News -- 12/02/2000

• June 26, 2000: Viewics Announces Plans to Introduce StarFX at PC Expo
  Viewics Corporation today announced plans to introduce StarFX at PC Expo in New York City June 27-29, 2000. Viewics will be distributing free copies of StarFX at the show. StarFX gives users the power to instantly create the virtual environment of choice by mixing graphics, photos, moving video or animation with the live images from their PC video camera. StarFX is a fun and affordable way to instantly enhance personal video communications.

• June 22, 2000: StarFX Wins
  In its market debut at MultiMediaCom 2000 in San Jose, StarFX won the "Best New Product" award in the Streaming Media/Broadcast category. The judges found StarFX "merited highest honors for new and exceptionally compelling and innovative multimedia products and services." Awards were presented at the Grand Opening of the MultiMediaCom Exhibit Hall on June 21, 2000.

• June 19, 2000: Viewics Announces Capital Funding From Murphree Venture Partners
  Viewics Corporation (formerly Sabbatical, Inc.) has announced the receipt of $3.5 million in first-round funding from Murphree Venture Partners, a Houston, Texas, based seed and early stage venture capital firm. The funding will be directed toward the introduction of Viewics' products to the consumer and corporate marketplaces.

• June 19, 2000: Viewics Launches StarFX at MultiMediaCom
  Viewics Corporation today announced the launch of StarFX at MultiMediaCom 2000 in San Jose June 20-22, 2000. The first software product designed to instantly enhance traditional "talking head" video communications in real time, StarFX has been developed to meet the growing demand for affordable PC video-related applications.

• June 12, 2000: Sabbatical Changes Company and Product Names
  Sabbatical, Inc. announces new company name, Viewics Corporation, and renames BackDrop product line to StarFX. Both new names better reflect the increasing viability of the company's capabilities and business prospects. More details

• June 6, 2000: Sabbatical Adds Vice President of Sales and Business Development
  Sabbatical announced today the addition of Phil Chadwick as Vice President of Sales and Business Development. Mr. Chadwick has more than 25 years of sales and marketing experience in interactive and emerging technologies.

• January 1, 2000: Sabbatical Strengthens Management Team
  Sabbatical announced today the addition of new management team members. Steve Wagh, founder of Wagh-Brown Publishing, responsible for the success of the SoundBlaster card and Printmaster software program, will become Chairman of the Board. Paige Parrish, formerly of KPMG, has assumed the position of Vice-President of Marketing and Corporate Communications.

• December 13, 1999: Featured Product of the Week
  Rocketcharged.com features Backdrop as its cool product of the week. Rocketcharged.com is a leading CU-SeeMe reflector site.

• November 3, 1999: Sabbatical Announces First 3rd Party Content Provider Agreement
  Sabbatical today announced its first 3rd Party Content Provider Licensing Agreement with noted Austin-based photographer James M. Innes. Under the agreement, Innes will supply images to Sabbatical from his highly regarded photographic library for sale in a special product line, called the Innes Content Collection.

• October 29, 1999: BackDrop 3.0 Beta Announced
  Sabbatical, Inc. announced today the beginning of its formal beta program for BackDrop 3.0. This new version offers significant improvements over BackDrop 2.0. Sabbatical also announced that registered users of BackDrop 2.0 will receive a free upgrade to 3.0 when it is formally released.

• October 7, 1999: BackDrop Demonstrated at Internet Telephony Expo in San Diego, CA
  As part of an Intel seminar titled "Pipe Dreams: Internet Telephony on Broadband Networks", presented by Jay Gilbert, Intel Architecture Labs, Sabbatical demonstrated its upcoming release of BackDrop 3.0 over a live broadband videoconference. Attendees were treated to a real-time display of BackDrop 3.0's new audio and video effects. More details

• September 1, 1999: Intel Names Sabbatical Vision Technology Solution Provider
  Sabbatical and BackDrop Technology discussed on Intel's web site under the Video As Input (VAI) initiative. You can download the VAI White Paper (Adobe Acrobat* format, file size 298 KB) from the "Building Video As Input into New Platforms and Applications" session sponsored by Intel.

• August, 1999: International Patent Allowance
  First international patent for background replacement allowed in Taiwan. Other countries pending.

• March 3, 1999: BackDrop 2.0 Officially Released
  BackDrop v2.0 officially released for sale from Sabbatical's fully e-commerce enabled web site.

• September, 1998: BackDrop 2.0 Beta Code Deployed
  BackDrop beta code deployed at Intel's videoconferencing call center in Tampa, Florida.

• June 9, 1998: U.S. Patent Announced for Background Replacement
  Key enabling patent granted for BackDrop Technology's background replacement effect.