Pixelon

Pixelon was a dot-com company founded in 1998 that promised better distribution of high-quality video over the Internet. It gained fame for its extravagant Las Vegas launch party, followed by its sudden and violent decline less than a year later, as it became evident it was using technologies that were, in fact, fake or misrepresented.[1] Its founder, "Michael Fenne", was actually David Kim Stanley, a convicted felon involved in stock scams who was "on the lam and living out of the back of his car" when he arrived in California two years earlier.[2][3] In the year 2000 Pixelon began to fire employees and reduce its operations until its bankruptcy.[4]

iBash '99

The party event for Pixelon's product launch, called "iBASH '99", was held October 29, 1999 at the MGM Grand Las Vegas, at a reported cost of US$16 million.[1] The lineup featured performances by Chely Wright, LeAnn Rimes, Faith Hill, Dixie Chicks, Sugar Ray, Natalie Cole, KISS, Tony Bennett, The Brian Setzer Orchestra, and a reunion of The Who.[5]

It was announced the event would be broadcast over the Internet as a demonstration of Pixelon's technology. This failed, with the only people actually seeing the event being those attending in person, a severe blow to Pixelon's reputation. The 8+ hour feed of iBash'99 was shown live in New York City as Pixelon leased the largest screen in Times Square. Also, an edited 2-hour show aired on Halloween night 1999 on ION (formerly known as PAX TV) and NBC Late Night.

The production of iBash was produced by Woody Fraser Productions (The Home Show, Mike Douglas Show) and was hosted live by David Spade and Cindy Margolis. Other credits included; Directors: Ron de Moraes (2-time Emmy Award Winner), Christopher Lincoln (5-time Emmy Award Winner) and Clay Jacobsen (Nashville Network) Producers: Woody Fraser and Tom Boles (Survivor, Biggest Loser) [6] The Who later released their set as a DVD titled The Vegas Job, featuring two short pre-show interviews with Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle, and a short after-crash interview with David Kim Stanley, admitting to embezzlement.

References

  1. 1 2 "The $16m Pixelon Party". The Protein Feed. 2000-05-18. Retrieved 2012-07-10.
  2. ↑ Joanna Glasner (2000-05-16). "Perilous Fall of Pixelon". Wired Magazine. Retrieved 2012-07-10.
  3. ↑ Dan Tynan (2006-09-15). "PC World - The 25 Worst Web Sites". Retrieved 2012-07-10.
  4. ↑ Patricia Jacobus (2000-05-12). "Pixelon issues sweeping layoffs after founder's arrest". CNET News.com. Retrieved 2012-07-10.
  5. ↑ "Pixelon.com Launches Today With Star-Studded iBASH '99 as the First Full-Screen, Full-Motion, TV-Quality Internet Broadcaster" (Press release). Business Wire. 1999-10-29. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
  6. ↑ Dan Goodin (2000-06-26). "The Great Internet Con". The Industry Standard. Archived from the original on 2000-07-11. Retrieved 2012-03-01.

External links

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