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No
hot cocoa for local I.T entrepreneur, Ian Cullimore, as he takes
to the streets with in aid of Byte Night
September
19, 2000 - Ian Cullimore, president and CEO of Informal
Software, a technology company based in Leominster, will spend Friday
22 September, not in front of the TV enjoying "Corrie"
and a cuppa, but braving the elements in London's Finsbury Park
in aid of charity. Flying in from the United States, especially
to sleep out for Byte Night, is Steve Magidson, Informal Software's
vice president of public relations.
Cullimore
will take a break from writing software so that he can be part of
the 150 strong team of I.T Directors and celebrities who will sleep
out in an event called Byte Night. Conceived in 1998, Byte Night
is an annual event that brings together the world of I.T with the
aim of raising money for the leading child care charity NCH Action
for Children. The NCH Action for Children has teamed up with the
communications consultancy, Kaizo, to encourage senior I.T professionals
to give up one night of comfort to support the work they carry out
with vulnerable young children and those at risk of homelessness.
Normally,
Cullimore can be found on his Leominster farm, where Informal Software
is based, developing a new breed of software called enotate which
is the first product Informal has launched. enotate works to make
our interaction with computers an easier and more pleasurable experience.
With enotate, users can now draw and sketch, annotate photos, Microsoft
Word and PowerPoint documents on their computers using a PDA (personal
digital assistant) such as a Palm.
Established
in California's Silicon Valley, Cullimore has set up a UK base for
Informal Software in a converted barn in Herefordshire. This transatlantic
operation was the first European company to be given a £2m
investment from Hanson Capital, a merchant bank headed by Robert
Hanson. Informal Software employs a team of locals, and Cullimore
has been impressed with the wealth of engineering talent that Herefordshire
has provided in his pursuit to establish his company in the UK technology
market.
Away
from the familiarities of his office and home, Cullimore will be
roughing it with a host of I.T professionals from companies like
ICL, Microsoft, NTL, VNU Business Publications and Samsung, all
with one thing on their mind - to last the night in order to raise
the year 2000 target of £250,000. Last year's event was a
huge success with over £200,000 raised for NCH Action for
Children.
Cullimore
might want to take along his autograph book because joining the
I.T directors will be former ITN newsreader, Alistair Stewart, who
is now better known for presenting programmes such as Police, Camera,
Action, and actress Jenny Agutter, a star of the BBC classic 'The
Railway Children' and 'An American Werewolf in London'. Patricia
Hewitt, Minister for small business and e-commerce, will speak at
the event. Last year's Byte Night attracted the likes of Graham
Norton, presenter of his own chat show 'So Graham Norton' and Radio
One DJ, Lisa I'Anson.
When
asked about the approaching sleep out, Cullimore commented: "I
am really looking forward to Byte Night. First and foremost in my
mind is the issue of raising money. NCH Action for Children is such
an important charity, I don't think we really realise or appreciate
the work that they do. Byte Night has been growing since the inaugural
event in 1998 and it shows how the I.T industry is committed to
helping the not-so-fortunate get back into society. Such an event
really brings this home to you".
Thanking
Cullimore for his support, Isobel Kirkus from NCH Action for Children
said: "We've had a truly inspiring response from IT executives
throughout the country. It's a big commitment to give up a bed for
the night, and by doing so these top IT executives are providing
vital support for vulnerable young people across Britain."
Donations
for Byte Night can be made at www.bytenight.org.uk. The NCH Action
for Children is always looking for help and support from members
of the public. If you would like to give them a hand they can be
contacted at the following address and telephone number:
NCH Action for Children, 85 Highbury Park, London. N5 1UD.
Tel: (020) 7-704 7000.
About
Informal Software
Informal Software provides innovative software solutions that enable
a stylus-based device, such as a Palm connected organizer, to be
used as a direct PC input/output device alongside the traditional
keyboard, mouse, and display. Unlike pen tablets, drawing/sketching
software packages or other pen-based computing solutions, Informal
Software's unique "Informal Interface" allows these stylus-based
devices to interact naturally with a personal computer in a manner
analogous to the comfortable "pen and paper" model. Informal
Software's enotate allows PC-based electronic documents, sketches,
and/or digital photos/drawings to be "marked up" and/or
annotated in real-time, directly from a stylus-based device. In
addition, enotate allows initial concepts such as informal sketches,
layouts, drawings, maps, etc. to be expressed in a natural fashion
on an electronic medium. With enotate, users will for the first
time, be able to naturally and intuitively represent and communicate
electronically the true "gist" of information, messages,
thoughts and statements using a digital document or image. Informal
Software is head quartered in Santa Clara, California, with research
and development carried out in the UK.
For
more information about Informal Software and Enotate, visit the
web site at www.informal.com
For
further information, please contact
Ian Cullimore
Founder, president & CEO
Informal Software
Tel: 01568 708856
Email: ian@informal.com
Tom Herbst
Kaizo
Tel: 0207 580 8852
Email: tom.herbst@kaizo.net
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