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Zing to Acquire FotoNation

SAN FRANCISCO -- Zing, Inc., the complete picture network and the Internet's largest photography community, today announced it has agreed to acquire FotoNation, Inc., the global leader in providing digital photography connectivity software. The Millbrae, California-based company will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zing. The transaction is expected to be complete by March 2000.

Founded in 1997, FotoNation is the industry leading software vendor dedicated to building connectivity solutions for digital photography.

FotoConnected' software solutions enable seamless and intuitive methods of connecting digital cameras to networked systems such as the Internet or PCs, and related peripherals such as printers and modems. FotoNation and Zing have already successfully partnered to achieve digital camera-to-consumer ease of use with their recent licensing of the FotoDeveloper-Uploader technology and the announcement of a strategic partnership with Casio Inc., introducing the world's first 'Internet camera solution'.

"FotoNation's innovation and reputation within the digital photography industry are unsurpassed," said Mark Platshon, president and chief executive officer, Zing, Inc. "By combining FotoNation's camera connectivity software with Zing's photo sharing, storage and commerce benefits, we are that much closer to achieving our shared goal of simplifying and advancing digital photography globally. "

As part of the acquisition, FotoNation co-founder, Yury Prilutsky, will become president of the FotoNation subsidiary and vice president of Zing, Inc.; and FotoNation co- founder, Eran Steinberg, will become chief technical officer (CTO) of Zing, Inc.

Eran Steinberg brings to Zing many years of photography and digital imaging experience and is responsible for designing the first programmable digital camera. Prior to FotoNation, he was chief scientist and vice president of software at Epix Imaging Systems. Previously, he was color scientist and manager of the Core Technology group at Electronics for Imaging (EFI). Steinberg holds an MS from the Rochester Institute of Technology, a BS in mathematics and computer science from Hebrew University, and a BFA in photography from the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where he also worked as a freelance photographer. Steinberg is the author of several patents in the field of digital photography.

"Zing has already taken major steps to guide the future of digital photography, and by joining our core strengths, we can only make bigger strides in the future," said Steinberg. "As a veteran of the industry, I am thrilled to participate in the digital photography revolution and making digital photography accessible to all."

Yury Prilutsky oversees a staff of fifteen software engineers including those in FotoNation offices in Ireland and Romania. Prior to co-founding FotoNation, Prilutsky was director of software at Epix Imaging Systems and was previously senior software engineer at Electronics for Imaging (EFI). Prilutsky also worked as a member of the senior software engineering staff at the Institute of Cybernetics, Estonia Academy of Science. He holds an MS of computer science from Tartu State University, Estonia.

About Zing, Inc.

Zing, Inc. (www.zing.com) is dedicated to helping millions of picture takers stay in touch with friends and family through digital photography. Zing.com offers free, private, unlimited, permanent storage for personal pictures surrounded by a wide array of supporting services for album presentation, greeting cards, story telling, gifts and printing. From one-step digital camera-to-web uploading to high quality photo printing, Zing is building the infrastructure to advance and simplify digital photography.