Home Business Information

Home health care agencies, anticipating a more competitive environment under health care reform, are pursuing strategies to price their services more attractively for employers. They are joining provider networks, offering discounted services, and marketing themselves directly to self-insured employers in an effort to coordinate an attractive spectrum of home health care services.

Providers realize that such strategies give them an edge in the post-reform market when health alliances may be more selective in choosing home care vendors. "We must form long-term partnerships with employers, payers, and traditional managed care organizations," explains Barbara Stark, director of managed care at Optioncare, a home care provider in Barrington, Ill.

"Home care agencies are changing the delivery setting by forming relationships with other providers," to capitalize on the accelerated interest in managed care, says Jill White, director of policy analysis at the National Association for Home Care, in Washington. Among the strategies home agencies have been pursuing are establishing joint ventures with other providers and joining vertically integrated provider systems. Such systems offer a broad spectrum of home care, including acute and post-acute care, explains White.

Such collaborative relationships also are developing among home care providers, employers, insurers, hospitals, and physicians, says Kathy Ziegler, president of the Visiting Nurse Health System of Atlanta, a home care agency. For example, Ziegler's group has been the preferred home care provider for the last several years for managed care services offered in Atlanta by CIGNA and Prudential Insurance Co. of America.

In recent years, the Visiting Nurse Health System has taken its preferred provider arrangement one step further. "It's also part of our strategy to contract directly with employers," Ziegler says. Because self-insured employers are the prime decision makers in home care, "we want to establish long-term relationships with those employers."

John Strapp, vice president of managed care at IVonyx, in Livonia, Mich., a provider of home infusion therapy, agrees. "As self-insured employers become more sophisticated, they are going to make more of the decisions about providers," he says. And Strapp believes relationships with employers will benefit home care providers that are poised to offer many different levels of services.

IVonyx, for example, is establishing relationships with providers of other specialty services, giving IVonyx an advantage among employers seeking a package of services, says Nancy Skinner, a case management consultant with IVonyx. In one program it initiated with an insurer, IVonyx has agreed to coordinate a range of home care services for patients with multiple needs. Because it offers only infusion therapy, IVonyx will subcontract for acute care or nursing needs with other providers if necessary. The strategy enables IVonyx to position itself as the home infusion provider when an insurer might otherwise contract with a company offering more services.

Some home care providers are finding that employers are quite receptive to their overtures. Chicago Metallic, a manufacturer of ceiling materials, offers home care as an option in its self-insured indemnity plan. Home care is provided after the company's case manager works with the employee's physician to establish an approved care plan. Joan Bruno, benefits analyst, says the case manager has been able to negotiate discounts of as much as 50% with some home care providers for specific services.

Now the company, which employs 850 people, wants to go further. Bruno wants to develop relationships directly with home care agencies and is considering establishing a home care preferred provider network to obtain greater discounts. She says Chicago Metallic is also considering hiring its own case manager.

As a large self-insured employer and health care provider, Deere and Co., Moline, Ill., is contracting directly with home care providers through Heritage National Healthplan, the company-owned independent practitioner association (IPA). Heritage operates in four states, providing health care for more than 300 employers and 230,000 members. It often home care under a wide variety of contracts with home care agencies and hospitals. Generally, services are provided on negotiated fee-for-service contracts.

Michael Hammes, president of Heritage National Healthplan, says regardless of how health reform is enacted, he will continue to negotiate contracts with home care providers to seek discounted services, especially as competition among providers grows.

January to December--wherever you are, whatever the season, home-based businesses across America are as diverse and distinct as the people who live here. Although most run their operations with Windows-based computers, there are 19 people who use Macintoshes (four of whom use both types of systems). Those businesses are hooked up to one or more laser printers. And our home-based heroes have been in business for an average of 5.5 years, with the newest only six months old and the oldest being 20 years.

In the following pages you'll find profiles of businesses in all 50 states--plus the District of Columbia--ranging from publishers and property inspectors to professional organizers, television producers, cashmere farmers, and the inventor of Rollerblades. So, let's get on with the show.

ALABAMA

LIZ REED, 52 Market researcher Birmingham, AL BUSINESS: Market Research Management GROSS INCOME: $250,000 YEARS IN BUSINESS: 4 HARDWARE/SOFTWARE: Several PCs; Excel, Microsoft Word, ProComm, Quicken, Word-perfect WHY WORK FROM HOME? Why load up on capital to rent space? WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT WORKING AT HOME? The isolation. WHAT DO YOU DISLIKE? The isolation.

ALASKA

RUSS WESTON, 42 Television producer; photojournalist Chugiak, AK BUSINESS: Weston Productions GROSS INCOME: $100,000 YEARS IN BUSINESS: 1 HARDWARE/SOFTWARE: Gateway 2000 486SX, Toshiba 1900, HP LaserJet 4L; Crosstalk, Excel, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, QuickBooks, WinFax Pro DOES COLD WEATHER STOP YOU FROM WORKING? No, I do most of my work then...like a documentary of the Iditarod Dog Race. We cover that on a snowmobile. We also take a little office with us--I have to keep servicing clients. We'll gather in Iditarod, an old ghost mining town. It will be 40 below zero, and we'll be huddled around the campfire with our laptops.

ARIZONA

BARBARA FLOYD, 55 Newspaper publisher Phoenix, AZ BUSINESS: The Country Register GROSS INCOME: $50,000 YEARS IN BUSINESS: 6 HARDWARE/SOFTWARE: Generic 486, Panasonic 4220 laser printer, HP ScanJet, Canon FaxPhone B70; PageMaker, WordPerfect HOW DID YOU GET INTO BUSINESS? I started the paper for my own shop and for similar shops in the area--Victorian stores, bed and breakfasts, tearooms. Now I license 20 newspapers across the country, from Hawaii to upstate New York.

ARKANSAS

BOB MCANARNEY, 39 Property inspector Fayetteville, AR BUSINESS: AmeriSpec Home Inspection Service GROSS INCOME: $50,000 YEARS IN BUSINESS: 1 HARDWARE/SOFTWARE: Packard Bell 486SX Legend, Epson ActionLaser 1500, Samsung FX500 fax machine, Lanier copier; QuickBooks, QuickPay, WordPerfect HOW DID YOU END UP IN THIS LINE OF WORK? I was an insurance adjuster, but I always dreamed of being my own boss. AmeriSpec uses my background in construction, insurance claims, project coordination, and communication skills. WHAT'S THE HARDEST THING ABOUT YOUR WORK CHANGES? That I'm totally responsible for everything--for both my success and failure.

