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Kenneth M. Thompson Providing Corporate to Corporate and 1099 Contract Software Development Services
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| VU Meter | Summary | Printable | Contact | Projects | FAQ | MileStone |
| Telecomm | Cable | Graphics & Simulation |
General |
| 2002 |
iXML Interface Design
Design an XML interface to the Intelitix online ticketing system, pulling
together requirements from customer and internal development representative.
Created a development plan and played a major role in implemented the plan with
a team of other developers.
XML+TCP/IP Server Framework
Developed a Java server framework for building TCP/IP servers. This framework
abstracts multi-threading for simultaneous client operation and has provisions
for listening on multiple ports. Admin services are supported to control
operation of the server. Extensions are provides to minimize the effort
required to build XML servers.
| 2001 |
Addressable TAP Head End Controller
Ongoing support and feature enhancement of the Head End Controller software
including production of turn-key, Linux based systems and major feature
additions.
[1]
[2]
Unified Communications FAX Server
Design, development and integration of the FAX server component of a
Unified Communications
system. This includes FAX store and forward, network interface for
FAX management, web access for end user FAX viewing and account management and
support for billing. This system incorporates hylaFAX as the FAX send/receive
engine, a custom server for control and administration, and a web front-end
using apache+tomcat.
Unified Communications Voice Mail to Email Portal
Design, development and integration of a Voice Mail to Email subsystem of a
Unified Communications
system. This includes analog back-haul of the voice, conversion into
wav format, composition of MIME emails and integration with backend
data repository of a web portal.
This project involved creating multi-threaded UDP servers in JAVA, integration
with email subsystems and JDBC access to postgreSQL.
Unified Communications Web Portal
Design, development and integration of a Web Portal for client control
of a
Unified Communications
system.
This system allows users to access and manage messages online as well as
administer their own account, controlling telephony features such as voice mail
notification, FAX processing, findme/followme and voice to email services.
This project involved JSP and servlets accessing a postgreSQL database using JDBC.
SNPP GUI Client
Design and development of a stand alone 100% Java SNPP client for
cross-platform deployment under the product name of nowMessenger!
This product provides clients of paging and
unified messaging services with an
inexpensive and powerful desktop client for fast, reliable text messaging.
This project incorporates the GUI Toolkit.
Business Software Alternatives
Evaluation of desktop alternatives resulting in replacement of commercial
desktop software with Open Source alternatives.
Conducted a multi-month evaluation of office suite and desktop OS alternatives
on Open Source operating systems as well as commercially available
systems. Recommendations to pursue Open Source alternatives resulting in the
migration of business desktops to Debian GNU/Linux and StarOffice.
Wireless Messaging JWS Application
Design and development of the
nowMessenger!
wireless messaging Java Web Start application as a derivative of the
SNPP client application.
The application supports reliable wireless communication using SNPP with
automatic fail-over to secondary servers, and access to a wide range devices
via SMTP. Java Web Start technology was chosen to provide automatic software
updates, network delivery and installation, and to integrate the client web
browser into the application for on-line help and the registration/payment
component.
E-Commerce PayPal Integration
Design, implement and operate an automatic software licensing and payment
system for the
nowMessenger!
JWS Application.
Product registration is initiated within the application which connects to a
vendor server for ticketing. Once ticketed, the client browser is directed to a
vendor page for PayPal payment. All payments are handled by PayPal and upon
receiving email notification from PayPal the ticketed application is
authorized.
| 2000 |
Addressable TAP Head End Controller
Re-activation of this project involved upgrading to the latest release of Java
and migration of the GUI to MSI table layout factory components. This system
was qualified with two major billing system vendors with a pilot installation
and the first paying customer installation.
TCP/UDP Server Toolkit
A java package encapsulating a multithread server design pattern. This package
has been used in several system services in a commercial Unified Messaging
system.
GUI Toolkit
100% java GUI Layout Manager and Component factory that allows specification
and population of GUI interfaces using a syntax similar to HTML table
specifications. This combination of the HTML-table layout with a Swing
component factory has been used in several commercial projects, minimizing time
to market and increasing system flexibility.
Online Number Lookup System
A combination Java, JDBC and postgreSQL system for managing phone and pager
information at real-time call rates. This system provides various network
applications with account and device information necessary for online paging
and call setup operations. The system acquires data updates from a network of
switches and incorporates a spooling update system to moderate runtime load of
updates. This project was a direct result of performance
testing done on an Oracle based system.
