America Online to Unveil New 'Sky Monitor' Balloon At the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 2, 2000 World's Largest Computer Monitor Will Take to the Skies October 7 America Online See AOL. , Inc., the world's leading interactive services company, today announced plans to unveil its brand new "Sky Monitor" hot-air balloon at the 2000 Kodak Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is a yearly balloon fiesta that takes place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA during early October. The balloon fiesta is a nine day event, and has around 750 balloons. The event is the largest balloon fiesta in the world. (R). The world's largest computer monitor will make its official debut on Saturday, October 7 at the start of the world's largest balloon festival. AOL's "Sky Monitor," a special computer monitor-shaped hot-air balloon, standing 67-foot tall and 55-foot wide, will fly high above the skies of Albuquerque from October 7 through 15. Built by Cameron Balloons Cameron Balloons is a company established in 1971 in Bristol, England by Don Cameron to manufacture hot air balloons. Cameron had previously, with others, constructed ten hot air balloons under the name Omega. , Ltd., in Bristol, England, the fabric envelope weighs over 725 pounds and could cover 9.2 basketball courts. It was hand constructed in September 2000 of more than 4,595 square yards of fabric and more than 67,452 stitch holes were made using 7.33 miles of thread. When inflated, "Sky Monitor" boasts a 46.2-foot diagonal screen, features four 28-foot tall AOL (A division of Time Warner, Inc., New York, NY, www.aol.com) The world's largest online information service with access to the Internet, e-mail, chat rooms and a variety of databases and services. logos and has a volume of 136,100 cubic feet, or enough space to hold 237,616,500 AOL software CDs. Below the AOL logos on each of the balloon's four sides, it is adorned with the familiar AOL tag line tag line also tag·line n. 1. An ending line, as in a play or joke, that makes a point. 2. An often repeated phrase associated with an individual, organization, or commercial product; a slogan. Noun 1. , "You've Got Mail The audio announcement heard millions of times per day by AOL users. The voice was recorded by Elwood "El" Edwards in 1989 at the suggestion of his wife Karen, who worked in customer service for Quantum Computer Services (before Quantum became AOL). ." In Albuquerque, "Sky Monitor" will join AOL's original royal blue, hot-air balloon, which is a conventional shape and stands 70-foot tall, 57-foot wide, and features two 30-foot tall AOL logos. The original AOL balloon, dubbed "Version 1.0," will also take to the skies each morning during the nine day balloon fiesta Balloon Fiesta may refer to the following balloon festivals:
It was hand constructed in 1998 by Cameron Balloons (Ann Arbor, Michigan  “Ann Arbor” redirects here. For other uses, see Ann Arbor (disambiguation). Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. ) of more than 1,345 square yards of fabric and 5.3 miles of thread, and over the past two years has made regular appearance at balloon festivals throughout the world. Crew of the Day Award Each morning during the Kodak Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta(R), America Online will present the "KOB-TV Balloon Crew of the Day Award." The purpose of the award is to recognize balloon crews whose members "go beyond the call of duty," providing extraordinary service to members of the Albuquerque community, festival attendees and/or other balloonists. This is the first award designed to recognize fiesta crew members, who outnumber pilots at an average ratio of four to one. Balloon crew teams are nominated by filling out an official entry form (available at the KOB-TV stage and the AOL Balloon Team vehicle) and dropping it off at the KOB-TV stage. Award presentations will be televised on KOB-TV morning broadcasts. The prize package includes pins, shirts, gloves, disposable cameras and other memorabilia for each crew member, assembled in a Longaberger(R) basket from which a three-foot diameter helium balloon is suspended. AOL's Online Advisor, Regina Lewis Regina Lewis is an American author, national television contributor, and tech-trend expert. She hosts DIY Network's Tech Out My House and is AOL Consumer Advisor. Lewis is the mother of three and has been cited on Capitol Hill for her work in championing online kids safety. to Appear Regina Lewis, AOL's Online Advisor, will be on hand Saturday, Oct. 7 to present the first "KOB-TV Balloon Crew of the Day Award." Regina is a leading expert in helping people make the most of the Internet and is also the author of "Wired in a Week," a guide to the soon to be released AOL 6.0. Regina appears regularly on the "CBS (Cell Broadcast Service) See cell broadcast. Saturday Early Morning Show" and as the AOL correspondent for the popular CBS reality based show, "Big Brother." Sky Monitor Joins Goodwill Appearance Tour The AOL balloon program is a vehicle for bringing people and communities together in the offline world, much like the AOL service does online. Following the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta(R), which ends October 15, AOL's "Sky Monitor" will join the AOL "Version 1.0" balloon on a goodwill balloon tour that began in 1998. Visits are scheduled in many cities throughout North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. , including New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , Chicago and Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . About The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta(R) For nine days in October, the New Mexico New Mexico, state in the SW United States. At its northwestern corner are the so-called Four Corners, where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah meet at right angles; New Mexico is also bordered by Oklahoma (NE), Texas (E, S), and Mexico (S). skies are painted as hundreds of balloons lift off from Albuquerque's Balloon Fiesta Park. Each year balloons come from around the world to participate in the event that attracts news coverage from more than 50 countries. It has become the most photographed event in the world. Albuquerque is the premier ballooning city due to the crystal skies, perfect October climate and a phenomenon called the "Albuquerque Box." With a combination of weather patterns and geographic landscape, the box allows balloonists to control and even retrace their adventure. Balloon Fiesta State Park covers over 200 acres and will host over 1,000 balloons during the 2000 event. Special shape balloons are a highlight of the event, as they fill the skies with playful images. Visit the event web site at www.aibf.org. About "Sky Monitor" Chief Pilot, Bennett Schwontkowski Mr. Bennett Schwontkowski is Chief Pilot and Program Director for the America Online(R) balloon team. As a commercially-licensed balloon pilot, he has piloted over 1,800 flights during the past 25 years, flying over 7,500 passengers. He has flown at all major balloon events, including the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta(R), Kentucky Derby Festival The Kentucky Derby Festival is an annual festival held in Louisville, Kentucky during the two weeks preceding the first Saturday in May, the day of the Kentucky Derby. The festival, Kentucky's largest single annual event, started in 1956[1] and includes:
Mr. Schwontkowski first received his pilot license in 1977, at which time he held the distinction of being the second-youngest licensed pilot in the state of Illinois. From 1994-1995, he piloted a 300,000 cubic foot special shape balloon, which at the time was the world's largest. Mr. Schwontkowski is founder and President of Corporate Balloons, LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control , which operates hot- and cold-air balloon programs for clients worldwide. About "Sky Monitor" Partners ViewSonic(R) Corporation's logo, Australian finches, is featured on the upper left-hand corner on each side of the Sky Monitor balloon. ViewSonic is a leading worldwide provider of visual display technologies for business and home use. The company is widely known for its cutting-edge product line and price performance leadership. Its icon of three brightly colored Australian Gouldian Finches, is one of the best-known corporate logos in the technology industry. ViewSonic is headquartered in Walnut, California, near Los Angeles, with major international offices in London and Taipei. Visit the company web site at www.viewsonic.com. Cameron Balloons, Ltd. builds more special shape balloons than the combined total of all other balloon manufacturers in the world. Limited only by human imagination, designs have become increasingly complex. Cameron is able to meet customers' unique requests using computer software written within the company by qualified aeronautical engineers. In addition, the use of fabrics with special coatings, advanced artwork techniques and close liaison with clients ensures the faithful reproduction in fabric of the original concept. Visit the company web site at www.cameronballoons.co.uk. About America Online, Inc. Founded in 1985, America Online, Inc., based in Dulles, Virginia, is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies and e-commerce services. America Online, Inc. operates: two worldwide Internet services, America Online, with more than 24 million members, and CompuServe, with more than 2.8 million members; several leading Internet brands including ICQ ("I Seek You") A conferencing program for the Internet from Mirabilis, Tel Aviv, Israel (www.icq.com). It provides interactive chat, e-mail and file transfer and can alert you when someone on your predefined list has also come online. , AOL Instant Messenger See AIM. and Digital City, Inc.; the Netscape Netcenter and AOL.COM portals; the Netscape Navigator and Communicator browsers; MapQuest.com, the leader in providing online, voice and wireless mapping, directions and destination information solutions to businesses and consumers; AOL Moviefone, the nation's No. 1 movie listing guide and ticketing service; and Spinner.com and NullSoft's Winamp, leaders in Internet music. Through its strategic alliance with Sun Microsystems, the company develops and offers easy-to-deploy, end-to-end e-commerce and enterprise solutions for companies operating in the Net Economy. Visit the company web site at www.aol.com. For more information, visit AOL Keyword: AOL BALLOON. |
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