CALIFORNIA

VIVIAN L. SHIMOYAMA, 37 Designer and manufacturer Manhattan Beach, CA BUSINESS: Breakthru Unlimited GROSS INCOME: $100,000 YEARS IN BUSINESS: 3 HARDWARE/SOFTWARE: Vector 386DX, HP LaserJet 2P, DEX fax machine; Lotus 1-2-3, Quicken, WordPerfect WHAT DO YOU DO? I create jewelry, picture frames, paperweights, and other accessories. HOW DO YOU MAKE THE ART? We put glass shards in a design, sometimes adding gold or platinum trim. The glass goes into a kiln, which is heated to at least 1,300 degrees. The pieces fuse together. It's all abstract. WHY USE GLASS IN YOUR WORK? It's a symbol of breaking barriers, invisible barriers, the glass ceiling.

COLORADO

LOUIS R. DILTS, 50 Software publisher; consultant Littleton, CO BUSINESS #1: Software Audit BUSINESS #2: Center for Business Development GROSS INCOME: $310,000 YEARS IN BUSINESS: 5 HARDWARE/SOFTWARE; Packard Bell Legend 486, Apple Newton, Brother 400 fax machine; AmiPro, Astound, Microsoft Works, MYOB WHAT'S YOUR SOFTWARE BUSINESS? We publish a program that highlights how many copied pieces of software a business has--a first-class felony. We either sell the software or go in and do the audit. WHAT ABOUT YOUR OTHER COMPANY? Technical companies receive SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) grants. Most don't have a clue about how to commercialize. I go to them and say, "Here's how to go through the product commercialization process." WHY DID YOU START A BUSINESS? I was a CEO at large companies, but I got sick of the SEC requirements and potential shareholder suits. I decided I can do this myself with a few employees and better control. Home-based businesses are the wave of the future.

CONNECTICUT

MAYBETH WIRZ, 54 Landscape designer Norwalk, CT BUSINESS: The Master Plan Landscape Design GROSS INCOME: $30,000 YEARS IN BUSINESS: 11 HARDWARE/SOFTWARE: Macintosh IIsi, CalComp DesignMate 1025 plotter, HP DeskWriter 550; MacWrite II, Mums the Word Plus WHAT DO YOU DO? MY specialty is drawing up a landscape plan, mainly for residences. Sometimes I get involved with installation or shopping, but clients typically hire a plantsman to implement the design. HOW HAS A COMPUTER HELPED YOU? When doing landscape design graphics, I need to draw the property to scale. With a computer, I can rough it out and see what changes will do. Also, I normally need to keep an enormous amount of plant information in my head. Mums the Word stores all this data for me. I can enter, "Gee I want something that's blue that blooms in June," and the program shoots back a list of plants. The program also prices out jobs. That feature has saved me hours of labor.

Here's another way HOME-OFFICE COMPUTING is helping you build a better business with technology-and this time the solutions are under one roof. HOME-OFFICE COMPUTING is holding the Home Offie/Small Business Conference and Exposition in cities throughout the United States. From April 12 through 14, the Conference will be in Anaheim, California at the Anaheim Convention Center. This summer, the Conference is scheduled for San Jose, California, and will be held in now York City this fall. There you can attend seminar that will show you how to start and run a business, and market your product or service. You can get discounts on new hardware, software, and accessories, and moot other smallbusiness operators. Find out about now business services.

I traveled [200 miles] to attend your first conference last October in Secaucus, New Jersey... and I can tell you that the trip was worthwhile," says John G. Osborn, who drove from Spring. field, Massachusetts. Denise Gore, a home-based business owner from Nashville, Tennessee says, I didn't want to watt until the conference came to my region of the country-so I attended the conference in New Jersey. in just a few hours I learned about some new marketing strategies that I've already applied to my company."

Digital quality sound, and unlimited free calls to any phone number in the United States or Canada and to any PC in the world, are some of the features of the latest Wi-Fi TV (TM) dialer, powered by AdCalls (TM), Wi-Fi TV Inc. (OTC: WTVN) announced today. All Wi-Fi TV members can download the new dialer to their PC at no additional charge to their membership and then slash their phone costs to zero. The new Wi-Fi TV (TM) branded dialer is available to download starting today at any Country or Category page at www.Wi-FiTV.com

"The Strategic Alliance between AdCalls, Inc. and Wi-Fi TV truly enhances the business model of both companies. While the AdCalls Dialer can provide FREE Phone and Local Coupon specials to Wi-Fi TV Members, Wi-Fi TV will bring tens of thousands of viewers to the AdCalls Dialer Network. It is truly a relationship that will help our companies grow stronger and faster," said Al Krauza, President, AdCalls Inc.

"As a global delivery platform for live TV and an online community, Wi-Fi TV (TM) Inc. is honored to be working with AdCalls (TM) to be bringing our members the best online phone service at no charge whatsoever for phone calls. The Wi-Fi TV (TM) branded dialer, powered by AdCalls(TM), just keeps getting better, and Wi-Fi TV Inc. is launching the latest version online today," said Alex Kanakaris, Chairman of Wi-Fi TV Inc.

Wi-Fi TV members can also have the additional savings and convenience of being able to have food delivered to their door and use coupons for all kinds of savings on items for sale near their home or office. This is because the Wi-Fi TV dialer presents coupons that are local to the user.

After downloading the Wi-Fi TV (TM) dialer, you can instantly start calling all friends and relatives while saving money on everything you buy.

"Let's say you want to find out about pizza specials in your local area near your home or office, you simply open your Wi-Fi TV (TM) dialer and type pizza in the search field. You instantly get access to all pizza advertisers offering specials in your local area. It's that simple," said Lisa Pahl of Wi-Fi TV Inc.

    Key Benefits and Features of the Wi-Fi TV (TM) Branded Virtual Phone
   Dialer:

--  Make unlimited phone calls in the US and Canada to any home,
   business or cell phone
--  Make unlimited phone calls worldwide using PC-2-PC with other Wi-
   Fi TV (TM) members anywhere in the world
--  Save hundreds each year on all  local and long distance calls
--  Crystal clear digital quality phone calls
--  Only the coupon and special offers relating to the Wi-Fi TV
   member's  local area will be displayed
--  Every time the offers change around the member's home or office,
   your  Wi-Fi TV (TM) virtual dialer will be updated
--  Other valuable offers and specials will be available to our Wi-Fi
   TV (TM) dialer users
--  Unlimited Phone calls from Mexico, Argentina, Costa Rica,
   Australia, New Zealand and Philippines to U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.
   