Oracle System Setup and Tuning
Installation and tuning of Solaris x86 system supporting financial
consolidation and billing system.
Servlet+JSP System Administration
Installation and configuration of Linux and Solaris x86 systems using Apache
with both jserv+gnuJSP and jakarta/Tomcat.
Web-based Payment System Administration
Web front end for administration of an online bill payment system.
Installation and Maintenance of Email Filter
Procmail based email filtering to scan for macro viruses in Microsoft
attachments and active content in HTML attachments. This system prevented virus
infiltration several times over a 12 month period.
Text to Speech Server
Email transport of text-to-speech audio files including audio recording and
file conversion, MIME processing, email forwarding and Call Detail Record
generation. Off-server TTS components sent converted speech over standard phone
lines for delivery to end users via email.
Web Administered Email Forwarding System
Web-email system providing client's end-user with a single email address
front-ending multiple email addresses and pager notifications. System
configuration and user administration is via admin web pages.
| 1999 |
Online Number Lookup Performance Testing
System for monitoring performance of network DB servers used by telephony
systems for real-time access to user phone number and device information. This
system provides daily performance statistics in numerical and graphical format
via web pages.
Installation and Configuration of Filtering Web Cache
Installation and setup of squid as a filtering web cache. Client requirements
included proxy web access for employees and denial of access to sites based on
content.
Apache+FrontPage Installation and Setup
Installation and configuration of Apache+FrontPage server.
Skytel 2-Way Email Integration
Design and implementation of a system to allow a third party email front-end to
the Skytel 2-way system. This involved sendmail programming to
properly modify incoming and outgoing addresses so all domains use the third
party address. Included custome email delivery agents to support third party
CDR and billing collection.
Online Bill Payment
Perl/CGI online credit card system for bill payment. Backend systems accessed
via email, with javascript credit card number and type validation.
Y2K Planning and Support
We also served who sat and waited.
SNPP Server
Java Simple Network Paging Protocol (SNPP) server with a backend TNPP interface
to a paging network. All level 1 and level 2 SNPP command implemented with
extensions for multi-message paging.
| 1998 |
Addressable TAP Head End Controller
Full responsibility for design, implementation and pilot deployment of
Head-End Control Unit for addressable TAPs.
Written entirely in Java, the HEC software is fully cross platform capable and
has been tested
on various UNIX and Windows 9x/NT platforms.
This system supports multiple billing system interfaces, including Cable Data
and CSG, and both the Scientific Atlanta and GI interface protocols.
Over 500,000 TAPs are supported on a single system with multiple head end nodes
on each HEC.
Email to Pager Gateway
A client-server system for filtering and processing emails for delivery to
numeric and alpha pagers.
A server implemented in Java accepts emails delivered via a sendmail
Mail Delivery Agent (MDA). These emails are processed to determine pager
delivery addresses and formatted individually for each pager's
capabilities. These are delivered directly to the paging terminal for
delivery, with confirmation email sent to the originator. All system activity
is logged in a Call Detail Record system for customer service and billing
operations.
Teleconference System
Design and implementation of an outbound teleconference system using Dialogic
boards in a SCO/Intel system. Design of an in channel, two-way DTMF control
system supporting all aspects of interaction between the conferencing system
and the controlling telecommunications system.
All conference activity
is logged in a Call Detail Record system for customer service and billing
operations.
Trouble Ticket Management System
A web based system for opening, tracking and closing Customer Service Trouble
Tickets. User interfaces for entering and updating trouble information. Upon
problem resolution, email verification is sent to the
originator. Administrative interfaces allow redirection of problems and
reporting on open and closed tickets.
Alumax Consolidation System Upgrade
Specified the platform requirements and performed the Operating System, Data
Base and application upgrades to the Alumax Financial Consolidation System.
This involved hardware replacement, upgrade from HPUX 9.x to HPUX 10.20,
upgrade of Sybase to Version 11 and upgrade of Holos to 6.x.
| 1997 |
Stock Data Gatherer
The Stock Data Gatherer automatically downloads stock market information from
selected internet sites and formats the data for use in the NAIC Stock
Selection Guide.
Satellink Development Host
Installation and configuration of development support server for source code
management using CVS and development tools including Java and GNATS (bug
tracking software).
Network Server Installation and Administration
Install and configure multiple Linux based systems providing these services in
a multi-site corporate intranet environment:
Letter/FAX Web Interface
Web interface to the groff memorandum package. This provides the
capability to print short letters and memos, send FAX copies and maintain disk
copies.
