Bigfoot Networks Interview March 21, 2006

Introduction

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FiringSquad: First, how did Bigfoot Networks come to be formed?

Harlan Beverly: I am an extreme hardcore PC gamer, and have been since I was a kid. I LOVE online games, so much so that I met my wife online and married her virtually in UO before I married her in real life. We even had virtual kids, and later followed them up with the real things.

I am also a network chip and protocol expert. I was even a chip Architect at Intel Corp. for a while. While at Intel, I was responsible for making corporate desktops and servers run incredibly fast using Network Acceleration technology. But corporate servers are not my love, I love games. So, I decided to apply my talent to my passion and start the first company whose sole purpose is to fight Lag. I even got an MBA from U.T., just to learn how to start this business. It was there I teamed up with Mike Cubbage and Bob Grim to launch Bigfoot Networks.

FiringSquad: How did the idea to come up with a product to eliminate Lag in PC games come about?

Harlan Beverly: I spend all my free time playing online PC games and all my work time designing networking chips. The only thing that messes with my world is Lag. I can sometimes be heard screaming LAGGG in the middle of the night. It was a very simple decision, once I realized my team and I had the skills that it would take to fight Lag in a meaningful way.

Incidentally, the product is designed to fight Lag… it is my dream to one day eliminate Lag, but that’s like trying to eliminate Viruses. Viruses still exist today, even though most of us use anti-virus software, keep it updated, and feel protected.

Ultimately, people still get Viruses on their computers even with the protection. But they get less of them, and the ones they do get cause less damage. We want to arm people with a weapon to fight Lag, we call that weapon (a technology really) LLR Technology. LLR means Lag and Latency Reduction, not elimination. As a Gamer, I’d take less Lag over the status quo any day. We are providing a weapon to finally be able to get ‘Less Lag’.

FiringSquad: Some people might believe that with broadband Internet connections becoming more prevalent and faster among consumers there is little need for such a product. What is your reaction to this assumption?

Harlan Beverly: I tell them to read the white paper at BigfootNetworks.com. The reality is that people experience tons of Lag even on T1 and T3 networks, let alone on Cable/DSL networks. This is because the network by itself is only 1 of the 3 causes of Lag. In fact, our products are designed to work best with gamers who already play on broadband.

FiringSquad: How will your PC add-on card help to eliminate Lag in PC games, especially with other factors like Lag from Internet routers could hamper PC game online performance?

Harlan Beverly: On March 22nd, we will release some of the details behind our technology. The technology is called LLR, Lag and Latency Reduction. Everyone can read more about LLR at our website on that day. In general, you’ve said it right, it helps to fight Lag. It does this using a custom designed Gaming Network Processor (the first of its kind) to fight all 3 of the causes of Lag (Client, Network, and Server). If I told you exactly how it worked, I’d have to kill you: what matters is, it works, and reduces Lag in a meaningful way.

FiringSquad: Will game developers have to write special software to support your add-on card?

Harlan Beverly: No.

SIDEBAR: Valve Software announced a plan to eliminate lag in games called Powerplay several years ago but that plan was quietly abandoned.

Bigfoot Networks interview (cont’d)

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Harlan Beverly: I’m winning more Counterstrike than ever before! It only matters if you win, in the end. And I’ve died a lot less in DnD Online. All that being said, we will be releasing some solid data in the near future, and more importantly, the reviewers of our products will have solid data as well.

FiringSquad: Has the company taken their technology to any game developers for their support?

Harlan Beverly: Game Developers have been incredibly enthusiastic about our technology. Why? Because they love games too, and relish the thought of their games having less Lag. One of the major aspects of LLR technology is that LLR can be used in game servers too. And when it starts to get used in Game Servers, the third, elusive cause of Lag (server Lag) will start to go down as well. I encourage everyone to read about LLR technology on our website.

FiringSquad: The company recently announced that they have secured $4 million in funding. How will this help launch the product?

Harlan Beverly: It will help in every way conceivable, from product development to marketing to sales to product support. $4 million is a significant funding event, and we are excited that our investors are as committed to fighting Lag as we are.

FiringSquad: Will the company partner with third parties to make and sell the add-on cards based on its technology or will Bigfoot make and sell the cards themselves?

Harlan Beverly: Bigfoot Networks is a technology research company first and foremost. We invented LLR technology. We are open to discussions of letting other companies license LLR, but right now, the only cards powered by LLR will be made exclusively by Bigfoot.

FiringSquad: Some people might feel that another add-on card for the PC might be too much for the consumer to ask to pay for. How does Bigfoot feel about this issue?

Harlan Beverly: The products that come out with LLR will simply replace the NIC card in a gamers Rig, so it’s not an extra NIC card, it’s a NIC card that has LLR on it. Hardcore gamers already buy better NIC cards than what ships with their computers. Now we’re giving them the option to buy a NIC card that reduces Lag and Latency using LLR Technology -- a NIC that is designed specifically for gaming.

If gamers buy NIC cards with LLR technology on them, then they will experience faster game play, lower latency, and most importantly less Lag. So don’t think of us as offering another add-on card, but rather technology that when incorporated onto a NIC can dramatically improve the gaming experience.

FiringSquad: What is the current status on the product's progress, when will it be released and how much will this product cost?

Harlan Beverly: It’s a little too early for us to talk about this, but suffice to say that the product will feature LLR Technology.

FiringSquad: Finally is there anything else you wish to say about Bigfoot Networks and its current and future plans?

Harlan Beverly: On Wednesday March 22nd, Bigfoot Networks will announce that it is sponsoring a new website dedicated to discussing Lag in an open community called EndLagNow.org.

The EndLagNow.org community’s goal is to end the notional acceptance that exists around the concept of Lag. EndLagNow.org is for people that don’t want to accept Lag. It is for those that want to work together to fight Lag, and those that deserve tools to help fight it. Users and contributors will talk about Lag in different games, evaluate products that fight Lag (not just Bigfoot’s), and generally, let the cat out of the hat that Lag exists, and we should all DEMAND that it be ended. The site will include opinions from experts, blogs, reviews, and of course a community forum in which gamers, game developers, hardware vendors, and other Lag hating people can come together to discuss Lag. Bigfoot is proud to be the first to sponsor of this community, and hope that other companies join us on our crusade.