BuzMe.com Screens Calls Online; Firstsource Corp. Links Up
Add another Winfire Inc. skeptic to the mix.
Cahner’s In-Stat Group, a market research firm based in Scottsdale, Ariz., has published a report questioning the feasibility of Newport Beach-based Winfire’s plan to offer high-speed Internet access service.
Providers of free service using digital subscriber line connections would fall short unless phone providers that make up the backbone of DSL service are unusually successful at deploying the service themselves, predicted In-Stat analyst Mike Lowe.
“Current obstacles make free DSL an uncertain proposition over the long haul,” Lowe writes, specifically mentioning Broadband Digital Group, now known as Winfire. “At the very least, it will require a ‘home run’ on the part of providers to make free DSL a reality.”
As most people who’ve tried to order DSL service from their local provider know, that can be an iffy proposition.
Still, the report added, free DSL services have the potential to reshape the broadband industry. And upgraded equipment and new ways of installing the service are making DSL service cheaper by the day.
That’s exactly what Winfire founders Chad and Ryan Steelberg are counting on. The report assumes advertising will be the company’s only source of revenue. But the brothers since have added other revenue streams, such as temporary speed boosts paid for by users and sponsorship deals in which music and video Web sites subsidize higher-speed connections for Winfire users.
The report is available for $995 at www.instat.com.
You Rang?
Is plain-vanilla voice messaging obsolete?
A Laguna Niguel startup called BuzMe.com Inc. wants to replace standard answering services with a free Web-connected version that lets computer users see who’s calling on their screens and handle the call from there. Users have the option of answering the call, sending the caller to voicemail or typing a message (such as “I’m on the computer, try later”). The system reads the response to the caller.
Subscribers also can check their messages the old-fashioned way or have them sent to an e-mail address.
As is the case in most free Internet services, there’s a catch: advertising. Subscribers checking messages by phone hear a short commercial and those checking via the Internet see a standard Web banner ad.
The company hopes to make money through the ads and by offering co-branded versions of the service to Internet access providers, telecommunications firms and other Web sites.
For more: www.buzme.com.
Firstsource Launches Affiliate Program
Santa Ana-based firstsource corp., which is trying to distinguish itself from the pack of suddenly-not-so-fashionable dot-coms, wants to stress its business-to-business focus with a new program to team with other business sites.
Under the program, other business-oriented Web sites can feature items in firstsource’s 1.2 million-item catalogue and take a 5% cut of every item sold. New York-based LinkShare Corp. will keep track of the referrals.
In light of this year’s e-commerce meltdown, firstsource officials hope the affiliate program will help accentuate the differences between their company and a slew of online office supply sellers.
The company offers “online business procurement” services, which differ from just selling office supplies by helping customers manage the ordering, budgeting and inventory management processes. Some of the features include data warehousing and data mining, electronic cataloging, order tracking and transaction management.
For more: www.firstsource.com.
Supplying the Demand
High-tech firms aren’t the only operations desperate for talent. The University of California, Irvine, has hired eight faculty members for its computer science department and is looking for eight more in the next two years.
Enrollment at the UCI department, the largest computer science school in the UC system, is growing 20% per year. More than 1,200 students are enrolled in the program now, with another 525 expected this fall.
That’s a departure from national trends. According to the American Electronics Association, there’s been a 5% drop in technology degrees awarded in the past five years. While the figure doesn’t count the number of college dropouts who go on to technology companies, the industry is worried about meeting demand.
Bits:
Rainbow Technologies Inc., Irvine, is teaming up with Phaos Technology Corp. to allow software developers who create applications written in the Java programming language to use Rainbow’s computer security products. For more: www.rainbow.com … Web site developer eBuilt Inc., Irvine, has hired its 200th employee, seven months after launching in November. The company recently opened a Los Angeles office and is gearing up to open a San Diego outlet later this month … Magic Software Enterprises, an Israel-based company that has its North American headquarters in Irvine, won a contract to create a records system for Nebraska’s public safety agency … GoShip.com, Laguna Niguel, is offering its shipping services to users of eBiz in a Box, a do-it-yourself e-commerce Web site package sold by San Clemente-based eBiz.web. The software will integrate GoShip.com’s service, which handles the shipping process of e-commerce providers, giving customers a choice of how they want to receive the products they buy online.