Braille Membership System
Web based system for entering, updating and printing reports of membership
information for the Atlanta Braille Volunteers. Prints membership rosters and
mailling labels.
Alumax HPUX System Administration
Performed routine system administration including hardware and software
upgrades, user account maintenance, system backups, coordination with hardware
support personnel, and performance monitoring and tuning.
This HPUX system served as the financial consolidation and reporting system for
Alumax's world wide operation.
Member Registration and Access Control
Provides member login, account management and access control to the
Turner Affiliate Resources
web
site.
This project was done indirectly for Turner through the Melia Design Group.
JavaScript Credit Card Validation
For online identification of credit card vendor and validation of credit
card checksum.
JavaScript Page Load Control
Design and implementation of Multi-Frame page load synchronization mechanism in
JavaScript for Web-based shopping application.
| 1996 |
Web Front End to Time/Cost System
Designed and implemented a Web based front end to a project time/cost tracking
system for MileStone. This is a JavaScript enhanced frontend with client side
calculation of elapsed time and button-click increments of all time fields.
This supports remote access to the MileStone time and project billing system.
E-Commerce Development/Maintenance
Development and maintenance of an online grocery shopping application serving
multiple chains, each with several stores in various major metropolitan areas
of the US. This effort involved use of NSAPI, ONC/RPC, C and C++, and Sybase
Sequel server technologies in an HPUX environment. Responsibilities ranged from
system setup and performance tuning, source code version management,
implementation of middle tier software components, to design and implementation
of new features.
JavaScript Line Item Order Calculator
Design and implementation of JavaScript line item
ordering for Web-based shopping application. This implementation performed
client side error checking, product count limits and automatic updates of
extended costs.
Cable Head End Controller Software
Consulting on the Design, implementation and trouble shooting of a multi-node
Head-End Control Unit management system written in Java.
ONC/RPC Toolkit
ONC/RPC tool kit supporting allocation of RPC Program numbers
for distributed, concurrent applications.
Netscape NSAPI
Application
Developed a distributed ONC/RPC backend to Netscape NSAPI supporting an online
shopping application.
This produced a fault resistant architecture and allowed distribution across
multiple machines for improved load balancing and performance.
Email/Paging Problem Notification System
Email based system for notification of support personnel (via pager) of system
alerts and alarms.
Email supported automated detection and notification of troubles from various
system components of a nation-wide network.
This system supports repeat paging, automatic problem escalation to supervisory
personnel and email-based acknowledgement and control.
Shoppers Express Development Host
Installation, configuration, maintenance and customization of tools
for a major e-commerce development effort hosted on HPUX. This included:
| 1995 |
Constant Bitrate MPEG Server
Design of a UNIX-server based constant bit rate video server using a
multi-processing architecture and an ONC/RPC communication and
control mechanism.
The design was implemented in C++ and required
the development of a custom
SCSI interface driver
to transfer data to the MPEG decoders.
Multichannel SCSI Driver for MPEG Decoder
Design and implementation of a custom SCSI driver for
MPEG Video Decoder interface under IRIX.
This driver implemented the low-level interface to the multi-channel
MPEG decoder.
The driver supported multiple, independent I/O channels to each decoder
within a chassis and multiple chassis on a single SCSI bus.
Concurrent acces to single channels was controlled within the driver as well
as decoder feedback interpretation to support Adaptive Bit Rate services.
XPM Format Conversion
Developed a utility to convert a deprecated xpm graphics format to a format
usable by JYACC's JAM user interface development tools.
Video Server Architecture
Technical evaluation of server architectures for real-time video delivery.
Performed requirements analysis for a hierarchical network
of store and forward MPEG video servers and MPEG streaming servers.
Coordinated with vendors for qualification of server components for these
systems.
Provided technical analysis and recommendations of vendor options.
RBOC RFP Proposals
Technical support for RFP responses:
Provided technical responses to several Requests for Proposals issued
by major telecommunications and cable organizations for Video Servers.
RFP sources included Bell Atlantic and TCI.
| 1994 |
X3L3.1: ANSI Committee on Audio/Picture Coding
Acted as the
Digital Video
representative to the ANSI committee on Audio and Picture Coding.
Participation in this committee is a requirement to participate
as a National Delegate to the International Standards Organization (ISO).
MPEG: ISO Motion
Pictures Expert Group
(MPEG)
Acted as a US National Delegate to the International Standards Organization
with the support of
Digital Video.
Participated in the development of the ISO/MPEG standard addressing the
deliver of MPEG between a distribution system and a decoder system (DSM/CC).
