Released on = January 19, 2006, 8:28 pm

Press Release Author = biffmitchell.com

Industry = Computers

Press Release Summary = ErectSoft INC, the world's largest computer company that has
never produced a single product announces the Absurd Industry Contest.

Press Release Body = "After working off and on for nearly a third of a century in
the IT industry," said author Biff Mitchell, "I can't imagine a more absurd line of
work. So I invented a company that's having a contest to recognize the absolute
stupidity of the computer software industry."

Mitchell's latest novel, Team Player (Double Dragon Publishing, ISBN 1-55404-314-X),
satirizes work in the computer industry through a fictitious company, ErectSoft INC.
"It's the largest software company in the world," he said. "But it's never produced
a single product or finished a single project. This discovery is made by the lead
character Malcolm Gray, who wonders one day why he can't recall any of the projects
he's worked ever going beyond the initial stages of project definition. He begins to
ask questions and soon realizes that the company has never actually done anything
but start projects."

Gray goes to the company's website looking for answers, but finds no more than
meaningless corporate garble. "ErectSoft INC has only one product and that product
is a solution, the only solution you'll ever need for your enterprise-wide business
applications ." said Mitchell. "It means nothing . absolutely nothing. But there are
hundreds of websites on the Internet with wording not much different."

In Team Player, Mitchell gives the web address of his fictitious company:
www.erectsoftinc.com. "I bought the domain name," he said, "and created a website
for it - a site very similar to the one in the book - and I plan to use it as a
portal to everything absurd and ridiculous about the IT industry."

Mitchell has plans to link his ErectSoft website to a forum where IT workers can
gather to exchange stories about their absurd experiences in the industry. "To kick
it off," he said, "I'm sponsoring a contest - The ErectSoft INC Absurd Industry
Contest."

The contest invites IT workers to submit stories describing their most absurd
experience in the industry, which will then be published in an ebook "when the
content mass reaches the appropriate level of absurdity." Categories include absurd
projects, products, management decisions, companies, documentation and interface
design. The contest even allows entrants to invent their own categories. The ten
most absurd entries will receive autographed copies of Mitchell's novel. "And
there's no entry fee," said Mitchell.

"I plan to release an updated paperback version of the novel at lulu.com later this
year," said Mitchell. "The book was originally published in Australia by Jacobyte
Publishing in 2001 and some of the technologies could do with a little updating.
It's the updated version that I'll be giving out to the ten most absurd entries."

The URL for ErectSoft INC is www.erectsoftinc.com. "Just like in the book," said
Mitchell.

About Biff Mitchell
Biff Mitchell is the author of the world's first laundromance, Heavy Load. His
second novel, The War Bug, is available in both ebook and paperback through Double
Dragon Publishing. He has two novellas, The Baton and Smoke Break, published as
Dollar Downloads by Echelon Press. Surfing in Catal Hyuk is his collection of mostly
absurd short stories. You can visit Biff and find out more about is books at
www.biffmitchell.com.



Web Site = http://www.erectsoftinc.com

Contact Details = Thom Glen
Email: thomglen@gmail.com
506-455-3678
Web Site: www.biffmitchell.com