Remover (finds unneeded help and documentation files), Orphan Adopter (assigns orphans to new applications), and Prefs Cleaner (cleans out Preferences folder). MacUninstaller is designed to help a user safely remove an application and its related files completely to eliminate unneeded, space-wasting files. "As applications grow more complex, software developers include more related files and folders with each installation and upgrade. MacUninstaller removes or moves these files without hassle," said Jonathan Kahn, vice president and general manager, consumer group. Alias Resolver searches for invalid alias files. (An alias file is a file that is used to point to another file.) Alias Resolver will repair alias files found during the search and display any that cannot be repaired. The user can then delete the files, move them to another location, redirect the alias, replace the alias, or add it to the Alias Resolver memory so it will be ignored in future alias searches. Application Slimmer searches for fat binary programs. Fat binary applications are programs that contain a full set of program code for both PowerPC and Motorola 680x0 systems. Depending on whether a user has a PowerPC or a 680x0 based Macintosh, Application Slimmer will allow the user to delete the unnecessary code. For example, a Power Macintosh user could have all 680x0 code removed from their selected applications. Folder Remover searches for empty folders. Although these folders do not take up a lot of space, there are limits on the number of files and folders on any hard disk. Removing the empty folders helps users avoid reaching this limit, improves file searching speed, and helps clean up a cluttered hard disk. Font Remover builds a list of the installed fonts on a computer and searches for all three types of fonts: bitmap fonts, TrueType outline fonts, and PostScript font files. Font Remover will group these fonts into their appropriate families and allow you to work with them individually or in groups. Help Remover searches for the most common types of help and documentation files. A user has a choice of deleting or moving these files to create more room on their system. Orphan Adopter finds files that do not have the original application that created them and lets users assign them to another compatible application. Then users can open and print these files using their newly assigned parent applications. Prefs Cleaner searches for Preference files that are no longer needed. Power Macintosh users tend to accumulate many unneeded Preference files through installing demonstration software and shareware. Prefs Cleaner will eliminate these orphaned Preference files. "We have worked hard to bring Spring Cleaning to market as quickly as possible," Cooperman continued. "As we work on version 2.0 we are excited to include our customers in the development process. We will be encouraging our customers to register their comments about Spring Cleaning on our web site and will be offering free upgrades over the Internet of version 2.0 for registered users of version 1.0." Availability and Requirements Spring Cleaning has a street price of $69.95 and will be available in November from major distributors (Ingram Micro, Merisel), mail order catalogs and Aladdin Systems directly. An introductory price of $49.95 and a free upgrade to version 2.0 is being offered for a limited time. Spring Cleaning requires a Macintosh or MacOS compatible computer running System 7.0 or later. Four megabytes of RAM is recommended. Spring Cleaning is 680x0 and PowerPC native, and takes advantage of features in System 7.5 or later. About Aladdin Aladdin Systems, Inc. is the developer of the best-selling compression software on the Macintosh. The award-winning StuffIt family of software is the Macintosh compression standard for desktop and Internet users. Over 4,000 software developers, including Apple, Claris, Intuit, and Microsoft, have licensed Aladdin's data compression and installation technology. Aladdin is located at 165 Westridge Drive, Watsonville, CA 95076, USA; telephone: (408)761-6200; URL: http://www.aladdinsys.com, e-mail: info@aladdinsys.com. ### Spring Cleaning and the Aladdin Logo are trademarks of Aladdin Systems, Inc. Spring Cleaning copyright (c) 1996 The Excelsior Group, portions copyright (c) 1996 Aladdin Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. MacUninstaller is a trademark of The Excelsior Group. Macintosh is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. All other product names are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders. *CONTACT INFORMATION* Jennifer Lyng Aladdin Systems, Inc. (408) 761-6200 x251 pr@aladdinsys.com

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		Copyright 1997, 1998 Aladdin Systems, Inc. Questions? Send us a note. Modified 3/12/98 FxD Webworks