EarthLink Launches TotalAccess 2004 for Macintosh

ATLANTA, Jan. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- EarthLink (Nasdaq: ELNK - News), one of the nation's largest Internet service providers, today launched TotalAccess® 2004 for Macintosh and announced that it has become the first major ISP to provide a Web accelerator, free-of-charge, to Macintosh users. The latest release of the company's Internet access software, available for both EarthLink narrowband and broadband subscribers, can be downloaded at no extra charge at http://www.EarthLink.net/home/software/ . The Web accelerator allows users to surf the Web up to five times faster than typical 56K dial-up speeds.

"We greatly value our Macintosh users and have designed features for EarthLink's TotalAccess 2004 for Macintosh that empower them to define their Internet experience on their own terms," stated Rob Kaiser, EarthLink's vice president of narrowband marketing. "Our latest software upgrade will sync address books, eliminate virtually all spam and allow customers to surf the Web faster, all through an easy-to-use task panel designed and developed for the Apple platform."

The new software is engineered exclusively for Macintosh OS X, version 10.1 and above, including the recently released Panther (version 10.3) operating system.

The EarthLink Accelerator is powered by the Propel Software Corporation's ( http://www.propel.com ) Web Accelerator. In addition, TotalAccess 2004 for Macintosh provides the following features:

Address Book Synchronization - This feature enables users to synchronize their Macintosh OS X and EarthLink Webmail address books, populating each, and thus enabling a customer to use any Internet connected computer anywhere and access his most up-to-date contact data. This feature also works seamlessly with EarthLink's leading spam fighting feature, spamBlocker(sm), which blocks virtually 100 percent of junk e-mail. spamBlocker only allows senders entry into an e-mail inbox if they are registered in the subscriber's address book. This 'permission-based' approach creates a barrier-to-entry for spammers, while offering simple entry for any legitimate communications.

Task Panel - This navigation tool has been improved for greater ease-of- use and gives subscribers the ability to minimize the task panel and configure it for their individual needs by showing only the components they want displayed - either their EarthLink connection manager, e-mail, Web, the EarthLink Accelerator or the Help Library. The task panel can also be moved around, or removed from, the desktop;

Update Manager - This program automatically notifies users when newer versions of relevant software are available for software for download from EarthLink;

Location Manager - This feature makes it easy to access the Internet over any connection, be it dial-up, high-speed or via a LAN;

Server Email Preview - TotalAccess 2004 for Macintosh will allow users to preview their messages on the EarthLink email servers before downloading them to their inbox. Subscribers will be able to see the sender's name, the subject line of the message and the size of the email;

Menu Bar Item - This tool allows users to quickly and easily access the same functions and features residing in the task panel, via a drop-down menu without requiring the user utilize any desktop screen space.

"EarthLink revolves around you(sm)." As a leading national Internet service provider (ISP) headquartered in Atlanta, EarthLink has earned an award winning reputation for outstanding customer service and its suite of online products and services. According to the J.D. Power and Associates 2003 Internet Service Provider Residential Customer Satisfaction Study(SM), EarthLink is ranked highest in customer satisfaction among high-speed Internet Service Providers. Serving approximately five million subscribers, EarthLink offers what every user should expect from their Internet experience: high- quality connectivity, minimal drop-offs and ISP-generated intrusions, and customizable features. Whether it's dial-up, high-speed, Web hosting, or wireless Internet service, EarthLink provides the tools that best let individuals use and enjoy the Internet on their own terms. Learn more about EarthLink by calling (800) EARTHLINK or visiting EarthLink's Web site at www.earthlink.net .