About AdCalls Inc.

AdCalls Inc., headquartered n Aliso Viejo, CA, is a privately held Delaware Corporation that is fast becoming a leader provider of Internet-based technology solutions that enable businesses to deliver global VoIP solutions through a private label program as well as secure, coupon advertisements and special offers to millions of demographically targeted computer users in the USD and Canada on a patent pending VoIP free phone dialer. For more information contact: AdCalls Inc., 72 Argonaut St., Bldg. 140, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656, 949-305-3050, contact@adcalls.com

About Wi-Fi TV Inc.

Wi-Fi TV can be seen over the Internet in the United States, Latin America and globally. More than 200 channels of live TV programming, Country and Category specific breaking news and free voice over IP phone calls are available at www.Wi-FiTV.com . Premium services are offered exclusively to Wi-Fi TV members. Subscriptions are available for $3.95 per month or $24.95 per year on a prepaid basis. There is also a 14-day free trial so users can make sure that Wi-FiTV.com works on their computer. Wi-Fi TV Inc. has opened a new content and technology demo room for the press in Newport Beach, California. For further information, contact Colby Marceau, 949-716-9397, info@wi-fitv.com .

Forward-Looking Statements

Any statements made in this press release which are not historical facts contain certain forward-looking statements; as such term is defined in the Private Security Litigation Reform Act of 1995, concerning potential developments affecting the business, prospects, financial condition and other aspects of the company to which this release pertains. The actual results of the specific items described in this release, and the company's operations generally, may differ materially from what is projected in such forward-looking statements. Although such statements are based upon the best judgments of management of the company as of the date of this release, significant deviations in magnitude, timing and other factors may result from business risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, the company's dependence on third parties, general market and economic conditions, technical factors, the availability of outside capital, receipt of revenues and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the company. The company disclaims any obligation to update information contained in any forward-looking statement. This press release shall not be deemed a general solicitation.

We've done it again. We undertook the arduous task of selecting the 10 best cities in the united States for running a home-based business. We searched for cities surrounded by strong economic communities and densely populated areas within striking distance of business opportunities. We rated cities highly that offer relatively affordable housing, good-quality public schools, an educated or skilled work force, leading colleges and universities, and easy access to a major city (if it's not one itself).

And then we came up with 1994's best cities list, a combination old and new. Five cities from last year make their second appearance, and five new cities scored their way onto the list. Although the rankings for last year's honorees has shifted, one thing remained the same: Gaithersburg, Maryland, still holds forth as number one.

The major trend revealed in this year's report is that home-based businesses are gaining clout in their communities through such organized efforts as associations. They have been successful at getting pesky zoning regulations changed, forming alliances with elected officials, and garnering support from the private sector. The home-based business community isn't operating underground; it's on the forefront of change and that's what makes these such model cities.

How We Picked the Places Our research started with The 1994 Development Report Card for the States. Published by the Corporation for Enterprise Development in Washington, D.C., the annual, 200-page report grades five years of a state's economic health in three major areas: economic performance (the amount of benefit and opportunity the state's economy provides its people), business vitality (the strength of the state's business sector), and development capacity (the state's capacity for future growth and recovery from economic adversity).

Using the most timely resources available, our next step was to collect information from a variety of city, state, national, and private industry sources. A new source this year was Runzheimer International, a Rochester, Wisconsin, management consulting firm specializing in tracking travel and living costs. Runzheimer provided us with cost-of-living ratings from its databases of 300 to 400 markets. We used relocation pattern information from Atlas, Ryder, and United Van Lines, which indicated the inbound and outbound activity for corporations, employees, and families. Then we looked at housing opportunity indexes from the National Association of Home Builders, crime reports from the FBI, job-growth forecasts from the Economic Outlook Center in Arizona, weather data from the National Climatic Data Center, and U.S. Census Bureau statistics on labor force characteristics, income, and population patterns.

After plowing through all the data, we proceeded to interview local business experts and home-based business owners to see what programs and incentives each area offers the entrepreneur. This process included a special series of follow-up interviews with people in last year's best cities.

We added a new criterion this year - access to the information superhighway. This category gauges the availability of special phone company and online services, such as Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), a carrier service offered by telephone companies that can combine voice, images, and data traffic on a single line at very fast transmission rates. The availability of these cost-effective services helps you run your business more efficiently, which could increase your profit margin.

Drawing together all these factors - as you can see in further detail in the accompanying box, "Scoring the Top Cities for Home Business" - led us to pick the following 10 places as the best for running a home-based business. Let's see what makes each city so special.

Gaithersburg, Maryland

City Population: 43,793 (+ 32,000 Montgomery Village) County: Montgomery County Population: 782,000 Nearest Major City: Washington, DC (approx. 20 miles) Median Housing Price: $182,500 Average Household Income: $61,860 Major Employers: Bechtel Power, IBM, Lakeforest Mall, Marriott, National Institute of Standards and Technologies Climate: Four distinct seasons, with an average annual snowfall of 23.5 inches. Average temperatures: winter, 29.9 degrees, spring, 52.9; summer, 78.8; fall, 55. Taxes: Income - 2 percent ($1,000 or less) to 5 percent (above $3,000); Montgomery County also assesses a 60 percent piggyback income tax. Real estate - average rate of $3.60 per $100 assessed valuation; assessment ratio is 46 percent. Sales - 5 percent.

Strengths: What started as a small settlement between two ancient Indian trails is now recognized as the high-technology center of Maryland. Incorporated into a town in 1878. Gaithersburg's economic base today includes service, retail, federal employment, finance, insurance, and real estate. The county's average unemployment rate was a mere 2.7 percent this year compared with Maryland's 5.8 percent, according to the state's Labor Department.

Nuasis Corporation and The Telework Coalition (TelCoa) will partner again for a webcast titled "Home-Based Agents: The Next Big Trend in Call Centers." The one hour webcast for consultants with a call center practice will air May 16 at 10 am, Pacific/ 1 pm, Eastern.

Earlier this month, Nuasis and TelCoa teamed up for the first time to deliver a seminar on this same topic to a large group of call center consultants in Phoenix. The tremendous response to the Phoenix seminar proved to the two organizations that there is a need for call center consultants to be educated on the business drivers for home-based agents.

