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"Hungry_UA_students_can_download_deep-dish_delights" |
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| Wednesday, September 09, 1998 |
Melody Morrow
Traveler Staff |
| Ever been in the midst of a marathon study session when
you had a craving for pizza? You decide to call in an order. Maybe you stagger around the
room looking for a phone book, searching under the bed, in the closet, anywhere to get
that number. |
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| You rifle through your desk drawers and stick your hand in
the wad of gum the last occupant of your room placed there way in the back under the desk
top. |
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As you recoil in horror, you knock over a beer onto your psychology paper and trip over
the garbage can, which ironically contains the very phone book you sought buried beneath
your first draft of your psyc. paper and four crumpled cans of beer. |
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All this for pizza? There must be an easier answer. |
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To avoid this sort of treachery, utilize the Internet connection on a computer. Bookmark
the page www.nwahotspots.com, and save the search for the phone number, as well as the
call itself. |
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Friday Virtual GraphX, Inc., will launch its brand new on-line ordering feature for Pizza
Hut's Leverett Street store on the NWA HotSpots web page. Users can simply point their
browser and place their Pizza Hut order directly on-line, without ever talking to a soul
at the restaurant, and as an added option, can even pay on-line by credit card as well. |
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NWA HotSpots is not merely a page for ordering pizza, though. Visitors to the website will
find a number of options, including coupons for local businesses - everything from fast
food to laundromats to kickboxing - Malco Theater's show times and information, a Trivia
Contest, and many others, says Will Louden, project manager of Virtual GraphX, Inc.
Louden, a self-described "young Internet entrepreneur" and a junior computer
information systems major in the College of Business, said the site has been available
since August 1997, and already gets about 14,000 to 15,000 "hits," or visits to
the site, per week. He said features are changing rapidly, though. The Pizza Hut on-line
ordering feature is just one of many upcoming features. |
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"At this point, growth is imminent," Louden said. |
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A long list of services and special offers are available to HotSpots' users. The company's
mascot, Cavalier Joe, leads web surfers throughout the contests, information and coupons
on the site. The site's Trivia Contest users to answer questions about Northwest Arkansas
history, UA history, and the businesses affiliated with the HotSpots web site. In turn,
lucky surfers can win free goodies from local companies, with winners announced weekly. |
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"Students can win free movie passes, free combo meals, free T-shirts, movie rentals,
oil changes," Louden said. "Cavalier Joe is your guide to NWA HotSpots' on-line
adventures." |
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Keep a close eye on the site for other information as well. NWA HotSpots will be posting
university events, Greek events, and even listings of local nightclubs. |
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Registered Student Organizations can notify NWA HotSpots of upcoming events, which will be
posted free of charge, Louden said.
NWA HotSpots is a company on a mission to serve
students and local businesses with their needs, Louden said.
"Going to school is tough
enough. We want to create for the Internet a user system that basically helps to ease your
stay at the UA. We are here to promote Northwest Arkansas and the students and faculty and
staff," he said.
Republished with the permission of the Arkansas Traveler.
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