TODY moving up on this:
Today.com and Affinity Travel Announce Letter of
Intent for New Website Using WebWare Technology
PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 19, 1999--Today.com Inc. (OTC BB:TODY -
news) and Affinity International Travel Systems Inc. (OTC BB:TRIP - news) announced
today the signing of a Letter of Intent to participate in the creation of a major new Internet
website, to be constructed as the Internet's portal for all travel and vacation information,
reservations and related services.
This authoritative website will be developed using Today.com's new, revolutionary WebWare™ and TemplateServer™
technology, a beta version of which has just been used for the completion of www.law.com, the Internet's ''Portal to the Law.''
WebWare represents the first 'one-stop-shop' software solution for organizations such as Affinity which are trying to build
specialized portals to the Web by allowing for a higher quality of Internet site with many more features and services than are
economically feasible when the technology has to be developed independently.
Dan Brandano, Chief Executive Officer of Affinity, stated: ''We have announced several acquisitions, strategic alliances and
licensing agreements with some of the top online travel agencies and websites over the past few weeks. We are presently
working to become a major force in the e-commerce end of the travel business, particularly by becoming online auctioneers,
such as eBay (Nasdaq:EBAY - news), OnSale (Nasdaq:ONSL - news), uBid (Nasdaq:UBID - news), and TravelBid. With
all of this activity geared to the Internet, we felt that we had to quickly develop a Portal that would reach all of our other sites,
and would also offer travelers the best and most convenient systems available in the industry. After investigating several other
website developers, we came to the conclusion that Today.com has the most advanced technology, giving us a complete
package very quickly.''
The agreement calls for the two companies to ''acquire and develop an appropriate Internet domain name as a central Internet
location for the offering of travel and related services, using the Today.com WebWare software for the development of the
Internet site.''
Nathan Gwilliam, President and Chief Executive Officer of TODY, stated: ''We are delighted to follow up on our recent
announcement regarding WebWare technology with such a prestigious project as this. The availability of the WebWare and
TemplateServer technology -- being developed to be ''An Internet Portal in a Box'' -- will allow for the development of
premier Internet sites in a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost of websites being built through
independently-developed technology. The creation of this new site will combine the technical excellence of the WebWare
development software and the burgeoning range of travel services now available through Affinity, which has been engaged for
several months in an extremely aggressive campaign of acquisition and partnerships with many of major travel and vacation
providers, and which is focused on bringing the most comprehensive range of travel options to the public through its Internet
capability, and now through this dominant Internet portal WebWare will help to attract more visitors to Affinity's Internet site,
will motivate the visitors to return more often, and will generate more revenue from each visitor. WebWare will allow Affinity to
focus on its company business instead of having to keep up with the rapid pace of Internet technology.''
Gwilliam concluded: ''This travel portal will feature a Yahoo-style (Nasdaq:YHOO - news) search engine and directory for all
Internet sites related to travel and vacations, and a full e-commerce capability for hotel and airline reservations, cruise
registrations, and any form of package or tour available. WebWare will also provide community features, such as a free web
page community and chat rooms for travelers with similar interests, and free Web-based email.''
Today.com Inc. is a Phoenix-based Internet software development company that is launching the Internet's first complete
software solution to create top-level Internet sites. The WebWare technology, to be marketed as a ''portal in a box'', is
intended to be a one-stop solution for clients seeking development of premier Internet websites.
Affinity International Travel Systems Inc. is based in St. Petersburg, Fla. It is a holding company that has, over the past two
years, developed a technology platform, in conjunction with the Sabre Group (NYSE:TSG - news), and Internet strategies
designed to allow quick integration of acquisitions, dramatically cutting their operational costs while increasing their revenues
and profitability. The company plans to continue its dramatic growth by aggressively seeking out acquisition candidates while
providing competitively-priced, specialized services to travel agents and individual consumers.
This release may contain forward-looking statements, made pursuant to the ''safe harbor'' provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that involve risks and uncertainties which might cause the actual results to differ materially from
those projected in any forward-looking statements. Factors which could affect results include the development and introduction
of competitive technologies, the market awareness and acceptance of the Today.com technologies, the overall market demand
for Internet services, the presence of technologically-inferior products and services which are priced or promoted to compete
with Today.com services, the ability to attract and retain technical personnel, and the ability of the company to protect its
proprietary information.
Contact:
Today.Com Inc.
Jeff Richards, 1-888-TODAY-COM
Jeffr@today.com
www.today.com
or
HKT Investor Relations
602/446-8640
fax: 602/731-9565
hktir@aol.com
More Quotes
and News:
Affinity International Travel Systems Inc (OTC BB:TRIP - news)
eBay Inc (Nasdaq:EBAY - news)
ONSALE Inc (Nasdaq:ONSL - news)
Sabre Group Holdings Inc (NYSE:TSG - news)
TODAY.COM (OTC BB:TODY - news)
uBid, Inc (Nasdaq:UBID - news)
Yahoo Inc (Nasdaq:YHOO - news)
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