According to seminar presenter and TelCoa representative, Jack Heacock, the ability to deploy home-based agents has been around for a long time but never before have there been so many factors driving companies to consider this business model.

"From storm seasons and soaring gasoline prices to terrorist threats and pandemics, companies are being forced to seriously consider home agents as a cornerstone component for their business continuity. Consultants need to be prepared to answer questions and educate their clients on reasons why this business model should be considered," said Heacock. "I'm delighted to be working with Nuasis on this seminar series. As a pioneering call center vendor Nuasis has a patented capability for quickly and cost effectively deploying and supporting home-based agents. The home-agent business model is clearly an area of focus for Nuasis as it is for TelCoa." Heacock is senior vice president, member of the executive committee and corporate secretary of the Washington D.C.-based TelCoa.

In addition to learning about how companies can achieve significant competitive advantage through home-agents, webcast attendees will also learn about the demographic trends of the home-based movement and the financial incentives available to call centers who adopt the home-based agent model.

Webcast sign up is available at www.nuasis.com under Consultant Webcasts.

About The Telework Coalition, Inc.

The Telework Coalition brings together a diverse array of organizations, companies, and individuals with the common interest of promoting awareness and adoption of existing and emerging Telework and Telecommuting applications including telemedicine and distance learning, as well as addressing access to broadband services that may be needed to support these applications. More information is available at www.telcoa.org

About the Nuasis Contact Routing Solution -- Preferred Because of Proven Results

Companies such as Cellular South, FFP Global and Trover Solutions chose the software-only Nuasis contact center application for their business-critical customer service call centers and are experiencing results such as:

--Reductions in average wait times -- down to as little as 6 seconds on the first day of deployment

--Reductions in average handle times -- as much as 50 seconds, resulting in a 30% increase in customer service agent productivity and higher revenues

--Productivity increases -- as much as 9 agent FTEs and $270,000 per year in cost savings by: 1) handling 87% of tracking and 90% of billing calls with self-service, 2) shaving 33 seconds off of each call with a screen pop, and 3) handling 11% of bookings through email, offloading peak call volume

About Nuasis Corporation

Nuasis delivers call center innovations that improve customer service and reduce operating costs. The Nuasis NuContact Center intelligently routes customer inquiries via phone, e-mail, and web to self-service or live agents located anywhere. It is the preferred solution for mission-critical call centers over legacy ACD, IVR, and CTI systems. It competes against contact center products offered by companies like Aspect Software, Avaya (NYSE:AV), Nortel Networks (NYSE/TSX:NT) and Cisco Systems (Nasdaq:CSCO). Headquartered in Mountain View, California, Nuasis has offices in major metropolitan areas across the United States and Canada.

HOUSING You pay the price for TITLE INSURANCE coverage. But everyone else reaps the benefits.

WHO WOULD be foolish enough to shell out several thousand dollars for an overpriced product that they knew little about and would most likely never really need?

Just about everyone who has ever bought a house. Home buyers can spend days haggling with sellers over a few thousand dollars on the purchase price or whether the chandelier conveys. But once the deal is done they don't bat an eyelash at spending another 0.5% to 1% of the mortgage amount as a one-time premium for title insurance. What's more, they don't bother to look for the best deal and probably can't even name their insurer.

Home buyers are in this fix because you can't get a mortgage without title insurance. Lenders require it to protect themselves against any title problems that may surface after the property changes hands. But while it's the lender that benefits, it's generally the homeowner who pays the bill--which totaled more than $8.7 billion in 1999, one-third more than doctors and hospitals spend on medical-malpractice coverage. Home buyers generally funnel all that money directly to the title insurer their real estate agent or settlement company recommends.

So this is title insurance in a nutshell: You, the homeowner, pay a premium to the title company to protect your lender from mistakes made by the company when it does a title search. Are you a sucker, or what?

To make matters worse, even though you're paying the bill, the title company's client is the real estate agent, lender, lawyer or homebuilder who brought in your business. Part of your premium likely goes toward rebates or other rewards for the referral (critics call them kickbacks), which many title insurers consider a cost of doing business.

"At one time, title companies would take entire real estate firms on ski trips," says Erin Toll, director of consumer affairs for the Colorado Division of Insurance, one of several state insurance departments that have been taking more aggressive action against insurers for their cozy business practices. During the past four years California has levied financial penalties totaling more than $4.2 million against title companies for unlawful rebates. Two pending cases could result in an additional $11 million in fines.

"It's a very creative industry, and they are extremely competitive with each other," says Toll. But it's the middlemen, not consumers, who benefit, because companies don't compete on price. "The consumer isn't in a position to exert market pressure to drive down the price of title insurance," says Birny Birnbaum, an economic consultant who has served as an expert witness at title-insurance-rate hearings.

Claims are rare

MOST TITLE problems are discovered and corrected during the title search at the time a property is sold. If a discrepancy comes up after the property has changed hands, the insurer will most likely pay to clear up the problem. In a worst-case scenario--some long-lost cousin of a former owner resurfaces and lays a legitimate claim to the property, for instance--you would lose the house but the insurance would kick in to pay off the mortgage and protect the lender from any loss.

Most claims occur within the first three years of a mortgage, before your equity has built up and while the lender is bearing the lion's share of the risk. If there's a claim, it's the lender, not the policyholder, who collects. Lenders hardly ever collect either, because claims are extremely rare.

Claims are so rare, in fact, that insurers spend as little as 5 cents to 10 cents of every premium dollar to pay them. In Texas, only 2 cents of every premium dollar goes to pay claims. The rest of the money goes toward expenses--including the high fixed cost of maintaining a large database of title information (not to mention the cost of ski trips)--or is retained by the company as profit. By contrast, companies that sell auto or health insurance typically spend 90 cents or more of every premium dollar on claims.

Industry sources say that the most common claims involve a forged signature somewhere in the title chain, which even the most diligent title searcher can't always discern at the time of sale. A classic example is a divorcing couple who,own a piece of property jointly. The husband decides to sell it without his wife's knowledge and forges her signature. When she discovers the fraud and demands her half of the proceeds, the title insurer will most likely negotiate a settlement.

But data from title-company filings with the insurance department in New Mexico, for instance, show that over the past three years, forgeries accounted for an average of only 1% of losses. Errors made by the title company during its search, such as failing to unearth a tax lien or a judgment lien, accounted for more than half of losses, so home buyers end up paying for the company's mistakes.

