X:DRIVE AND KINKO`S TEAM UP TO OFFER FREE INTERNET HARD DRIVES TO
COLLEGE STUDENTS
X:drive and Kinko`s alliance marks the arrival
of the Internet Hard Drive as a mainstream application
(CPWIRE) SANTA MONICA, CA -- November 2, 1999 -- X:drive (www.xdrive.com),
the Internet Hard Drive company, announced today that Kinko`s, the leader in business
communication services, will work with X:drive to offer Kinko`s customers, including
college students, worldwide free Internet hard drives. X:drive is a free service that
gives members password-protected storage space on the Web to organize, edit and share any
type of file, including documents, pictures, music and videos.
''X:drive`s anywhere, anytime solution will enable us to provide another communication
tool that increases productivity and allows our customers to save time and money. In
keeping with our philosophy of taking care of our customers, we decided to work with
X:drive because they are a leading consumer brand in the Internet hard drive space,'' says
Paul Orfalea, Kinko`s chairperson and founder.
With this pilot program, scheduled to launch by the end of November, Kinko`s customers
will be able to access their own personal X:drive accounts from any computer in more than
970 Kinko`s locations in the U.S.
''Our alliance with Kinkos demonstrates how quickly market leaders have recognized
the importance of providing this type of unique functionality to their customers,''
remarked Brett O`Brien, CEO and founder of X:drive. ''With X:drive, Kinkos customers
can access their files from any computer with Internet access, eliminating the hassles
associated with lugging around cumbersome floppy disks.''
The alliance will be particularly beneficial to college students. For example, using
X:drives unique technology, a college student working on a group project at school
can drag and drop all his project files from the C:drive to his X:drive, without worrying
about having to use a bunch of floppy disks. He can then go to Kinko`s, and download,
print, and bind the final group project. Finally, he can use X:drive`s ''Share a File''
feature to inform his group members that the final project can now be downloaded from
X:drive, at their convenience, from either home or school.
X:drive Unites the Desktop with the Internet
X:drive is the world`s first and only Internet Hard Drive on the desktop. The company
offers 25 megabytes of personal, secure space on the Internet at no charge; enough space
for about 10 Powerpoint presentations, 200-plus Word or Excel files, or thousands of GIF
picture files.
By downloading a small plug-in, members can see and work with their online X:drive files
and folders, using the already familiar Windows File Explorer. The desktop X:drive looks
and functions just like any other drive on a PC: members can drag and drop into X:drive
from their local drive and even edit and save their Internet files just like a C:drive.
This ability to become part of members` desktops gives the company the potential to
reachand retainmillions of members.
In addition to X:drive on the desktop and at all Kinko`s stores, the service can also be
accessed through the X:drive Web site with any popular Web browser via a user name and
password.
About X:drive
Launched on July 8, 1999, X:drive (www.xdrive.com) is
the Internet`s private hideaway and public meeting place. As the first and only Internet
Hard Drive on the desktop, X:drive is both a free service providing 25 megabytes of
personal space on the Internet to organize, store and share personal files, as well as a
community destination for members to publish and share rich-media content, including
music, video, pictures and documents. Over 1 million members are expected to join X:drive
by January, 2000. X:drive is privately held and based in Santa Monica, California.
About Kinko`s
Kinko`s is a leading global retail provider of document copying and business services. It
is a privately held corporation with more than 1,000 locations in nine countries and
25,000 co-workers. In 1999, Kinko`s was named as one of Fortune magazine`s top 100
companies to work for in America. For additional information, call 800/2-Kinkos.
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