From: wecooks@ix.netcom.com
Subject: News Release about Cool Web Access Product
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 1997 00:50:39 -0600 (CST)
No clue if this is any good, but looks like it's worth investigating,
especially for those of us who have a limited number of phone lines and an
unlimited number of students!! :-) jkc
10:01 AM ET 02/27/97
One Phone Line, One Modem Send Multiple Users Cruising Down
The Information Superhighway
PHOENIX, Feb. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Traffic is backing up. Radiators are
hissing, horns are honking and tempers are flaring. At least, that's what
it might look like if you could see it. It's the Information Superhighway
that's starting to experience gridlock, and quickly becoming a major
bottleneck is the onramp, which to most users is plain old telephone lines.
Solution to this slowdown? Either install more phone lines (an
expensive and time-consuming proposition) or somehow make better use of the
ones we have. Making wiser use of existing telephone lines is just what a
company called Microtest Inc. (Nasdaq: MTST) is doing with their new
software product, WebEtc. WebEtc allows up to 20 network users to access
the Internet at the same time through one phone line using one modem. It
also allows home users to link up an extra computer for simultaneous
Internet access.
"Allowing multiple users to have Internet access without having separate
accounts for each and every person saves us a lot of money," said Scott
Snell, programmer/analyst for Buckeye Insurance Group of Piqua, Ohio. As
his company has grown to over 100 employees, Snell has fielded more and more
requests for Internet access. With WebEtc, he believes he's found an
efficient way to accommodate those requests. "It's easy to use and handles
our e-mail and web browsing needs," Snell said. "It's a smart way to use
the resources we have."
With a list price of $149, WebEtc supports Web browsing, FTP file
transfers, newsgroup participation and Internet e-mail. And it's compatible
with all Web browsers, e-mail packages and popular newsgroup readers such as
Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Eudora and Free Agent.
When Stephen Tanner, technology coordinator for Swan Valley Credit Union
in Swan River, Manitoba, went looking several months ago for a product that
would give his credit union's staff affordable Internet access, he found
that some software solutions wouldn't work properly and an equivalent
hardware solution cost 10 times as much.
"WebEtc is very reliable and makes financial sense," Tanner explained.
"For little expense you get valuable access to a great store of
information." Swan Valley's management is using WebEtc to become familiar
with the World Wide Web in preparation for the credit union's own Web
presence to be introduced next year.
WebEtc is compatible with Windows 3.x, 95 and NT, and it operates on
Novell and Microsoft networks. In addition, WebEtc's Weblink feature gives
laptop users high-speed Internet access via a simple serial connection to an
ISDN-linked WebEtc PC. According to Andrew Dunn, WebEtc is "flat the easiest
product of its type that we've come across." Dunn is the owner of Quality
Touch, an off-site computer backup company in Boise, Idaho. "It's easy to
set up and is worth the price without a doubt," Dunn said. "We run it on a
six-workstation network for e-mail and some web browsing. We've been very
impressed."
A PRO version of WebEtc offers enhanced security features with added
user access controls, usage reports, audit logs, and restriction controls
for specific network users and sites. It lists for $295. Additional WebEtc
product information and a 30-day free trial of the product can be found on
Microtest's Web site at http://www.microtest.com/webetc.
Founded in 1984, Microtest is a leading worldwide manufacturer of
troubleshooting, certification and connectivity products for local area
networks (LANs). Microtest's mission is to make information technology easy
to apply.
SOURCE Microtest, Inc.
CONTACT: Jim Matney, of Microtest, Inc., 602-952-6400,
jmatney@microtest.com; or Kevan Barney of Politis Communications,
801-523-3730, kbarney@politis.com/
(MTST)
CO: Microtest, Inc.
ST: Arizona
IN: CPR
SU: PDT
Janet K. Cook, Science Instructor, Night Program
Colorado's Finest Alternative High School
2323 W. Baker Ave., Englewood, CO 80110
Phone (303) 934-5786 (2:00 pm-10:30 pm)
Fax (303) 934-9183
Voice Mail (303)806-2000 x 1904
Cook Enterprises Voice Mail (303)692-3872