MasterWriter 1.0, Professional Songwriter's Software, Shown for the First Time at Macworld Expo

-- Hip, Fat Reference Dictionaries Accessed Fast with Easy to Use Song Creation Tools and Secure Date-of-Creation Registration --

January 7, 2003. San Jose, CA.

San Jose, CA., January 7, 2003 - Macworld Expo Booth #1442 -- Today MasterWriter, Inc. showed for the first time MasterWriter, 1.0 software demonstrating its power for professional songwriters. Written entirely in 4D and running on Mac OS X, MasterWriter is available for demonstration in the 4D Booth.

Designed by songwriters for songwriters, MasterWriter is the first program to fully address all of the challenges of writing a song. MasterWriter combines robust reference dictionaries, an advanced database for organizing work in progress and complete word processing functionality, plus a hard-disc recorder for melodies, a MIDI drum loop library and Songuard,, an online date-of-creation song registration service. MasterWriter is being previewed to Mac users a week before it's official exclusive BMI world debut to professional songwriters, after which it will be available for a suggested retail price of $289 directly from <http://www.masterwriter.com/>.

"4D's scalability is known, but MasterWriter really highlights 4D's flexibility and power," said Brendan Coveney, president and CEO of 4D, Inc. "MasterWriter is a high-performance, tightly integrated set of databases with productivity features to help songwriters create better work in less time. We're thrilled to feature such a high-quality example as MasterWriter to showcase what can be done in 4D. Whatever your business proposition, 4D provides the database-driven application development environment which powers creation of applications on Mac OS X."

"Mac OS X brings powerful technology and stability to creative professionals," said said Ron Okamoto, Apple's vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. "With MasterWriter and a Mac running Mac OS X, professional songwriters have all the tools they need to focus on creating great music, not troubleshooting technology."

"MasterWriter is the ultimate collection of writing tools for the professional songwriter, housed in one easy to use program," explained Barry DeVorzon, Oscar nominated and Grammy and Emmy Award winning songwriter, and president of MasterWriter, Inc. "Our concept was to utilize today's technology in a way that wouldn't interfere with the creative process. MasterWriter's advanced organizational tools and databases were specifically designed for songwriters to organizing songs, lyrics, melodies and related materials easily. Inspiration, organization and education together with a sophisticated date-of-creation registration service makes MasterWriter a 'must have' for the songwriter."

MasterWriter's reference dictionaries are filled with thousands upon thousands of fresh rhymes, phrases, ideas and information never before seen in one program. Reference dictionaries include:

A rhyming dictionary with over 100,000 entries;
A pop-culture dictionary with over 11,000 icons of American and World Culture;
A phrases dictionary containing over 33,000 phrases, idioms, cliches, sayings and word combinations, both familiar and new contemporary;
The only alliterations dictionary in existence; and
The American Heritage® dictionary and Roget's II thesaurus;

MasterWriter's integrated reference resources are combined with a state-of-the-art database for keeping track of lyrics, melodies and information related to the songs in progress. Full-function word processing for lyric composition and editing is easy to use and completely integrated. Melodic ideas can easily be recorded utilizing MasterWriter's hard-disc recorder. Included in this program is a library of over 250 tempo-adjustable MIDI drum loops, utilizing QuickTime 6. Stereo and CD quality audio tracks can also be imported. Songwriters can establish the date-of-creation of their work by using Songuard, an integrated secure, easy to use online song registration service. MasterWriter runs on Mac OS 9.2.2 and higher, Mac OS X v10.1.3 and higher (Jaguar recommended) and Windows 98 Rev2 or better (XP recommended).

Download the PDF version of this press release.

About 4D, Inc.

Located in San Jose, California, 4D Inc. is the U.S. distributor of 4th Dimension (4D), 4D Business Kit, and 4D WebSTAR Server Suite. 4D is an award-winning, tightly integrated suite of Windows and Mac OS, Web-embedded development tools for business solutions. 4D WebSTAR Server Suite V is a fast, secure and extensible server suite for Mac OS X, best known for easy administration. 4D, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of 4D SA. Further information can be found at http://www.4D.com/.

About MasterWriter, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, MasterWriter, Inc. is the privately held publisher of MasterWriter software for professional songwriters. A significant tool for all writers, poets and educators, MasterWriter is the ultimate collection of writing tools for the professional. Further information can be found at <http://www.masterwriter.com/>.