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Contact: Pamela Schreiber
Investor Relations
Resource America, Inc.
1521 Locust Street - 4th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19102
(215) 546-5005
(215) 546-5388 (facsimile)
Resource America, Inc. Subsidiary Selected By IBM Global Financing
Philadelphia, PA, 2/1/1999 - Resource America, Inc. (NASDAQ:REXI) announces that its
wholly owned subsidiary, Fidelity Leasing Inc. has been selected by IBM Global Financing as an approved provider of lease financing for IBM small business customers throughout the United States
and Canada. Attached is the complete press release issued by IBM on January 25, 1999. The
release may also be found at www.ibm.com.
Resource America, Inc, operates a diversified financial services company engaged in equipment
leasing, energy, and energy finance, and real estate finance.
Statements made in this release include forward-looking statements, which involve substantial
risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results, performance or achievements could differ
materially from those expressed or implied in this release.
IBM Launches Industry's First Small Business PC With Speech
Recognition
New Desktop PC Offers Features, Performance and Price for Small and Medium
Companies
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N_C,--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 25,1999- IBM(a) today announced the computer industry's first desktop PC equipped with speech recognition technology for small and growing businesses, the IBM PC 300GL Small Business Series. The new IBM PC 300GL Small Business Series features ViaVoice(a), speech recognition software designed to deliver simplicity and naturalness in speech dictation and voice control via the computer system.
"With the incorporation of ViaVoice technology in the IBM PC 300CYL Small Business Series, IBM
is demonstrating the company's unique ability to research, develop and quickly implement advanced
technologies in practical, leading-edge products," said Phil Hester, vice president, technology, IBM
Personal Systems Group. "As more and more small and growing businesses embrace the Internet as a
way to do business, IBM is uniquely positioned to offer the tailored products and services these
customers will need to make e-business work for them." According to a 1998 IDC study, small
businesses account for approximately 45 percent of the PC market. At the same time, the small
business segment is also the fastest growing portion of the market. With voice recognition
technology gaining momentum in the offices of professionals such as doctors, lawyers and architects,
small businesses are well-positioned to take advantage of this emerging technology.
For as little as $50 (1) per month through IBM's new SuccessLease(a) program, the new IBM PC
300GL Small Business Series, gives users the advanced performance and business productivity tools
that larger customers can take for granted. It is one of several new initiatives from IBM, such as the small business marketing programs with CompUSA and OfficeMax, SuccessLease financing and the
introduction of the ThinkPad 390 series of notebook PCs, designed to help recapture the imagination
of small and growing business customers.
The new IBM Small Business Series desktop PC is customized for office productivity and
Internet optimization for conducting e-business, and also has Ring Centra], a telephony feature
placed on all models to help companies manage incoming and outgoing faxes. This feature is
particularly important for small and growing businesses who operate both their fax and telephone
on the same phone line. The IBM Small Business Series features such office productivity software
as Microsoft Office(b), Small Business Edition (2), Lotus SmartSuite(a) Millennium, and IBM's
viavoice(a), an award-winning voice dictation and desktop navigation package.
To help small and growing businesses conduct e-business, the IBM Small Business Series desktop
PC features Netscape Navigator(b), Microsoft Internet Explorer(b), and Artisoft i.Share(b) software,
which allows multiple users to connect to the Internet or send/receive e-mail through one external
Internet connection, dramatically reducing Internet access costs. Other Internet-friendly equipment
includes a 56 KBps (3) data/fhx modem on some models and IBM's Scroll Point Mouse for easier
web page navigation.
Because information is the most valuable asset of any small and growing business is its information
and the IBM Small Business Series desktop PC features the same industry-leading data protection tools, such as SMART Reaction(a), ConfigSafe(a), and Norton AntiVirus (OEM Version) software that IBM has previously introduced to its corporate customers. All of these software tools fall under the umbrella of IBM's Universal Management Agent, an overall management application designed in conjunction with Tivoli to keep the systems that run a business, running smoothly.
IBM's SMART Reaction software for example, automatically backs up the data on the hard drive if
the system's error-predicting hard drives foresee a failure, averting disaster before it happens.
ConfigSafe software allows the user to easily restore key system files to a working level after a system failure, to get the PC up and running again quickly. Norton Anti-Virus software offers the industry's leading protection against computer viruses, by identifying and eliminating the virus before valuable business data can be compromised. The IBM Small Business Series desktop PC also helps small and growing business users take advantage of advanced systems management by including remote
management software, DMI 2.0 compliance and an Asset information Chip (EEPROM).
The IBM PC300GL Small Business Series desktop comes equipped with the latest top-performing Celeron(b) and Pentium(b) II microprocessors from Intel, and all models feature powerful integrated S3 Trio 3D graphics, integrated ethernet or modem, and host of hardware features that provide small and growing business customers with the power and performance choices that they require, at a price they can afford. All Pentium II models for example, come with integrated audio speakers.
Small businesses requiring a complete DVD solution, a versatile removable storage medium or a
ready-to-go backup solution can equip the IBM PC 300GL Small Business Series with the latest data
management options including: IBM 6X IDE Internal DVD-ROM (4) Option Kit, IBM 2X/4X/24X
IDE Internal CD-RW Option Kit and TR5 10/20GB Internal IDE Tape Drive.
SuccessLease Financing
Also announced today for small business customers was IBM Global Financing's new SuccessLease
program. Financing is critically important to small businesses, yet it is typically time consuming and difficult to obtain. IBM Global Financing has selected Fidelity Leasing Inc. as its third party
provider for lease financing and administration for SuccessLease. Fidelity Leasing Inc. was chosen
for its record of innovation in small ticket leasing, including its program for small business customers to request financing for purchases up to $50,000 and expect a credit decision within 15 minutes or less for most transactions. SuccessLease features attractive rates and covers other vendor products to provide small business owners with one-stop shopping.
SuccessLease is available alongside IBM's SystemXtra(a) (5) program, which offers flexible financing
options as well as a host of support services, training and software. SystemXtra can help small
business customers build complete solutions with a simple transaction. Some of the available ongoing support services available include installation/setup, help desk support and e-business services to conduct business on the Web.
Estimated reseller prices for the new IBM PC 300GL Small Business Series start as low as $1149 (6) (without monitor), depending on model and configuration. The new IBM PC 300GL Small Business Series is available through computer superstores, mail-order catalogues and IBM Business Partners. SuccessLease is available through the IBM Business Partner -- Small Business Program.
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