Triangle Companies Create E-Hub Center; Interpath To Have New Ownership

Strategic Technologies, BuildNet Create Giant E-Hub Data Center:Strategic Technologies, Inc.andBuildNethave teamed up to put together a giant e-hub data center.

Peter Abene, BuildNet Technology Officer, says the center is "as big as 14 refrigerators lined up end-to-end in a typical home."

Twenty-one expandable servers powered by more than sixty processors will tie together builders, suppliers and manufacturers. The e-hub will be shipped to Plano, Texas where it will power BuildNet's electronic commerce solutions for the residential construction industry.

Interpath To Get New Owner:After a lot of speculation,Interpathwill soon have a new owner.

The application service provider is being bought by Bain Capital, a Boston-based private equity fund.

Bain will invest $50 million in Interpath and own 65 percent of the company. The present owner, CP&L, will pump $50 million more into the company. CP&L will keep the fiber-optic network and 35 percent of the company.

"Now we have a partner like Bain Capital to come in and really manage us from a strategy perspective, from a business model perspective and really focus on generating earnings and building a business that really means something on a national basis," says Michael Fox, Interpath Interim CEO.

Bain has taken several companies public and is expected to do the same with Interpath.

Take A Look At How Minor League Baseball WorksTheHow Stuff WorksWeb site takes computer users behind the scenes of the Durham Bulls minor league baseball team.

The history of the team, outstanding players and what kind of grass seed is used on the field can be found on the site. There are links to theBulls' Web siteas well as to other baseball-related sites.

The How Stuff Works Web site is based in Raleigh and has won many awards, including "Cool Site of the Year."