EntryPoint Merges PointCast, eWallet

Browser supplement is guide to custom content, personal services.

Chris Yurko, special to PC World

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EntryPoint allows quick and easy access to points of interest on the Internet, in the form of a tool bar that permanently resides on your desktop. You can dock this 1-inch strip anywhere on your screen, whether or not your Web browser is open. It includes icons for news, the stock market, sports, weather, shopping, travel, lottery numbers, and horoscopes. Its search function can access all the major search engines, and its scrolling headline ticker is continuously updated. All of these features can be personalized to suit your individual information tastes.

EntryPoint the product and EntryPoint the company were both formed from mergers. The company, formerly known as LaunchPad Technologies, acquired PointCast and changed its name to reflect its desire to be known as the entry point to the Internet.

The new product combines the features of the merged company's two marquee properties: PointCast, the automatically updated news and information source, and eWallet, an automated and secure online credit card payment system.

The goal is to provide a one-stop source for the two most popular online activities: staying informed and shopping.

"It's really meant to provide the consumer with convenience. ... What we've done is take two ingredients that were here previously and combine them into one," says Francis Costello, the new president and chief operating officer of EntryPoint.

The eWallet function lets you store your credit card payment information on your own computer. When you shop online, all you have to is click and drag a virtual credit card out of the eWallet to pay. You no longer have to type in your credit card numbers or personal information, and all the data is fully encrypted.

"We believe in giving the consumer complete control of their information," Costello says.

EntryPoint borrows features from a number of other similar applications from other companies, such as AltaVista's Microportal, Excite's Assistant, and Yahoo's Companion. In form, it's most like the Yahoo Companion, although EntryPoint is more flexible. While the Companion is a toolbar that appends itself permanently to your Web browser, EntryPoint floats on your desktop. You can move it around, minimize it, or close it entirely. It will stay open while your browser is closed and you are running other operations.

While similar products from AltaVista, Excite, and Yahoo include news and information, none have a similar eWallet function for online shopping.

EntryPoint is now in beta testing but can be downloaded free from the company's Web site.

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