Possibilities - Letter from Phil 3/94

Contact:   eSoft, Inc. (Makers of TBBS)
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LETTER FROM PHIL 3/94
---------------------

*** From March 1994 Possibilities Newsletter ***
*** Copyright 1994 by eSoft, Inc.  All Rights Reserved ***

3 ... 2 ... 1 ... Liftoff!  After all these years, the BBS market has
finally reached its "takeoff point" and to say that the growth right now is 
explosive could be the understatement of the year.  At eSoft we are trying 
to cope with growth rates of more than 20% per month.  I contracted to build 
more office space for growth and before the building permit could be filed I 
had to double the space we were adding.  Our staff has grown 30% since
December and we are not finished there yet either.  Training our staff has 
reached the point that it is becoming a department of its own. As I talk to
others in the industry, it looks like nearly everyone is seeing similar 
growth rates.  We're all hanging on for the ride while trying to keep our 
companies able to provide the quality of product and service you have every 
right to expect.

For several years I have kept a file of what I call "significant signs" that 
another portion of the world has noticed online technology.  Within the past 
three months I've clipped more items for this file than I had seen in the 
previous two years.  When People Magazine does a spread on BBS activity and 
those who log on, you know a fundamental change of awareness has occurred!

It's an entrepreneur's dream, and as a result it looks like this year a lot 
of "get rich quick" artists are going to show up in the online community.  
There will be a lot of big stories about things that make no financial or 
business sense.  It will be the lost asking the lost for guidance.

I'm now getting calls daily from venture capital firms looking to invest in 
the online world.  I'm sure everyone of any size in this arena is having 
similar experiences.  Maybe there is a new business in this for me -- 
teaching those who want to throw money at the new hot technology field how 
to avoid making stupid mistakes.  Better they give me the money than throw 
it away don't you think?

Meanwhile the Internet has taken on the mantle of "provider of all good 
things" and "answer to all problems".  I'm sure that the solution to world 
peace is in the "blue cloud" of greatness that this buzzword has assumed in 
the mind of the public.  The intensity with which people are struggling to 
avoid being left out (when they aren't quite sure what IT is) is awesome to 
behold.  There is an interesting technology at the bottom of it all to be 
sure, but much of what is going on now is much more emotional than real.

This is the year the word "Internet" makes money fall from the skies both 
for business startups and grant applications.  Want venture capital?  Want 
grant money?  If you don't care about providing anything useful, it's easy 
to get this year.  If you relate your idea to BBSs and the Internet it 
carries the "magic potion" -- just talk like you know what's going on and 
everyone else will want to be part of it.  Watch for a lot of  "take the 
money and run" stuff, and if you hear the words "National Data Highway" grab 
your wallets.  Remember -- highway robbers are always the first to find the 
new byways of commerce.  But it sure is exciting!

During all of this frenzy, it's been tough not to give in to telling people 
what they want to hear.  But I've always felt that the ultimate success of 
eSoft and TBBS is only possible if I assure that every step we take is 
rooted in solid technological development.

For example, I demonstrated the TBBS Internet Protocol Adapter (a product 
which is still in search of a good name -- feel free to send me any 
suggestions you have) last August at ONE BBSCON.  I could have taken the 
"hack" I did for the demo, chopped on it for a month or so, and sold it to 
you.  And a lot of you begged me to do this (because you wanted it so 
badly).  However, the truth is that it was demonstration software in the 
finest sense of the term, and it never would have survived in a production 
environment.  If I had taken the "easy money" I would have left a lot of 
people with broken junk on their hands by now.

I have been in the BBS industry for over ten years because I believe that 
BBS technology can change people's lives for the better.  I have seen 
nothing in this time period to change my mind, but it will only be true if 
the technology I deliver can perform.  I've been told I spoil my customers 
with the flexibility and reliability of TBBS, and the level of our customer 
support.  I've heard you referred to as "Phil's kids" because you are so 
demanding of performance and capability.

You've come to expect that level of product from eSoft, and I feel our 
Internet IP connection has to approach that on its first time out.  TBBS has 
already been first to connect BBSs to the Internet, my goal now is to make 
it the BEST at doing this task.  So, as with all eSoft products, the IPAD 
will be released when it is ready and not before.  See the update article in 
this newsletter for the latest on its development timetable as well as more 
explanation of the Internet itself.

Because the Internet is such an undocumented world, it has been necessary to 
"know someone who has been there" to succeed in it.  This has given rise to 
the fastest growing niche in the online world, the Internet consultant.  It 
is my feeling that in order to make you able to succeed at connecting the 
Internet to your TBBS, we not only have to provide the actual software and 
hardware, but also the "know how" you need to navigate in this new frontier.  
So the IPAD will be more than just software. It will also include the 
information on how to procure a T1 or 56k leased line without spending more 
time or money than you have to.

This material will educate you on what options are available in leased line 
service.  It will teach you the proper buzz words and what they mean so you 
will be able to buy as an educated customer.  I am spending hundreds of 
hours personally engaging in projects, going to meetings all over the 
country, and doing the research to learn the secrets required to enable you 
to be an informed consumer in a marketplace that has lived on the fact that 
information did not travel well.

This is the type of total package that eSoft tries to develop where it is 
financially feasible, and with the Internet I feel it is.  The education you 
will receive when you buy the IPAD will be worth the price alone.

I have always felt that BBS software is the only possible choice for the end 
user delivery of online information.  It is my belief that in a few years, 
the Internet itself will hold as much interest for us as telephone company 
central offices and cabling do.  The interest is only focused on the 
Internet now because it is in its infancy.  Once we all understand how to 
hook up to it, its only function will be to transport data the same as 
modems and telephones do.  The real focus is on applications that this 
connectivity makes possible.

Only BBS technology can deliver on that dream and fan it out to millions of 
consumers.  Certainly UNIX can never provide end user delivery.  Currently 
the best end user delivery of the Internet is done in educational settings 
where leased lines are hooked to Macs.  This is not a method which can grow 
to serve hundreds of times the end users and be deployed to the home.  TBBS 
and its Internet Adapter are being designed to solve exactly this type of 
problem.  You'll learn more about this "new technology" aspect of the IPAD 
as the year unfolds, but when it is all available I assure you it will be 
something no one has imagined possible -- but it will provide the end user 
delivery they dream of.

While the Internet product is still midway in its development cycle, 
UltraChat has traveled the entire development path to completion and is 
being released the week of March 14th.  Nearly two years ago I decided to 
commit eSoft to the project of developing the best entertain- ment chat 
system ever made.  You can read the article in this newsletter, or talk to 
the beta testers who today make more money and have more, happier, callers 
than they did before installing the UltraChat option module.  I am confident 
that UltraChat will live up to the eSoft reputation of "if we do it, it will 
be the best".

I'm very proud of this hard earned reputation, and even as we add staff, 
floor space, and customers at a dizzying rate, you may be assured that I 
will do everything I can to preserve it.  I measure everything I do at eSoft 
by how well you, the customer, can accom- plish your goals with our 
software.  I don't consider it winning unless you win with me.  And I like 
to win, so get ready for a lot more TBBS success stories...

PS0394-3
Rev. 3/94

Copyright (C) 1994 eSoft, Inc., All Rights Reserved.  Permission granted
to distribute this file in its entirety, without modification, to any
interested party.  Any other use requires the written permission of
eSoft, Inc.

IMPORTANT:  The information herein is subject to change without notice.
Please call or write to confirm factual information of importance to you
or your organization.

