So farewell then, PointCast. The one-time brilliant pioneer of push technology, as supported by Microsoft in Windows 95, has agreed to merge with San Diego outfit LaunchPad. The deal values PointCast at around $7 million, which in cyberspace valuation terms isn't even chump change. PointCast has been looking for backing or an exit strategy since last year, as it had become abundantly clear that its notion of pushing personalised information to users across the Internet wasn't playing at current bandwidth levels. Bandwidth is however on the up, and it may turn out that LaunchPad has got itself a pretty good deal. LaunchPad produces eWallet, which makes Web shopping easier by storing financial information for users, and PointCast software will allow LaunchPad to broadcast information on sales, let users know about the status of bids in auctions and so on. LaunchPad itself is backed by investment outfit idealab. ®