PATENT OWNER
`PATENT OWNER
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`EXHIBIT 2044
`EXHIBIT 2044
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`AMERANTH"
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`WIRELESS SYSTEMS SOLUTIONS
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`NEWS
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`Contact: Kathie Sanders (703) 281-4995
`12230 El Camino Real, Ste 330, San Diego, CA 92130
`Tel: (888) AMERANTH Fax: (858) 794-8222
`http://www.ameranth.com mailto:info@ameranth.com
`
`AMERANTH TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS"' and SYMBOL TECHNOLOGIES® ANNOUNCE
`21sT CENTURY RESTAURANT"' SYSTEM
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`Handheld Computer and Wireless LAN Technology
`Automates Traditional Restaurant Processes
`
`CHICAGO, May 22, 1999 -- Ameranth Technology Systems, Inc., a leading provider of Wireless Systems
`SolutionsTM to the hospitality industry, and Symbol Technologies, Inc., (NYSE: SBL) a world leader in wireless
`mobile computing, today announced the 21st Century Restaurant System at this year's National Restaurant
`Association (NRA) show.
`
`The 21st Century Restaurant System is a fully integrated system that provides a long-awaited hospitality
`industry solution for traditional restaurant processes. The centerpiece of the 21st Century Restaurant System is
`Ameranth's UltraPadTM 2700, a handheld computer that integrates Symbol's Spectrum24 wireless local-area
`network and the Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) Windows CE operating system.
`
`The combination of the three technologies offers unprecedented benefits to restaurateurs and their clientele.
`The 21st Century Restaurant System allows restaurant processes, including order taking, payment processing
`(credit card, debit card, smart card), inventory control, process control, waitlist management, table
`management, personnel management, management interface, valet parking, frequent-diner program interface,
`short- and long-range communications, and other applications, to be managed and controlled from Ameranth's
`handheld computer, dramatically increasing productivity, reducing cost, and improving customer service.
`
`The Ameranth handheld computer communicates to other restaurant computers and devices by the Symbol
`Spectrum24 wireless local area network. Symbol's wireless local area network is based on industry standards
`and is the technology of choice at more than 40,000 customer locations in a number of global markets.
`
`Other key partners in the 21st Century RestaurantTM System include IBM, for back-office server hardware and
`large-scale implementations; JTECH, the world leader in on-premise paging, for paging systems; COMTEC, a
`world leader in mobile printing, for portable printers; The Customer Connection, a leader in frequent dining-
`programs, for frequency programs; System Concepts, Inc., the developer of FOOD-TRAK®, the industry's first
`and foremost food and beverage management system for back-office inventory and recipe and menu
`management; and leading POS, companies, led by the charter POS partner, Hospitality Systems International
`HSI, a leading POS company for both restaurants and hotels. Additional partners will be announced.
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`Spectrum24, Symbol's open-architecture wireless network, provides high-performance data and voice-over-IP
`communications with excellent immunity to interference. Its frequency hopping technology ensures robust and
`reliable data throughout. Spectrum24 also features selectable power management for application optimization,
`as well as encryption capabilities to ensure data security. Spectrum24 is designed to support the IEEE 802.11
`wireless LAN standard. Operating in the 2.4GHz band using spread-spectrum modulation, Spectrum24 allows
`fast, seamless roaming with load balancing among cells. Its capacity and range are expandable through the use
`of multiple access points.
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`Microsoft Windows CE offers exceptional capabilities with seamless integration with the databases of
`information already in place throughout the hospitality industry.
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`-more-
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`Ameranth Technology Systems, Inc., Wireless Systems Solutions
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`Page 2- 21st Century Restaurant
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`"Our mission is to work with Symbol and Microsoft to provide worldwide-standard wireless systems
`solutions," said Keith McNally, CEO of Ameranth. "Ameranth's integration of Symbol's unparalleled
`technological advancements and the Microsoft Windows CE platform with the other capabilities of our partners
`will allow customers to deploy fully integrated software and hardware solutions that will provide optimal
`service, efficiency, and profitability for years to come."
`
`"As a world-leading supplier of mobile computing wireless local area networks and related technologies,
`Symbol already provides the standard wireless solution for many industries. Our agreement with Ameranth and
`relationship with Microsoft will allow Ameranth to carry our standard of technological excellence into
`industries where they are already playing a leading role," said Joe McCormick, Senior Director for Emerging
`Technologies at Symbol Technologies.
`
`"We are pleased that Ameranth and Symbol have chosen Windows CE as the mobile-computing backbone for
`the introduction of their 21st Century Restaurant System," said Tony Barbagallo, group product manager,
`Productivity Appliances Division, Microsoft Corp. "With Symbol's proven expertise in mobile computing and
`wireless networks,
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`Ameranth's vision and integration skills, and Microsoft's innovative family of software products and solutions,
`we share in their vision for the 21st Century Restaurant System."
`
`In addition to appearing at booth 6254 at the National Restaurant Association Show, Ameranth/Symbol will
`showcase their new products at HITEC in Atlanta, June 22-24; The Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo in
`Los Angeles, August 21-23; MUFSO in Dallas, September 12-15; The World Gaming Congress & Expo in Las
`Vegas, September 14-16; FS/TEC'99 in Dallas, November 1-3; and the International Hotel, Motel & Restaurant
`Show in New York, November 6-9.
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`Ameranth Technology Systems, Inc., was founded in 1996 primarily to provide wireless computing solutions to
`the hospitality, gaming, defense, and law-enforcement industries and markets. Ameranth's products include
`handheld computers, scanners, access points, printers, and related software.
`
`Symbol Technologies, Inc., is a global leader in mobile data management systems and services with innovative
`customer solutions based on wireless local-area networking for voice and data, application-specific mobile
`computing, and bar-code data capture. Symbol's wireless LAN solutions are installed at more than 40,000
`customer locations, and more than 7 million Symbol scanners and application-specific scanner-integrated
`mobile computer systems are in use worldwide. Symbol and its global network of business partners provide
`solutions for retailing, transportation and distribution logistics, parcel and postal delivery, healthcare,
`education, manufacturing, and other industries.
`
`-30-
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`Ameranth Technology Systems, Inc., Wireless Systems Solutions