Despite the combination of infrequent claims and lack of competition, industry profit margins from 1992 to 1996 were in line with other types of insurance, says Charles Nyce, professor of risk management and insurance at the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business. Nyce speculates that strong housing markets since the mid '90s have changed the picture, allowing companies to spread their expenses over more policies and increase their return. "In Texas, title companies have had rates of return in excess of 25% for eight to nine years running," says Birnbaum, well above other lines of insurance, such as auto or homeowners.

Virtual business (VB) and virtual business processes (VBP) are terms that are seeing increasingly more press. Before the media and sensational journalists take control of the terms sending them through the usual over-hype, heightened expectations versus reality, then practical implementation cycle, I'm suggesting we short circuit the cycle and jump right into the definitions, benefits and practical implementation examples. Net out the business benefits, so to speak.

A virtual business or business process is not the equivalent of outsourcing. Outsourcing is outsourcing, the act of turning a specific function over to a third party provider to implement and support, for a fee.

The virtual business/business process is the act of decentralizing an operation for the greater good of the company. This is better known as directly impacting either top line revenues or the bottom line; either way, the implication of VB and VBP is highly correlated to a firm's financial measures.

A virtual business/business process, then, can be implemented and managed either utilizing internal resources or outsourced. The determining factors for the decision of retain or outsourcing a process are rooted in the overall business objectives of the firm, as well as its ability to provide the defined service most efficiently and effectively relative to an outsourcer.

Examples of a VB and VBP

Jet Blue is probably the most frequently cited example of a virtual business. This is an airline that became and remained profitable during a period of time when other airlines where either flirting with bankruptcy or were in the thick of bankruptcy court. How is Jet Blue different from other airlines?

They still require planes, pilots, flight attendants, ground crew, airport gates, baggage handlers and a host of other expensive functions that other airlines require. Where are they able to save a nickel to apply, in this case, directly to the top line revenues?

Standardization is one key. By using a single airplane type, Jet Blue is able to maintain and support its fleet much more efficiently. Think Henry Ford and interchangeable parts.

The fewer parts required, the lower the inventory needs and reduction in warehousing space, the more effective and skilled the maintenance crew and the reduced level of working capital tied up on non-revenue producing assets.

Reduction of real estate expenses is one key. Buildings are expensive to acquire and maintain. Yes, there is a tax benefit in terms of depreciation, but the 50 years it takes to fully depreciate a building doesn't begin to address the costs associated with owning or even leasing such properties.

This is a pure focus on how to best use working capital. An investment in an intelligent information technology infrastructure to support remote workers and sales agents will consistently be a better use of working capital every time.

Distributing the workforce is another key. Jet Blue's sales agents work from their homes. This practice eliminates a wide variety of expenses associated with real estate and employee support functions while concurrently improving productivity and business continuity.

Natural and manmade disasters do not impact Jet Blue's sales functions. It's business continuity 100 percent of the time whether a tornado hits in Oklahoma, a snowstorm in Colorado, or a power outage in the northeast.

Information technology (IT) is probably the most frequently cited example of a virtual business process. Since there are so many functions that make up IT, let's look at a different function instead - contact centers. Contact centers are an important business process because they are the first line of direct communication with a company's customers.

Contact centers can be virtualized and supported internally, or they can be outsourced to a third party. The decision should be driven by the method that proves to be the optimal use of a company's assets (employees, real estate, capital) when the variables are inserted into a business decision model. Without opening the Pandora's box associated with offshore contact centers, the benefits of virtualizing contact centers are substantial.

Real Estate Costs

Reduction of real estate expenses is one key. Buildings are expensive to acquire and maintain. Contact centers, while typically small (10-100 agents), still require at least one floor of an office building. Depending on the location of the center, the real estate expenses can be substantial, upwards of $100 per square foot each month in major metropolitan areas like New York, Chicago and San Francisco. Yes, the tax benefit is still there in terms of depreciation, but again, the 50 years it takes to fully depreciate a building doesn't begin to address the costs associated with owning or even leasing such properties.

Ever wonder about the book "Contracting Parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Legal Instruments Embodying the Results of the 1964-67 Trade Conference"?

How about the theory of standard commodity, developed by Piero Sraffa to illustrate and clarify rather than to prove that "the relationship between prices and distribution may be determined from the classical data of size and composition of output, conditions of reproduction and an exogenously given distributive variable"?

Or, have you ever wondered who sells buttons in Japan? Or maybe you're doing research on a business, or, in the argot of the financial community, you're doing a "company valuation."

You could spend tens of thousands of dollars and go to a graduate business school to learn the arcane dos and don'ts of business, and your company can spend maybe hundreds of dollars to a company to look things up.

Or, if you're starting a business or doing high finance, you can do it yourself on the fourth floor of the Los Angeles Central Library on South Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles, where there is nothing but books, magazines, pamphlets, studies, newspapers and microfilm about business and economics.

"This is a great resource," said recent visitor Rick Iwanicki, a vice president in the Los Angeles office of Banca Commerciale Italiana. "I'm probably down here once every couple of weeks. Right now I'm researching a company I can't tell you about but this is a tremendous source of information."

Adam Eckhart, who works in the downtown office of Arthur Andersen & Co., the accounting and consulting firm, said, "There are companies that pay maybe $1,000 to a company to do research for them. And down here, you can get it all for free."

Iwanicki and Eckhart, who was also researching a company, both said the only problem was the library's location. "I only come down here in the middle of the day. If I was a woman, I don't know if I would come down here, or I wouldn't come down here after dark," said Eckhart, referring to the generally rundown neighborhood.

But the Spring Street facility is only temporary while the main library building at 5th and Flower streets, heavily damaged in a 1986 fire, is undergoing a $211.4 million reconstruction. The repair job is scheduled to be completed in October 1993.

But this is not about the outside of the library. It's about what's inside among the shelves of books, yards of microfilm and stacks of magazines and newspapers.

Want to find out the latest news about the travel industry, the beverage business or drug stores? Check out the 150 trade publications. How about a listing of T-shirt makers? Go to the industry bible, the "T-Shirt Retailer."

If you're looking to rate a company, or research a firm, there are dozens of books and directories and pamphlets from all over the world that will tell you just about anything you want about the business, as long as it's publicly held. If it's a private company, though, there is far less information. According to the librarians, one of the best ways to find out about a private company is go to a trade journal and look for articles or advertisements about it.

