Page 1
`
`FOCUS - 7 of 17 DOCUMENTS
`
`Copyright 1993 Times Business Publications
`Business Times (Singapore)
`
`June 21, 1993
`
`SECTION: Information Technology; Pg. 16
`
`LENGTH: 1907 words
`
`HEADLINE: A family's lines of business
`
`BYLINE: David Welcher
`
`BODY:
` BusinessIT
` David Welcher, writing for BusinessIT from New York, dials into a family effort that's grown into an international
`service
` WHAT has dozens of lines, and can grow to thousands of them? If you answered a Jackson Pollock painting, it's a
`valid response, but this article is not about oil paintings. It's an inside look at the maturing of a on-line "cottage indus-
`try" bulletin board system into a successful international enterprise.
`Occupying a 22,000 square-foot loft in lower Manhattan, New York's Invention Factory Bulletin Board System
`(BBS) is the nine-year-old brainchild of system operator (Sysop) Michael Sussell and marketing director Kathy Sussell.
`The loft is also their home, shared with three children, a cat and a dog.
`As the enterprise has grown from one line and one computer to its present octopus-like incarnation, the distinction
`between office and residence has blurred. As Kathy explains, "We used to work out of our home. Now we live in our
`office."
`The Invention Factory is not just a whimsical name. Ten years ago, Michael was busy dreaming up inventions, like
`an illuminated electronic yo-yo. "At that point in my life, I fancied myself as "The Little Old Toy Maker'," he explained.
`To facilitate his research, he purchased an IBM XT with a 10 Mbyte hard disk and a modem. Hours spent on commer-
`cial services like Dialog convinced him there had to be a better way.
`"The charges for some services could run to US$ 300 per hour, and the manuals were impossible," Michael re-
`called. Kathy then suggested he try some of the new BBS services. "They have plenty of software," she told him. "Be-
`sides, we don't have any more money!"
`The 10 Mbyte disk filled up rapidly, and they started copying the files to floppies. "Pretty soon, we had thousands
`of floppies. Then we got bigger and bigger hard disks. The phone bills were mounting, too. Finally, Kathy suggested we
`start a Bulletin Board system. That way, people would send us software."
`And they did. Today, the Invention Factory features over 250,000 files occupying more than 10 gigabytes (10,000
`Mbytes) of disk space. Its most innovative feature started a few years ago. For a modest subscription fee, callers could
`get through virtually any time with no waiting.
`"We decided to make the system pay for itself. So, Ezaccess was born. We were selling something unique -no busy
`signals, for only US$ 150 per year, which allows three hours of access per day. We add lines as necessary to make sure
`you can always get through."
`
`EMC/VMWARE v. PersonalWeb
`IPR2013-00083
`EMCVMW 1043
`
`

`

`Business Times (Singapore) June 21, 1993
`
`Page 2
`
`There are over 3,000 subscribers, with nearly 500 from other countries. Many have opted for the premium Ezac-
`cess service. Currently there are 46 lines, each supporting a US Robotics 16,800 baud modem. Fifty more are coming on
`line shortly. For those with the patience to get past a busy signal, there is public access for only US$ 25 per year. Six
`hundred patient users regularly share this single line. The entire operation is currently receiving in excess of half a mil-
`lion calls per year.
`Invention Factory's biggest accomplishment was the recent link with the Internet. "We offer the full news feed from
`the Internet. It took us about a year of programming to marry it to our BBS interface, but this has greatly increased our
`subscriber base," Michael happily explained.
`As their demand for additional lines grew exponentially, they exhausted the capacity of their building. That's when
`New York Telephone came to the rescue. In a no-cost programme aimed at growing small businesses, they installed an
`optical link in the basement of Michael's building.
`"It amazes me just how far this cottage industry has come," he marvelled. "We now have, in our home, the capac-
`ity to support 100,000 incoming telephone lines!"
`Armed with this much potential capacity, they searched for ways to capitalise on it. The international call-back ser-
`vice was born. Account relations and billing are handled by US Sprint. A 486 computer running a custom OS/2 applica-
`tion can support 32 lines per PC. Callers are given a personal line on Michael's premises.
`"They call in and hang up on the first ring. Our system calls them back at a predetermined number. After they enter
`a password, they have a US dial tone. Even though they pay for both "Leg One' -the call back to them, and also for "Leg
`Two', the call from here to their destination, plus a flat rate access fee of US$ 250 per month, it still provides a huge
`saving to the volume caller. In some cases, we are 40-60 per cent less expensive."
`They do not anticipate competition from the major international telephone service providers, like AT&T. These
`companies all have contracts with the various countries to provide telephone service both in and out. For them to offer a
`service like this might jeopardise those agreements.
`Does he expect competition from other US entrepreneurs? "There are already other companies doing this," Michael
`admitted. "But we have a special advantage. Subscribers can access our bulletin board with a local call once they are
`connected. US software is very expensive overseas. Accordingly, there is a tremendous demand for our public domain
`and shareware files," he explained, referring to software which may be experimentally used on a trial basis before pay-
`ment is expected.
`Other services are also being considered. One is the possible distribution of commercial software. "With piracy a
`continuing problem, the electronic distribution of commercial programs with an unlock key provided after payment is
`made becomes a real potential solution," Michael explained.
`What might the future hold? The Sussells are not predicting the future, but expect they'll find equally innovative
`services to offer as new technologies emerge. "We consider ourselves unemployable," he humorously suggested. "What
`I mean is, we could never work for someone else. So, whatever comes along, you can be sure we'll be a part of it."
` The Invention Factory may be reached in New York City via modem at 212-274-8110, with eight data bits, no
`parity and one stop bit (8-N-1). Supported speeds are from 2,400 to 16,800
`
`GRAPHIC: Bulletin board: Invention Factory's on-line "cottage industry' system has matured into a successful interna-
`tional enterprise
`
`LOAD-DATE: June 22, 1993
`
`