No signs of life on this board for quite a while, but this announcement looks interesting. Cisco is a competitor of NTPA's on home networking gear, which makes this announcement sniff of an alliance/water testing in the run-up to an acquisition...
Thoughts? If anyone is out there.
Cheers,
Thomas
Linksys and Netopia Team to Offer Parental Control Services to Home Network Users
Monday March 15, 8:25 am ET
IRVINE, Calif. & EMERYVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 15, 2004--Linksys, a division of Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:CSCO - News) and the leading provider of broadband, wireless and networking hardware for the consumer and Small Office/Home Office, and Netopia, Inc. (Nasdaq:NTPA - News), a market leader in broadband equipment and software, today announced they have teamed to offer a Parental Control Service to select Linksys home networking customers. Linksys will incorporate Netopia Parental Controls into its flagship Wireless-G Broadband Router with SpeedBooster (model number WRT54GS), which is now available nationwide at leading electronics superstores, through major online retailers, and other Linksys resellers.
"This new offering underscores our commitment to providing complete best-in-class solutions to our customers," said Victor Tsao, Vice President and General Manager of Linksys. "Netopia's Parental Control service improves the value of our products and offers parents an effective way to safeguard their families as they install broadband home networking."
The Linksys Parental Control Service provides parents a centralized, secure, flexible and easy-to-use management tool that can help protect their families from the perils of the Internet.
"As households continue to deploy broadband and Wi-Fi connections which deliver content and connectivity, a simple to use Parental Controls service becomes more important to parents who want to protect their children from inappropriate Internet content. This Parental Controls offering lets Linksys provide additional value to its customers," said Alan Lefkof, Netopia's President and CEO.
The Parental Control service uses a thin-client model, delivered on the Broadband Router, which functions as the "choke point" of Internet access going into a home. This solution automatically covers all Internet-capable devices (wired or wireless) on the home network and can deliver far stronger protection than desktop or ISP-based parental control software that is installed separately on each computer. While family-specific security functions are embedded in the WRT54GS, the core service is network-hosted in order to minimize deployment costs and offer the most robust features.
Parental Control Service Highlights
The Linksys/Netopia's Parental Control solution is the ideal home networking service delivering protection and peace of mind to broadband networked households. Advanced features include:
1 Manages access for all major Internet applications -- web
browsing, e-mail, chat, and instant messaging.
2 Enforces time-of-day and day-of-week restrictions
3 Router-based protection of all Internet-capable devices on the
home network including desktops, laptops, game consoles and
PDAs.
4 Support for popular operating systems including Windows (98,
ME, 2000, NT, and XP), Mac OS, Palm OS, Windows CE, Linux and
others.
5 Internet usage and governance based on personal profiles,
rather than devices, to reflect individual maturity levels and
needs.
6 Web site filtering based on millions of URL classifications
within 18 separate categories including, for example,
pornography or violence, which are updated on a daily basis by
an independent rating service.
7 Web site classifications can be overridden on a case-by-case
basis based on parental judgment.
8 Online reporting to monitor household Internet activities
(including Web surfing and chat), on-demand from any location
inside or outside the home network.
9 Intuitive setup and management allows any parent or guardian
to increase the safety of their household's Internet access.
Linksys will provide a 30-day trial of the Parental Control Service with the purchase of the Wireless-G Broadband Router with SpeedBooster. If customers sign up for the extended service of the Parental Controls service within the first 15 days of the trial, they can take advantage of special pricing:
$24.95 for 6 months
$39.95 for 1 year
$59.95 for 2 years
For less than 10 cents a day, the Linksys Parental Control Service makes it easy for users to try to keep their families safe on the Internet, by monitoring web browsing, email and instant messaging, enforcing time-of-day restrictions, and providing complete activity reports by family member.
About Linksys
Founded in 1988, Linksys, a division of Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:CSCO - News) is the global leader in Wireless and Ethernet networking for consumer, SOHO and small business users. Linksys is dedicated to making networking easy and affordable for its customers, offering innovative, award-winning products that seamlessly integrate with a variety of devices and applications. Linksys provides 24/7 Grade "A" product support to all its customers. For more information, visit the Linksys web site at www.linksys.com.
About Netopia
Netopia, Inc. is a market leader in broadband and wireless products/services that simplify and enhance broadband delivery to residential and business-class customers. Netopia's offerings enable carriers and broadband service providers to improve their profitability with feature-rich DSL smart modems, routers and gateways, software that simplifies installation and reduces ongoing support needs, as well as value-added services to enhance their revenue generation. Netopia's WiFi-CERTIFIED(TM) gateways include 3-D Reach(TM) technology delivering enhanced wireless range, security and performance.
Netopia's DSL smart modems, routers and gateways come with a suite of installation wizards and support utilities that offer a comprehensive approach to installation, deployment, service provisioning, application setup, self-diagnostics and troubleshooting. Netopia provides value-added services with its server software platform, including the netOctopus® suite of gateway and PC management and customer support software solutions, as well as the Web eCommerce server software. netOctopus Desktop Support and eCare software enable broadband service providers and enterprises to support customers and devices by remotely viewing and operating the desktop or other device.
Netopia has established strategic distribution relationships with leading carriers and broadband service providers including BellSouth, Covad Communications, EarthLink, Eircom, France Telecom, Hong Kong Telecom/PCCW, MegaPath Networks, Netifice, SBC Communications, Swisscom, Telecom Italia and Verizon.
Headquartered in Emeryville, Calif., Netopia's common stock trades on The Nasdaq Stock Market® under the symbol "NTPA." Further information about Netopia can be obtained via phone 510-420-7400, fax 510-420-7601, or on the Web at www.netopia.com.
All company names, brand names and product names are trademarks of their respective holder(s).
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Contact:
Netopia
Lisa Langlands, 510-420-7529
llanglands@netopia.com
or
Linksys
Karen Sohl, 949-823-1578
ksohl@cisco.com
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Source: Netopia |