According to Pat Kiefer, department manager for general library services, the business and economics department has an annual budget of $400,000, which is part of an overall operating budget for the city library system of about $36 million. The budget has been cut from $39 million over the past two years and further cuts are expected because of the city's budget problems.

The library doesn't keep track of the number of people who use the business and economics department, but Kiefer said it is one of the most popular sections of the library, along with the science department. "I think the reason for that is that we have a lot of practical information. Students can use us, as well as people who want to know how to start their own business," she said.

One of the most popular services is research for people who telephone in questions. Or, because this is 1992, questions often come via facsimile machine.

The researchers all have masters degrees, one is studying for a doctorate and another has a law degree.

Some recent questions posed to senior department librarian Dan Strehl and his staff were: What are all the public access cable television stations in the U.S.? What companies sell sea urchins in Japan? What are the pre-riot real estate values in L.A. vs. the post-riot values?

Another recent question was a request for the 10 finalists in the Elvis Presley stamp competition. Yes, the business department answered that question using the Standard Postage Stamps Catalogue.

There was also the time a movie studio wanted to know what types of cigarettes people were smoking during a certain period of time. To answer the question, the librarians went to the Guide to the Tobacco Industry and Advertising.

With 80,000 titles in the department, it seems there is very little that can't be researched. For instance, there is the Trade Shows Worldwide directory, the Thomas Register of button makers and Croner's Reference Book of World Traders.

IBM Tuesday announced the IBM Enterprise Information Portal, the first step of a company-wide software strategy designed to help corporations leverage the vast and growing amount of information supporting today's e-business applications. The IBM Enterprise Information Portal will allow users to access, search, integrate and manage a wide variety of information sources.

The IBM Enterprise Information Portal, which will be generally available worldwide later this month, enables business partners and customers to quickly and easily build customized portal applications. By employing advanced data integration and search methodologies, companies will be able to perform extensive search queries across numerous data sources, including multimedia, electronic documents, Lotus Notes files and Web servers. With the IBM Enterprise Information Portal, companies can personalize data searches and utilize relevant information, allowing them to improve efficiency.

Additional highlights of Tuesday's announcement include:

-- New offerings from IBM Global Services, providing the expertise to help businesses develop and implement portal solutions.

-- The IBM Enterprise Information Portal business partner support program, providing customers with complete industry solutions and services.

-- Lotus support for the IBM Enterprise Information Portal with their recently announced knowledge management portal offering, code named Raven.

The IBM Enterprise Information Portal enables business users to make faster, more effective business decisions, enhance customer service capabilities and reduce operational expenses. For example, an insurance customer service representative can have access to customer policy information, correspondence, including voice and text messages, and information on current programs in one simple view. Or a marketing executive comparing worldwide campaign results could, with one search request, review the campaign rollout, advertising creative and messages, and view a summary report showing generated demand and revenues in each region.

"IBM's Enterprise Information Portal solution helps us serve our clients and improve information sharing. We expect to achieve 100 percent return on investment within two years," said Helen Tipton, Hewitt Associates, a global management consulting firm specializing in human resource solutions. "Technology is the cornerstone of our business, and by using IBM's solutions, we have enabled our clients to access, at any time, the latest information about their employees' enrollment in their benefit plans."

"Currently, there is more than one exabyte of online data in the world, equivalent to telephone books stacked to the moon and back again," said Janet Perna, general manager, IBM Data Management Solutions. "With the IBM Enterprise Information Portal, IBM is helping business partners and customers alike quickly implement customized portal solutions, leveraging their most critical information to work more efficiently."

Information Overload

Individuals and corporations today are swimming in a sea of information in many forms -- traditional business data, documents, e-mails, phone calls, faxes, and video. The volume of information that most companies must process today is expanding rapidly, and is doubling every 12 to18 months. In his book "Information Anxiety," author Richard Saul Wurman points out that more information has been produced in the last 30 years than during the previous 5,000.

"A comprehensive enterprise portal strategy requires the ability to deliver information stemming from numerous sources including collaboration, business intelligence, business applications, unstructured content and structured data," said David Yockelson, senior vice president and director, META Group. "These are key requirements in addressing customers needs for building a variety of solutions including intranet, business to business and business to consumer portal applications."

The IBM Enterprise Information Portal support for business partners is based on PartnerWorld, a marketing and enablement program designed to create new revenue and market opportunities for IBM's business partners and provide customers with e-business solutions including products, services, technologies and financing.

Today there are many business partners announcing their support for the IBM Enterprise Information Portal including, A3 Solutions, Brio Technology, Business Objects, Cognos, DataChannel, Hyperion, Epicentric Inc., IKON Office Solutions, Plumtree Software and Viador.

More information on IBM business partners supporting the IBM Enterprise Information Portal can be found at www.ibm.com/software/eip/partners.

Product Availability and Services

The IBM Enterprise Information Portal will be available worldwide beginning November 30.

IBM Global Services is announcing a series of offerings covering the full range of portal development, including strategic consulting. These offerings can be customized to help customers create many types of portals suitable for their business needs.

Six seasoned Home-office workers reveal what they wish they'd known when they started out

Been There

What dows it take to work at home? Whether you're starting your own business or just telecommuting to company headquarters a few days a week, experts estimate it takes six months or longer to iron out all the kinks. We asked six veterans to share the lessons they learned from their early work-at-home days. From unwise equipment purchases to ill-timed upgrades, listening to what they did wrong--and right--will help you smooth out your own office-to-home transition.

Six seasoned Home-office workers reveal what they wish they'd known when they started out

Been There

What dows it take to work at home? Whether you're starting your own business or just telecommuting to company headquarters a few days a week, experts estimate it takes six months or longer to iron out all the kinks. We asked six veterans to share the lessons they learned from their early work-at-home days. From unwise equipment purchases to ill-timed upgrades, listening to what they did wrong--and right--will help you smooth out your own office-to-home transition.

Hello Direct Inc., the leading developer and direct marketer of desktop telephony and equipment interface products, and the leading online source of telecommunications information, products and services, Friday announced that it has been chosen to be the exclusive equipment and information provider for the online Telephony Ministore recently launched by smalloffice.com at http://static.hellodirect.net/index-smalloffice.htm . smalloffice.com is a leading provider of online information, news and support for the small business market.

This agreement marks a further step in the expansion of Hello Direct's e-commerce alliance partner program, which allows consumers easy access to the Company's products and services through partnerships with leading e-commerce and content providers. Hello Direct's alliance partners linked to this marketplace now number 500.

