Introduction of Software MacKiev's 3D Weather Globe & Atlas at Macworld San Francisco Exceeds Expectations

Introduction of Software MacKiev's 3D Weather Globe & Atlas at Macworld San Francisco Exceeds Expectations Software MacKiev Teams With San Francisco-Based CustomWeather(R) to Provide Weather on Your Desktop SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Software MacKiev, a leading developer and publisher of premium quality Macintosh software, announced that its new 3D Weather Globe(TM) & Atlas had greatly exceeded the company's expectations for sales at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco last week outselling all the company's more well-known products combined during the 4-day conference. Software MacKiev also publishes The Print Shop(R) Mac OS X Edition, which was awarded a 2004 Macworld Editor's Choice award for Best Family Graphics application, as well as Mac OS X Editions of Kid Pix(R) Deluxe, Dr. Seuss ABC, and World Book(R) Multimedia Encyclopedia. Software MacKiev's 3D Weather Globe(TM) & Atlas provides "weather on your desktop" with real-time cloud cover, current weather conditions and 7-day forecasts for ten thousand cities from Boston to Bangkok, all overlaid on high resolution NASA maps, providing an astronaut's-eye-view of the earth. The real-time weather data stream for the 3D Weather Globe(TM) & Atlas which includes satellite cloud cover, temperature, wind speed, humidity and other weather conditions is provided by CustomWeather(R), a San Francisco-based company that supplies weather feeds to Reuters and other news services. "The 3D Weather Globe & Atlas was the surprise hit of the show for us," said company President Jack Minsky. "We knew we had an appealing concept to provide real-time weather and an accurate view of the earth from outer space, but we were unprepared for the way the product hit a positive chord, especially among teachers who told us they planned to use it in their classrooms to teach basic concepts of geography, astronomy and weather." "Software MacKiev's 3D Weather Globe & Atlas is the best graphical representation of weather information in a real-time environment that I have seen" said Geoff Flint, CEO of CustomWeather, Inc. " Software MacKiev has done a great job of optimizing the globe for a Mac environment. What impressed me the most is the incredible speed with which users can move around the globe and see weather and other geographic information." In addition to weather, the 3D Weather Globe & Atlas can show country borders, cities, times zones and real-time night/day line. The product also has a route mapping feature that can plot travel routes that can be stored. A number of famous routes are pre-loaded such as Ameila Earhart's attempted flight around the world, Magellan's voyages and the Athens 2004 Olympics Torch Route. Software MacKiev has become well known for bringing old classic titles to Mac OS X under license from other publishers. The 3D Weather Globe & Atlas, in contrast, is the first major release from Software MacKiev that was designed and created from its inception in Software MacKiev's design labs. Minimum System Requirements -- Operating System: Mac OS X 10.3 Panther or later -- Processor: 600 Mhz G3 or 400 Mhz G4 or faster -- Memory (RAM): 256 MB -- Display: 1024x768, Millions of Colors -- Video RAM: 16 MB (32 MB recommended) -- Free hard disk space: 250 MB -- CD-ROM drive (required for installation) -- Internet connection needed for weather data Availability The new 3D Weather Globe & Atlas is available starting today from Software MacKiev's online store (www.mackiev.com) for $39.95. It will also be available in February from the Apple Store online and retail locations in the US and Canada as well as at selected Apple Specialist retailers. Localized versions in French, German, Spanish and Japanese are expected in early Spring 2005. Education pricing is available for schools. About Software MacKiev Software MacKiev is an award-winning developer and publisher of premium-quality consumer software for Mac OS X and the world's largest contract-development company specialized in assisting other publishers in adopting Apple technologies in their products. For more information, visit Software MacKiev at www.mackiev.com. About CustomWeather, Inc. CustomWeather, Inc. is a San Francisco based provider of syndicated weather content that combines the worlds of technology and weather. CustomWeather generates local weather forecasts for over 200 countries worldwide, establishing it as the industry leader for global location-based coverage at both the US and International levels. For more information visit www.customweather.com. Source: Software MacKiev CONTACT: Jack Minsky of The Software MacKiev Company, +1-508-272-7892; or Geoff Flint, CEO of CustomWeather, Inc., +1-415-777-3303 Web site: http://www.mackiev.com/ ------- Profile: International Entertainment