One Less Reason to Leave the House

You won't be hearing much out of the Boston-based company known as Streamline these days, but that doesn't mean they're not out to change the world. They're in one of those pre-IPO quiet periods, poised to rake in around $69 million, if all goes according to plan. And if the future goes according to Streamline's plan, the end of offline shopping is at hand, and you may never leave the house again.

Streamline -- founded in 1993 by, among others, trend guru Faith Popcorn -- offers a service so simple and seductive, it's a wonder they're the first ones to think of it. When you sign up for Streamline, the company dispatches a special team to your home armed with bar code scanners to help you come up with what they call a PSL a Personal Shopping List that enumerates all the products that you regularly bring into your home. And that's not just groceries it includes video rentals, dry cleaning, postage stamps, even the photos from your latest trip abroad. Streamline will even take back your bottles and cans. MORE>>