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For more information, contact: A&R Partners for Be, Incorporated Lisa Auslen, 650/762-2805 lauslen@arpartners.com In Europe: Be Incorporated Marie-Francoise Lelong-Weinberg, +33 (0)1 55 91 77 36 mflelong@beeurope.com THOMSON multimedia Henri Linde, +(858) 385-8390 henri@tmmlive.com Be Incorporated First to Offer mp3 Encoding and Decoding for Fully Featured Internet Appliances Industry-Standard mp3 Licensed from THOMSON multimedia for BeIA and BeOS 5 Pro Edition MENLO PARK, Calif. -- June 14, 2000 -- Be Incorporated (Nasdaq:BEOS) and THOMSON multimedia (NYSE:TMS), a worldwide leader in digital consumer electronics products through its popular RCA and THOMSON brands, today jointly announced a licensing agreement whereby Be will deliver the first fully featured platform for Internet appliances to include both mp3 encoding and decoding capabilities. Be already includes industry-standard mp3 encoding and decoding in the recently released BeOS 5 Pro Edition of its highly-acclaimed digital media operating system. By licensing industry-standard mp3 for BeIA, its software platform for Internet appliances, the company is opening seamless access to these audio files for the variety of Internet appliances expected to begin shipping next quarter. Hundreds of thousands of mp3 audio files are available via the Internet. Devices such as next-generation Internet-enabled consumer audio appliances based on BeIA, including the reference appliance Be and Intel announced earlier this year, will be specifically designed to take advantage of high-quality audio. ``mp3 is already a standard component of BeOS. Our experience developing tools and technologies that take advantage of high-quality audio has given us the expertise to understand the multimedia requirements of a robust and progressive appliance platform,'' said Steve Sakoman, chief operating officer at Be. ``The ability to create, play and manipulate audio is important for general-purpose Internet appliances and critical for entertainment-focused devices. Some software platforms offer the ability to decode audio, but BeIA is the first fully featured software platform for Internet appliances to offer both industry-standard mp3 encoding and decoding.'' By licensing mp3, these devices will be capable of both encoding and decoding files. This includes converting audio CDs into mp3 format for storage and playback. Additionally, these devices will be capable sending multiple streams of audio to a variety of locations in a home. For example, a single device could simultaneously broadcast a program streamed from the Internet to one room while sending mp3 audio to an Internet-enabled PC for enjoyment in another room. ``Be's licensing of mp3 encoding and decoding puts them ahead of the industry in demonstrating their understanding of the importance of delivering a robust and complete media solution,'' said Henri Linde, director of new business for intellectual property at THOMSON multimedia. ``By building mp3 support into BeIA, Internet appliance manufacturers can build mp3-ready devices and BeOS users will have seamless access to the wide selection of content from their PCs.'' BeIA: Software Platform for the Post-PC Era BeIA is a device-independent software platform for post-PC era Internet appliances focused on the personalization of multimedia and information-rich products that enhance a user's lifestyle. The design flexibility of BeIA allows Internet appliances to be configured as information devices such as personal online portals or financial management monitors. The adaptive configuration of BeIA also extends into entertainment devices such as movie or music download and playback systems. About mp3 mp3 is short for MPEG-1 Layer 3 (Moving Pictures Expert Group), a format for storing digital audio. It uses an advanced type of audio compression that reduces the file size with little reduction in quality. mp3 is used particularly for music distribution over the Internet, but is also used for other purposes such as real-time digital audio transmissions over ISDN (used by reporters). MPEG-1 has been around since 1992, but during the last few years it has received widespread attention from both news media and ordinary users. An MP3 file (or simply an mp3) is a file that contains mp3-compressed audio data. Compressing an uncompressed audio file (for example, a WAV created from a track on an audio CD) to mp3 can decrease the file size to less than a tenth of the original file with minimal loss in quality. This means that an original 50 megabyte wave file (about 5 minutes of CD quality audio) will end up as an mp3 file using only about 5 megabytes of space with little or no audible loss in quality. The size depends on the length of the song and the bitrate (quality). The data is automatically decompressed while the mp3 is being played. About THOMSON multimedia The world's fourth largest producer of consumer electronics with sales of Euro 6.7 billion ($6.4 billion US) in 1999 and 55,000 salaried employees in more than 30 countries, THOMSON multimedia has four principal activities: Displays and Components, Consumer Products, New Media Services, and Patents and Licensing. The Group engineers, manufactures, and markets display components and consumer products such as televisions, VCRs, camcorders, digital decoders, DVD players, audio and communications products, as well as professional video equipment. THOMSON multimedia is listed on the Paris stock exchange (SICOVAM : 18453) and on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: TMS). THOMSON multimedia is the parent company of the U.S.-based Thomson Consumer Electronics, Inc. Visit THOMSON multimedia on the Web: http://www.thomson-multimedia.com/. About Be Incorporated Founded in 1990, Be Incorporated creates software platforms that enable rich media and web experiences on Internet appliances and personal computers. Be's headquarters are in Menlo Park, California, with European offices in Paris. It is publicly traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol BEOS. Be can be found on the web at http://www.be.com. Be Incorporated Forward-Looking Statements The statements contained in this Press Release that are not historical facts are ``forward-looking statements'' including without limitation statements regarding plans for product and reference platform development and release, future availability and performance of BeIA, and third party devices and applications utilizing BeIA, including entertainment appliances, the market penetration and market acceptance of BeIA in the entertainment appliances markets, and the benefit of such products to customers, appliance manufacturers and developers. Actual events or results may differ materially as a result of risks facing Be Incorporated or actual results differing from the assumptions underlying such statements. Such risks and assumptions include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties related to product development, the competition and market acceptance of BeIA especially for the entertainment appliances market, and our ability to meet customer and developer demands. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by the ``Risk Factors'' and other cautionary statements included in Be Incorporated's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999, and other public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Be, BeOS and BeIA are trademarks or registered trademarks of Be Incorporated in the United States and other countries. Other brand product names are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders.

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