"We are very pleased to add smalloffice.com to our affiliate program, and to be providing telephony equipment and services through their excellent website," said Brian McConnell, Hello Direct's e-commerce director. "This partnership allows us to further build upon our profitable and rapidly growing online sales efforts, and to bring valuable service to an ever larger customer base."

Visitors to the smalloffice.com site will find Hello Direct's products and information featured in the Telephony Ministore, a minisite linked to the smalloffice.com homepage. The Ministore features a regularly updated assortment of products, tutorials and articles, as well as access to the entire Hello Direct product line through Hello Direct's own website.

"smalloffice.com is delighted to offer Hello Direct's handpicked small business solutions," said Charles Ward of smalloffice.com. "smalloffice.com is adding ecommerce services to the news, community and product information it has offered its small business users. Since our goal is to deliver best solutions for our audience, we are particularly pleased that Hello Direct thoroughly tests all products before adding them to their online store."

Hello Direct, Inc. is the leading developer and direct marketer of desktop telephony and equipment interface solutions, including headsets, teleconferencing, wireless, digital adapters, and related desktop products. Through a combination of distinctive catalogs, outbound telemarketing and Internet sales channels, the company offers a broad selection of commercial grade products and information which provide solutions to its customers' evolving communications needs.

Based in Malibu, Calif., is a resource destination for small businesses and home office professionals, providing a wide variety of information on technology, communications, and e-commerce solutions. smalloffice.com draws its content from sources such as Home Office Computing and Small Business Computing and Communications, and provides value-added resources like the online community chat group Small Talk.

Nitches, Inc. (NASDAQ: NICH) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Home Décor business of Taresha LLC as of July 1, 2006 in an all stock transaction. Management expects the transaction to be immediately accretive to revenues and earnings in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006 and beyond.

Nitches will acquire order backlog for Taresha Home Décor products of approximately $2.1 million, with an estimated $800,000 on order for shipment to customers by August 31, 2006, and the remaining $1.3 million for shipment during the first quarter of Nitches' fiscal 2007. The Home Décor business had total sales volume of approximately $6.3 million for calendar year 2005 and is expected to exceed this total by 25% for calendar 2006. Traditionally almost 60% of Taresha's Home Décor volume is recorded in the second half of the calendar year.

Since 2002, Taresha has been designing, selling, importing, and distributing home décor products, primarily candles, candle accessories, bath décor accessories, picture frames, tabletop, and general glass décor, to many levels of distribution through company owned brands, licensed national brands, and retailer private label programs. Taresha's branded product lines include:

--  Michael Coffindaffer Home - Upscale designer candle and home decor
  accessory product with a "sophisticated" point of view.
--  MC Home - Basic and seasonal candles and décor with an upscale flavor
  and many differentiated designs, fragrances, and fabrics.
--  Bill Blass® Home Décor - Branded home décor with classic styling for
  today's home.
--  Newport Blue® - Exciting, fun, resort-styled home décor developed
  around the national brand.
  

Products bearing these brands are sold to better department stores, specialty home décor stores, moderate department stores, home décor catalog companies, warehouse clubs, and national and regional chain stores. The company also develops, designs and manufactures private label product for many key home décor retailers and catalogs.

As part of the transaction Nitches will retain all key executives in product development, sales and production. Home Décor President Ron Mangini and Senior Vice President of Product Development Michael Coffindaffer will continue the strong working relationship that they have cultivated for six years, building on their combined experience of almost twenty-five years in the home décor category.

Nitches' Chairman and CEO Steve Wyandt commented, "With this acquisition Nitches continues to expand and diversify our revenue stream while capitalizing on our international sourcing and domestic distribution infrastructure. We have closely watched the development of Taresha in the home décor category and believe Nitches' sourcing and distribution platform combined with access to key retailers will support continued organic growth of the Home Décor business."

Nitches, Inc. designs, sells, imports and distributes apparel and accessories to better department stores, specialty boutiques, moderate department stores, and national and regional discount department stores and chains. The Company also develops and manufactures private label products for many leading department stores and multi-channel retailers. Nitches markets women's specialty apparel by Adobe Rose®, Saguaro® and Southwest Canyon®, Newport Blue® men's casual lifestyle clothing, Dockers® men's swimwear and t-shirts, golf apparel by The Skins Game®, and women's sleepwear and loungewear by Body Drama®. Furthermore Nitches' Designer Intimates subsidiary distributes sleepwear, robes, loungewear, and daywear under the following brands: Derek Rose®, Princesse tam tam®, Crabtree & Evelyn®, Disney Couture®, The Anne Lewin® Collection, The Bill Blass® Lifestyle Collection, The Dockers® Collection, The Claire Murray® Collection and The Vassarette® Collection.

Nitches, Inc. has been designing and marketing quality apparel for niche markets since 1971. The Company is headquartered in San Diego, California with offices in Los Angeles, New York City, Hong Kong and Istanbul. The Company's shares are traded on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol NICH. Visit our web site at http://www.nitches.com .

Except for historical information contained herein, the statements in this release are forward-looking and made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the Company's actual results in future periods to differ materially from forecasted results. Those risks include a softening of retailer or consumer acceptance of the Company's products, pricing pressures and other competitive factors, or the unanticipated loss of a major customer. The Company's results may also differ materially from period to period due to the seasonal nature of the Company's product lines. Such seasonal differences may be further impacted by the Company's acquisition of Designer Intimates. These and other risks are more fully described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

ONE of the services provided by the Alameda Police Department to help prevent crime is a security survey. COPPS Unit officers will come to your home or business and assess your vulnerability to burglary or other crimes. The following information is more focused on a house but may be easily adapted for a business. No home or business is burglarproof, but most burglars are opportunists looking for an easy target. One of the main pieces of advice we share at Neighborhood Watch meetings is that a secured home or business is much less "attractive" than the one that isn't protected. You may be able to significantly reduce the chances your house will be burglarized if you do a few simple things, such as trimming the bushes so burglars have no place to hide or leaving your porch light onat night. The following questions come from a brochure available at our police department. Every time you answer "no" to a question, it points out a possible weak area in your home security. As you eliminate "no" answers, you improve your safety.

Safe practices

Do you keep a list of all valuable property?

Do you have a list of the serial numbers of your watches, cameras, stereo and similar items, and are they marked with your driver's license number?

