Aqcess Tablet Named Best of Comdex; SoftNet Gets $5M Infusion
Orange County is officially in the throes of the holidays and those unmistakable signs of the season are everywhere: the crisp November air, malls packed with shoppers, and of course, winter-themed electronic greeting cards from Emaildirect Inc.
The Aliso Viejo company is hoping businesses get into the holiday spirit with its Holiday Mail (www.holidaymail.com) service, touted as a cheaper, hipper alternative to the oh-so-20th-century greeting-card tradition.
Though the electronic cards might not appear much different than those offered by a host of similar services on the Internet, officials at Emaildirect say their cards are designed to be appropriate for office and home e-mail inboxes, making them an ideal tool for direct marketing efforts during the hap-happiest time of the year.
E-mail greeting cards allow users to send colorful greetings, often with animation and music, to their friends and business associate through e-mail. Such services have attracted big-money attention in recent months, as shown by Excite@Home’s recent purchase of e-card company Bluemountain.com for $780 million.
For more: www.emaildirect.com.
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Remember the tablet-style computer by Aqcess Technologies Inc., Santa Ana, mentioned last week in this very column? The editors at PC Week apparently agreed with my appraisal of the device and gave the Qbe a “Best of Comdex” award.
The 6-pound device looks about the size of a clipboard but is a fully functional Pentium-class computer with a high-resolution screen, all the usual trimmings and a futuristic docking port.
The gadget is expected to go on sale the first quarter of 2000. For more: www.qbenet.com.
It’s not as radical as adding a “.com” to the company moniker, but officials at CAM Data Systems Inc. hope to strut their e-commerce stuff with a new name, CAM Commerce Solutions.
The change, if approved by shareholders, will better reflect the Fountain Valley software company’s moves into the e-commerce arena, officials say. It is scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1.
CAM makes software used by retailers to keep track of inventory, manage point-of-sale data and handle accounting. Though officials say they have no intention of abandoning its traditional brick-and-mortar retailing customers, they do hope to emphasize their work in the exploding e-commerce sector.
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Irvine-based SoftNet System Solutions Inc. is getting ready to expand its line of services with a $5 million boost courtesy of Kirnaf Ltd., an international investment group.
Company president Humayun Rashid said the money will take his company to “the next level” of high-end digital systems.
SoftNet builds custom Internet, intranet and other networking systems for businesses of all sizes.
The technology consulting company employs about 100 in Irvine and five international offices.
For more: www.softnetsystems.com.
Careful, corporate computer users: Systems Management Specialists might be watching you. But considering the cost of tech support these days and software installation, the Santa Ana company says the prospect isn’t such a bad thing.
SMS is launching a service that remotely monitors computer use,right down to individual machines and software applications,to help companies better manage their technology and help workers use the machines more effectively.
Using the service, companies can track how long employees spend on specific pieces of software and what hardware they’re using. The service is designed to identify trouble areas and unused software for better planning. It also allows SMS to offer remote-control help, looking at actual screens of individual PCs and taking control of the machines to solve problems.
According to the company, handling the problems remotely could save a bundle compared with the cost of on-site support.
San Francisco apparel maker Esprit, which has offices around the world, is one of the biggest companies already using the system.
For more: www.smsweb.com.
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Newport Beach online directory publisher SBN.com has signed an agreement to publish a web version of Web Bound’s directory of web sites, which until now has been published, believe it or not, in a printed book only.
Bits:
Millennium 2K Solutions Inc., an Irvine company focused on computer date conversions for the Y2K rollover, is teaming with Systemic Solutions Inc. of Seattle. The companies will combine their technologies for a hardware component designed to address the Y2K problem … Ingram Micro Inc., Santa Ana, is one of several distributors that have agreed to distribute Linux-based Internet server, firewall and network file server systems from Cybernet Corp. … Irvine memory maker Camintonn Corp. Inc. signed an agreement with Compaq Computer Corp. Under the agreement, estimated to be worth $30 million to $50 million, Compaq will provide maintenance for Camintonn memory installed on Compaq’s Alpha servers … Lake Forest-based SportsHabitat.com, a web site geared toward athletes, has signed an agreement with sports equipment distributor REDA Sports Corp. to ship sports hardware sold on the site.
