CAMPBELL, Calif. – December 10, 2002 – VirtualDACafe 2003, an exclusive online EDA (electronic design automation) trade show, is pleased to announce the participation of Ron Rohrer, who will deliver a keynote address viewable by all registered show attendees at the February 11–13, 2003 virtual event.

"Hosting a tradeshow on the desktop is an idea whose time has arrived, and I am delighted to deliver the keynote address for this ’virtual� conference," Ron Rohrer said. "For the EDA engineer or manager this is a great way to learn about new technology without the concern of physical travel. As EDA technology becomes increasingly sophisticated I am sure the industry will embrace the idea of desktop tradeshows, conferences and workshops as an excellent way of keeping their employees up to speed with technology advances while reducing travel costs and inconveniences."

Ron Rohrer is chief engineer at Magma Design Automation. As a world-renowned expert in the semiconductor and EDA industries, Rohrer also serves as chairman of Neolinear in Pittsburgh, Pa., and as a board member of Lambda Technologies in Raleigh/Durham, N.C. He started his industrial career at Fairchild Semiconductor in the 1960s, and has since served as a technical consultant and adviser to leading EDA and electronics companies, including IBM (NYSE: IBM - News), AT&T Bell Laboratories, Synopsys (Nasdaq: SNPS - News), Avant!, Mentor Graphics (Nasdaq: MENT - News) and Cadence Design Systems (NYSE: CDN - News). Rohrer founded Performance Signal Integrity, which Integrated Silicon Systems acquired before merging with Arcsys to form Avant! Corporation. He has served on the boards of directors for numerous successful technology startup companies, including ISS, Genesis Microchip, interHDL, Performance Signal Integrity, Technology Modeling Associates, Comstock Systems and Xynetix Design Systems.

Prior to his present positions he was an educator and an entrepreneur, and has held research, marketing and management positions in large and small semiconductor and EDA companies over a span of more than 35 years. In the early 1960s Rohrer began using optimization techniques for the design of integrated circuits (ICs), and in 1989 he was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering for his "contributions to circuit simulation that enabled deep-submicron IC design." Among his many awards are the 1996 NEC Computer and Communication Prize, a worldwide honor for pioneering contributions in electronics, the 1993 IEEE Education Medal, the SRC Inventor Recognition Award in 1990 and the ASEE Terman Award in 1978. He is a fellow of the IEEE, and author of five textbooks and more than 100 papers.

"We are honored and thrilled to receive the validation of Mr. Rohrer, the 2002 EDAC Kaufman Award winner for our VirtualDACafe 2003 exhibition," said David Heller, president and CEO of IBSystems, Inc. "We look forward to providing a ground-breaking, focused and informative forum for engineers, managers and industry executives to get the information and make the contacts they need to meet their market windows and design needs – all from their desktop." VirtualDACafe 2003 will be a live interactive event Monday, February 11, 2003 to Wednesday, February 13, 2003, and then will be available on-demand through April 15, 2003. Early-bird registration and sweepstakes entry is now open at www.virtualmcad.com.

About VirtualDACafe and EDAToolsCafe

VirtualDACafe.com and EDAToolsCafe.com are part of IBSystems' Portal Network. IBSystems, Inc. is a leading provider of web portals targeted at professional audiences. Its portals bring valuable resources, timely information and job opportunities to professionals in the EDA, PCB Design, Mechanical Computer Aided Design (MCAD), Geographical Information Systems (GIS), and Architectural Engineering. For more information, please visit www.ibsystems.com.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Internet Business Systems, Inc. David Heller (408) 850-9201 virtualdacafe@ibsystems.com