Trying to prove how wired the world is, a former computer systems manager has retreated into an empty Dallas house with a laptop computer - and he isn't planning to come out again until 2001.
The Associated Press says 26-year-old Mitch Maddox - who has changed his name, legally, to DotComGuy - entered the house on New Year's Day and plans to live online exclusively, even ordering food, furniture, clothes, and hosting a 24-hour live video feed of his life.
``Our vision is that new online shoppers will go to our site to learn how to utilize e-commerce,'' Maddox tells the AP. ``I'm going to come out being a loon.''
The live part of the stunt involves 24-hour streaming video from dozens of digital cameras he set up throughout the house. One points at the kitchen, several face the living room, and one even sits on a bathroom shelf - but it's turned away from the toilet and tub, the AP says.
It may sound like Biosphere meets The Truman Show, but the AP says there are a few ground rules. Maddox can have visitors - but he simply can't go beyond the back yard.
His friend Len Critcher, president of DotComGuy, Inc., says they don't exactly recommend "that people lock themselves away from the world, but we will prove that it can be done." Maddox's first monthly paycheck from the company will be $24, the AP says, but it will double every month as an incentive to stay in the house, according to Critcher.
Gateway donated the laptop for the experiment. Peapod.com agreed to keep the house stocked with groceries. Other sponsors are listed on the project's Web site, www.DotComGuy.com
Service911.com, a Dallas company, joined up when it saw its PC services could benefit from some live, online exposure, the AP says. ``We are going to have people say, 'Hey, DotComGuy, how do I install a brand new modem or how do I get this or that Web site?''' service911.com's Jeff Lipschultz tells the AP. ``And when he uses our site, that's how people will learn about us.''
Maddox isn't the first one to try such an experiment, but he's sworn to live off e-commerce alone longer than anyone else so far, the AP says.
Saturday afternoon, the news wire continues, the Web site video showed Maddox sitting on the floor of an empty room chatting online with visitors. His first online purchases included shampoo, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, and some carry-out food.
