Privately held videoconferencing company IXL Fiber And Wireless Inc has sold a majority stake to UK investor, Shawki Roda. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The company has been renamed Baraka Intracom UK Ltd and will be based in London. It will retain its offices in Torrance, California and Washington DC for research and development. The first product of the new group will be Eye Ris, a new videoconferencing product for television and personal computer use. It offers full duplex audio and live video at up to 15 frames per second over ordinary telephone lines and dial-up internet connections. On a computer screen, it offers 160 by 120 pixel image size. According to Baraka Intracom, the system is the only videoconferencing system that can communicate over PSTN, POTS, the internet, ISDN and local and wide area networks. The product will be offered in two versions; a stand alone unit that includes a set-top box camera and remote control priced at 200 pounds and an installed version that includes CD- ROM software, video card and camera at 375 pounds. Both are due out in November. Other products in the Baraka Intracom portfolio include the VidCall 32 computer videoconferencing tool; the MediaViews internet multimedia broadcast system and the EyeWatch PC-based security system. The company also plans to bring out products for intercasting audio and video email.
