-article taken from Technology section of the Lodging Magazine, June 2004-

IT Headaches?
Make it easy with SurferQuest

Today, the hospitality industry struggles to keep a good balance between providing desirable amenities for its customer and keeping the IT budget within reason. With competition for business travelers fiercer than ever, hotels simply can't do away with amenities like business centers and Internet connectivity. At the same time, hotels find it difficult to downsize an already taxed IT staff. So what can be done?

Global Appliances has an answer: "SurferQuest."

Simply put, SurferQuest is a cutting edge hardware and software solution which enables the safe and effective use of computers in public places. Unlike the many "Internet kiosks" available in the market today, the SurferQuest solution provides the travelers with Internet connectivity, as well as the use of a complete Dell computer system. Most importantly, however, SurferQuest automatically "cleans" the system hard drive by resetting it to the original configuration as soon as the user logs off. This means that any private or objectionable material that may have been downloaded onto the system will be permanently removed. Even malicious behavior, such as downloading viruses or changing settings, will not affect SurferQuest. So, now you can see why we say SurferQuest makes it easy.

Whether it's dialing into the Internet, connecting to a corporation's virtual private network (VPN) or using conferencing services, travelers today need to stay connected to their businesses. For these reasons, it's crucial that hotels offer corporate travelers a variety of remote solutions, including SurferQuest.

Take a look at the statistics: 55 percent of meeting-goers have adopted audio, video or Web-conferencing as a means to conduct business; 62 percent expect to increase Web or video conferencing in the future. In fact, a large majority of corporations are turning to a VPN as a solution for the corporate traveler. As VPN requirements become more integral to a company's overall IT success, hoteliers are witnessing the advantage of this new way of conducting business reflected in their occupancy rates. By implementing SurferQuest, your hotels can easily provide guests with these crucial services. SurferQuest also makes IT easy and affordable, enabling hoteliers to offer a highly secure, hassle-free solution to their guests.

ABOUT SURFERQUEST:
Global Appliances is the developer and producer of "SurferQuest," a cutting edge hardware and software system that enables the safe and efficient use of computers in public places. SurferQuest provides our clients the ability to offer their customers the full functionality of computers (Microsoft applications, CD burners, Internet access, printing capabilities, etc) with none of the IT nightmares so commonly reported. SurferQuest handles everything for you.

FULLY FUNCTIONAL, USER FRIENDLY COMPUTER SYSTEM
 - Work in Word, Excel and PPT, save files on floppy or CD, watch DVD movies
 - Designed for the unattended environment.
 - Let your focus stay on your core business
 - Self-cleaning/maintenance Free
 - SurferQuest takes the hassle out of technology

For more information on SurferQuest, contact Global Appliances at sales@globalappliances.com, 814-940-1870 ext 301, or log on at www.globalappliances.com.