Do you have a description of other valuable property that does not have a number?

Do you keep excess cash and other valuables in a bank?

Do you plan so you do not need to "hide" a key under the door mat or in the vicinity?

Have you told your family what to do if they discover a burglar breaking in or already in the house?

Have you told your family to leave the house undisturbed and call the police if they discover a burglary has been committed?

Are your trees and shrubs trimmed to eliminate hiding places?

Do you have emergency telephone numbers listed on your phone?

Are lights installed around the perimeter of your house?

Is your house numbering lighted and easily visible from the street during all hours of the day and night?

Do you leave trip plans or emergency phone numbers with trusted neighbors or friends?

Doors and entry areas

Are your exterior doors of solid core construction?

Do entry doors have a wide-angle peephole viewer?

Are your door locks secure from being opened if a burglar breaks out

glass or a panel of light wood?

Do exterior doors have cylinder-type deadbolt locks with at least a 1-inch throw and beveled cylinder guard?

Do the doors without cylinder locks have a heavy bolt or some similar secure device that can be operated only from the inside?

Can all of your doors (basement, porch, French, balcony) be securely locked?

Do your basement doors have locks that allow you to isolate that part of the house?

Are all your locks in good repair?

Are the door-strike plates installed with 3-inch screws?

Do you know everyone who has a key to your house?

Do all outswinging doors have the hinges pinned or have non- removable pins?

Do sliding doors have an auxiliary lock that locks both the door panels together or the active side to the frame?

Is the garage door secured with a padlock, hasp or other good auxiliary lock?

Do you lock your car and take the keys out even when it is parked in the garage?

Windows

Are all windows equipped with auxiliary key locks or pinned?

Have you replaced or secured louvered windows?

Are your window locks properly and securely mounted?

Do you keep your windows locked when they are shut?

Do you use locks that allow you to lock a window that is partly shut?

Are you as careful of basement and second-floor windows as you are of those on the first floor?

Do you have secure locks on garage windows?

Now that you know what to look for in securing your home, find out how. Contact the Alameda Police Department, Crime Prevention Unit, for assistance on techniques to use to pass a security survey.

If you would like a thorough home security inspection, call the Crime Prevention Unit, and an officer will come to your home and walk through all of the steps to make your home less attractive to a burglar.

Remember: No home is burglar proof, but experience has shown you can substantially reduce your chances of being burglarized by reducing easy opportunity.

Gateway Tuesday announced its entrance into the home networking market, incorporating Intel's AnyPoint Home Networking product line into the successful Gateway Performance, Gateway Essential, and Gateway Select desktop product lines. At an event in San Mateo, Calif. today, Gateway and Intel representatives unveiled the new solution, which will be available on Monday, April 12. "Gateway is committed to becoming the premiere provider of Home Networking solutions to the consumer market," said Bob Burnett, vice president of Product Management and Planning, Gateway. "When it comes to bringing new cutting edge technologies to market in an affordable, easy-to-use solution, Gateway prides itself on being a pioneer. Our clients expect no less." Home networking allows clients to easily connect multiple computer systems using existing telephone wiring. Once connected, the networked systems share resources such as Internet access, printers, and files, and even play multi-player games. Clients can purchase a Gateway Performance, Gateway Essential, or Gateway Select desktop equipped with an AnyPoint PCI card that's ready to be networked right out of the box. "Intel understands Gateway's desire to provide the best overall home networking solution for their clients," said Dan Sweeney, general manager of Intel's Home Networking Operation. "By incorporating Intel's AnyPoint Home Network products into their consumer desktop product lines, Gateway is offering a solution that helps maximize value, performance, and overall client experience." For more information about Gateway's Easy Share Home Networking and other Gateway products, call 1-800-GATEWAY, click www.gateway.com, or visit any Gateway Country location. Gateway, a Fortune 500 company founded in 1985, provides complete computing solutions for clients worldwide. The company has manufacturing facilities in the United States, Ireland and Malaysia and employs more than 19,000 people worldwide. Gateway products and services consistently win top awards from leading industry publications. Revenue for the year 1998 was $ 7.5 billion.

Intel Corporation and Proxim, Inc. Wednesday announced that the two companies have completed a technology agreement and an Intel equity investment in Proxim.

Proxim, a leading supplier of wireless LAN products, and Intel are currently working together to develop wireless home networking products based on the HomeRF SWAP (Shared Wireless Access Protocol) specification. The SWAP specification provides a standards-based solution that is designed to enable a broad range of interoperable consumer devices to use wireless data and voice communications in and around the home.

Intel has purchased 320,000 shares of Proxim common stock, comprising approximately 2.9 percent of the Company's outstanding shares, and has acquired a warrant to purchase 96,000 additional shares, subject to vesting conditions.

"Intel's technology relationship with Proxim is an important part of our home networking strategy and helps further our vision of a billion connected PCs in the next decade," said Dan Sweeney, general manager of Intel's Home Networking Operation. "Wireless solutions based on the HomeRF SWAP specification complement Intel's line of phoneline networking products and extend home networking to mobile devices in and around the home. We are working to further the worldwide growth of home networking."

"As the world's leading supplier of spread spectrum wireless LAN products, Proxim provides a unique set of radio-based broadband networking capabilities," said David C. King, chairman, president and CEO of Proxim. "These capabilities, together with Intel's leadership in the personal computer and communication industries, will help establish HomeRF products as the primary way to connect mobile devices in the home."

Home RF and SWAP The HomeRF Working Group was formed to provide the foundation for a broad range of interoperable consumer devices by establishing an open industry standard (SWAP Specification) for wireless digital communication between PCs and consumer electronic devices. The SWAP Specification defines a new common interface specification that supports wireless data and voice services in and around the home.

Products compliant with the SWAP Specification operate in the 2.4 GHz frequency band and use frequency hopping spread spectrum radio frequency technology. For additional information on the HomeRF Working Group and SWAP, visit the web site at www.homerf.org.

Headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., Proxim, Inc., is the world's leading supplier of spread spectrum wireless LAN products to OEMs and wireless solution providers. Proxim was first to market with 2.4 GHz frequency hopping wireless LAN technology with its RangeLAN2 product family in 1994.

In 1998, Proxim emerged as a leader in home networking solutions with the launch of its award-winning Symphony suite of cordless networking products for home and small office environments. Proxim is also a core member of the HomeRF Working Group and is committed to delivering HomeRF-compliant wireless networking technologies.