PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Natural Intelligence Spins Off DragStrip, Macintosh Desktop Utility
November 10, 1997. Cambridge, Massachusetts. Natural Intelligence, Inc.
today announced the sale of DragStrip(r), its award winning desktop utility
for the Macintosh. This action reflects Natural Intelligence’s focus on the
expansion of its core custom software consulting business, and its newly
formed Corporate Java Division. DragStrip will be acquired by Christopher
Evans, the original creator of the product, who will upgrade, support and
distribute the product as a shareware product.
“We have a very mixed feeling about this spin-off,” said Joshua Wachs,
President and CEO of Natural Intelligence. “DragStrip was one of the first
products we developed, and its international success in the Macintosh
community was a wonderful affirmation of Natural Intelligence’s innovative
technology. But since we don’t have time for development or support, we owe
it to our loyal and enthusiastic customers to continue to keep the product
alive. We are absolutely confident that Chris’ development and support will
exceed customer expectations. Natural Intelligence will, of course,
continue to provide Macintosh consulting services – for which we are
famous; however, the success of our recent strategy to expand our Java
services as well as consulting services for Windows clearly defined the
company’s direction.
While at Natural Intelligence, Evans was the author of QuickCode Pro(r) and
a member of the Roaster Development team, but DragStrip was a personal
favorite. “DragStrip has always been a huge personal investment for me,”
said Evans, who has formed his own company, Poppybank Software. “When I
started to get ideas about improving on the 2.0 version, I knew I wanted to
distribute it to a wide audience. Since Natural Intelligence was at a point
where they were focusing on their core consulting business, it was the
perfect time to talk about a shareware scenario. I think the users are
going to be very happy with version 3.0”
DragStrip 3.0 will be available for $20.00 and can be downloaded from
Poppybank Software’s web site at http://www.poppybank.com/DragStrip/.
DragStrip 3.0’s new features include the ability to have multiple tabbed
pages on a strip, improved support for MacOS 8, including contextual menus,
new “Strip” styles, easier configuration, support for URLs and more. Users
of the shareware version can register it through the Kagi shareware
registration service at http://orders.kagi.com/?3R8.
About NI
Leading provider of quality custom software solutions and training programs
for the integration of business and technology since 1987. Nationally
recognized for its database expertise in a wide range of business
environments, the company offers Java(tm), Sybase(r), Oracle(r),
Microsoft(tm)SQL((r)) Server, and 4th Dimension(r) solutions. Natural
Intelligence specializes in Java(tm) development for cross-platform
Internet and Intranet solutions. Customized courses and mentoring are
offered by the Java Training Division. (http://www.natural.com)
About DragStrip
DragStrip was originally released by Natural Intelligence in 1994 and has
won critical acclaim from the major Mac magazines including MacWeek,
MacUser and MacWorld, where it was named an Editors Choice and listed as a
top pick for enhancing Apple Computer’s MacOS 8.
Contact: Judith Steinbaum
Manager, Press and Public Relations
Natural Intelligence, Inc.
judith@natural.com
617-876-7680 x1818
http://www.natural.com
Contact: Chris Evans
Poppybank Software
http://www.poppybank.com/DragStrip/