Story from Skype NewsDarvin Butler may be thousands of miles away from his wife while serving in the U.S. military in Afghanistan. But he won’t miss out on the birth of the couple’s new baby in the states, thanks to Skype, an online videoconferencing service.
Under a technological partnership between CompUSA and Forgotten Soldiers Outreach, Butler and his wife, Vanesia, will the technology, developed by CompUSA and FSO to be together at the time of the birth virtually.
Vanesia Butler will use of the free service to make video and voice calls to her husband from a laptop. Just in time to go online and watch his daughter's birth, Darvin Butler will receive the second laptop in the next few weeks.
Since preparing for the birth of their child, Butler, who is six-months pregnant, knew that her husband’s duties would keep him away. But now, Butler is thrilled at the prospect of her husband listening to the first cries of the baby.
“We are honored to be a part of a worthwhile organization like FSO, which inspires soldiers with hope, strength and courage,” said Gilbert Fiorentino, chief executive of Systemax Technology Group, which includes CompUSA, in a statement. “We wish Vanesia and her husband only the best.”
Butler’s place of business, located in Coral Springs, Fla. has already received two Hewlett-Packard (News - Alert) ProBook 4510s with built-in Webcams from a team of CompUSA technology experts. The team showed Vanesia how to make video and voice calls usingSkype ( News - Alert). CompUSA and CA, a leading independent IT management software company, will also donate a $10,000 scholarship for the Butler family to open a college savings account for their new baby.
Recently, the company selected Activant Solutions's Activant Eagle software solution to be its business management and point-of-sale platform. Activant Solutions said that the storewide internet in Afghanistan connectivity, which makes the product and price information available to both customers and CompUSA team members, is central to the Retail 2.0 concept and will be enabled by the Activant Eagle solution.
