X:DRIVE AND KINKO`S TEAM UP TO OFFER FREE INTERNET HARD DRIVES TO COLLEGE STUDENTS

X:drive and Kinko`s alliance marks the arrival of the Internet Hard Drive as a mainstream application

(CPWIRE) SANTA MONICA, CA -- November 2, 1999 -- X:drive (www.xdrive.com), the Internet Hard Drive company, announced today that Kinko`s, the leader in business communication services, will work with X:drive to offer Kinko`s customers, including college students, worldwide free Internet hard drives. X:drive is a free service that gives members password-protected storage space on the Web to organize, edit and share any type of file, including documents, pictures, music and videos.

''X:drive`s anywhere, anytime solution will enable us to provide another communication tool that increases productivity and allows our customers to save time and money. In keeping with our philosophy of taking care of our customers, we decided to work with X:drive because they are a leading consumer brand in the Internet hard drive space,'' says Paul Orfalea, Kinko`s chairperson and founder.

With this pilot program, scheduled to launch by the end of November, Kinko`s customers will be able to access their own personal X:drive accounts from any computer in more than 970 Kinko`s locations in the U.S.

''Our alliance with Kinko’s demonstrates how quickly market leaders have recognized the importance of providing this type of unique functionality to their customers,'' remarked Brett O`Brien, CEO and founder of X:drive. ''With X:drive, Kinko’s customers can access their files from any computer with Internet access, eliminating the hassles associated with lugging around cumbersome floppy disks.''

The alliance will be particularly beneficial to college students. For example, using X:drive’s unique technology, a college student working on a group project at school can drag and drop all his project files from the C:drive to his X:drive, without worrying about having to use a bunch of floppy disks. He can then go to Kinko`s, and download, print, and bind the final group project. Finally, he can use X:drive`s ''Share a File'' feature to inform his group members that the final project can now be downloaded from X:drive, at their convenience, from either home or school.


X:drive Unites the Desktop with the Internet

X:drive is the world`s first and only Internet Hard Drive on the desktop. The company offers 25 megabytes of personal, secure space on the Internet at no charge; enough space for about 10 Powerpoint presentations, 200-plus Word or Excel files, or thousands of GIF picture files.

By downloading a small plug-in, members can see and work with their online X:drive files and folders, using the already familiar Windows File Explorer. The desktop X:drive looks and functions just like any other drive on a PC: members can drag and drop into X:drive from their local drive and even edit and save their Internet files just like a C:drive. This ability to become part of members` desktops gives the company the potential to reach—and retain—millions of members.

In addition to X:drive on the desktop and at all Kinko`s stores, the service can also be accessed through the X:drive Web site with any popular Web browser via a user name and password.

About X:drive

Launched on July 8, 1999, X:drive (www.xdrive.com) is the Internet`s private hideaway and public meeting place. As the first and only Internet Hard Drive on the desktop, X:drive is both a free service providing 25 megabytes of personal space on the Internet to organize, store and share personal files, as well as a community destination for members to publish and share rich-media content, including music, video, pictures and documents. Over 1 million members are expected to join X:drive by January, 2000. X:drive is privately held and based in Santa Monica, California.

About Kinko`s

Kinko`s is a leading global retail provider of document copying and business services. It is a privately held corporation with more than 1,000 locations in nine countries and 25,000 co-workers. In 1999, Kinko`s was named as one of Fortune magazine`s top 100 companies to work for in America. For additional information, call 800/2-Kinkos.

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