Hey Gang, I really need y'all's help. I am pasting below a first draft of my first press release for my startup. I need any and all feedback/critcisms/suggeestions you can collectively give. This thing doesn't really have to set the world on fire, but it at least ought to be above average. thanks!!!
BRINGING ‘BROADCATCHING’ INTO THE HOME
Casgle Internet Content Catcher Debuts
MOUNTAIN VIEW CA, May 22
What if you could turn on your TV, and right there among all the channels you get from your cable or satellite provider was a list of channels of internet-only content, and you could surf them just as easily as the TV channels? What if it didn’t cost you anything or take any extra time to set up? There are now hundreds of thousands of podcasts on the internet, many tens of thousands of which are video. Some of the programming is from sources like CNN, NBC or National Geographic, while some is from a guy with a digital video camera down the block from you. This is just the beginning of the Web 2.0 content revolution. And now you don’t have to be a complete geek to start enjoying it.
Today Casgle LLC., a Silicon Valley startup, is launching its Casgle Internet Content Catching software. Casgle ICC functions like a DVR for internet content. The content can be audio, video or anything else that can be sent on an RSS feed. After a simple account setup, whatever content the user would like to receive is automatically downloaded all the way down to the place where the user wants the files to reside, whether it is a Portable Media Player (PMP), the hard drive on their computer or a Network Attached Storage (NAS). Casgle is partnering with NAS manufacturers because the addition of ICC software enables their static storage device to be transformed into an active entertainment distribution channel. “We feel <quote>,” said Jae Yang, VP Technology for Quad Micro Works. “Our Square One Personal Internet Server, which is debuting today, is the first device to feature the Casgle ICC software service.” In a home where the computer network has already been connected to the television, a customer will be easily able to watch internet programming on their TV as soon as their Square One is plugged in. “Our goal is to make the content that’s coming on the Internet available to everyone,” says Casgle CEO Stewart Wu, “We want to make ‘broadcatching’ a reality.”
Long before the technology for it existed, the term ‘broadcatching’ was coined to describe the scenario where a software agent would be able to collect, or aggregate, content from the internet and deliver it to the end user for consumption. Today there are many aggregator programs that can bring content together in one form or another, but the consumer is still several steps away from being able to enjoy it. “It’s the difference between having to go into the next room and get a record down off the shelf and popping it into the player and cueing up the track you wanted, versus just turning on the radio and your favorite song is already playing,” says Mark Schroeder, Casgle Business Devel. Director. And unlike all the other content aggregators on the market, only Casgle validates the content to guard against corrupted, misidentified or unsupported files.
Quad Micro Works and Casgle are teaming up with StorLink Semiconductor as their technology partner and IC supplier. Casgle is also currently beta testing a base station for PMP’s using the same technology to automatically download audio & video files directly onto a PMP without needing to be connected to a computer.
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Mark, sorry it's taken so long to reply to this. I think it's a strong idea and you've explained it very well. The press release could be a bit punchier with shorter sentences and shorter paragraphs; let me know what you think of these small edits (noted in red) :
BRINGING ‘BROADCATCHING’ INTO THE HOME
Casgle Internet Content Catcher Debuts
MOUNTAIN VIEW,
CALIFORNIA, May 22
What if you could turn on your TV, and right there among all the channels you get from your cable or satellite provider was a
set of channels of
Internet-only content
that you could surf just as easily as the TV channels?
What if it didn’t cost you anything or take any extra time to set up?
There are now hundreds of thousands of podcasts on the
Internet, many tens of thousands of which are video. Some of the programming is from sources like CNN, NBC or National Geographic, while some is from a guy with a digital video camera down the block from you.
This is just the beginning of the Web 2.0 content revolution. And now you don’t have to be a
techno-geek to start enjoying it.
Today Casgle LL
C, a Silicon Valley
innovator,
launches its Casgle Internet Content Catching
[is it "Catching" or "Catcher"? you have the letter in the dek] software. Casgle ICC functions
as a DVR for
Internet content
—audio, video or anything else that can be sent on an RSS feed
[I'm not sure the layman knows what an "RSS feed" is; any way to simplify?]. After a simple account setup,
any content the user would like to receive is automatically
downloaded to the place where the user wants the files to reside, whether it is a Portable Media Player (PMP), the
computer's hard drive or Network
-Attached Storage (NAS).
Casgle is partnering with NAS manufacturers because the addition of ICC software enables their static storage device
s to be transformed
into active entertainment distribution channel
s.
[Would it be misleading to tighten this as "the addition of ICC software transforms their static storage devices into active entertainment distribution channels"?] “We feel <quote>,” said Jae Yang, VP Technology for Quad Micro Works. “Our Square One Personal Internet Server, which is debuting today, is the first device to feature the Casgle ICC software service.”
In a home where the computer network has already been connected to the television, customer
s will be easily able to watch
Internet programming on their TV
s as soon as their Square One is plugged in. “Our goal is to make the content that’s coming on the Internet available to everyone,” says Casgle CEO Stewart Wu
. “We want to make ‘broadcatching’ a reality.”
Long before the technology for it existed, the term
“broadcatching
” was coined to describe the scenario where a software agent
would collect, or aggregate, content from the
Internet and deliver it to the end user for consumption. Today there are many aggregator programs that can bring content together in one form or another, but the consumer is still several steps away from being able to
fully enjoy it. “It’s the difference between having to go into the next room and get a record down off the shelf and
pop it into the player and
cue up the track you
want, versus just turning on the radio and your favorite song is already playing,” says Mark Schroeder, Casgle Business
Development Director. And unlike all the other content aggregators on the market, only Casgle validates the content to guard against corrupted, misidentified or unsupported files.
[I don't like the presence of "unsupported" here -- what files are supported, and why shouldn't the consumer expect ALL file types to be supported? sugg. just "corrupted or misidentified files"]Quad Micro Works and Casgle are teaming up with StorLink Semiconductor as their technology partner and IC supplier. Casgle is also currently beta testing a base station for
PMPs using the same technology to automatically download audio
and video files directly
to a PMP without needing to be connected to a computer.
[I have no idea what a "base station" is; will the average reader of this?]