Provided an informative annex on asynchronous operations using ONC/RPC.
NIS Installation
Installation of NIS(yellow pages) on a network of SGI and Sun
workstations for
Digital Video.
This included Operating System Patches, network configuration and
software installation.
| 1993 |
Predictive Dialer Resource Manager
The Resource Manager coordinated the activities of separate predictive
dialing resources, agent workstation management resources and
application call lists.
This involved the porting and encapsulation of existing legacy code for
call list management, and the design and implementation of new code to
manage communications and process allocation.
The legacy code was ported from MS-DOS to IBM/AIX and ONC/RPC was used
for inter-process communication between the Record Manager components and
with other components of the system.
| 1992 |
Real Time OS for Visual System
This led to the selection
of MicroWare OS/9
product hosted on Heurikon 68040 VME board sets.
Code was ported to this environment by two software engineers in
less than 6 weeks, and the new environment resulted in an
improved user interface and operational feature set of the product.
Evaluation and selection of commercial real time operating systems for
a second-generation, FAA Phase 2 certifiable flight simulator visual system.
Selection issues included porting effort from legacy systems, development
support for C and assembly, file system compatibility with MS-DOS and UNIX,
support for a wide variety of interface hardware, performance
and manufacturing cost.
Operating systems evaluated included PDOS, PSOS and OS/9.
| 1991 |
Flight Simulator Visual
System Weather Effects
Developed several custom weather effects for IVEX's flight simulator
visual systems. These effects include rain, fog, clouds and reduced
visibility, and custom time of day effects. Contributed to the design
and pilot implementation of a software based aircraft landing light effect.
Implemented a software aircraft beacon.
PDOS Ethernet Driver
Ethernet driver for
PDOS using the
Rockwell/CMC VME ethernet card.
This involved design and implementation of a low-level IEEE 802.3 driver and
custom interface software to connect the
IVEX
visual system to a CAE simulator.
The low level software implemented a stringently timed command-response
protocol to eliminate CSMA/CD collisions and reduce overall system latencies.
Low Update Rate Visual System Interface
Researched, designed and developed software for low-latency, extremely
low positional update rate interfaces for aircraft simulator visual systems.
This supported smooth visual operation with simulator update rates as
low as 5 Hz.
Control Processor Optimizations
Performance optimizations for control processor software in IVEX's
visual systems. This included:
C source level optimizations;
register allocation optimizations;
instruction cache and code loop optimizations;
and run-time compilation of bytecodes within an interface co-processor.
| 1990 |
Software Development Management
Established development priorities for
IVEX
software development group,
including bug fixes, staging new feature releases, and new product
development.
Coordinated development efforts with Marketing and Sales
requirements, meeting goals in-budget and on-time.
Development Team Staffing
Responsible for software staffing at
IVEX
including hiring and management of full-time and contract personnel,
beginning with a staff size of one (and three open positions),
and growing to staff of four full-time software engineers
and three consultants.
This included evaluating position openings, screening resumes,
phone screening of candidates, interviewing and salary negotiation.
System Administration Policies
Established and implemented backup procedures for
IVEX.
This included daily incrementals and weekly off-site rotation for a
development network supporting 20 hardware, software and database developers.
Established backup schedules and provided automated scripts for
system backup of the
Digital Video
development network.
Source Control and Configuration
Established an RCS based source control system for
IVEX,
including
documentation of procedure and training users.
Installed RCS, established guidelines and trained users on RCS at Melita.
Installed and provided initial development tree using RCS and CVS
for
Digital Video.
| 1989 |
Visual System Source Code Consolidation
Consolidation of several parallel source code streams for
the multi-processing Visual Display software at
IVEX.
This involved consolidating source trees for two cooperating
processors across two separate sets of hardware vendors.
This resulted in a single, configurable system that was marketed with
different feature sets across the product line.
Heterogenous Network Design and
Installation
Selection of major hardware and software components to support the growing
software development needs of IVEX.
Procurement and installation of networking components, servers, workstations
and software for software development and terrain database production.
Software Development Infrastructure
Installation of UNIX hosted software development environment supporting PC
clients.
This included design, justification and acquisition of equipment;
installation and setup; and consolidation of software tools.
Support was provided for cross-development
targeting
PDOS
and
MicroWare OS/9
as well as Motorola assembly and microcode assembly for
custom graphics engines.
Installation of software and development of procedures for internal development
and communication needs.
General services include email, system wide access and centralized backups.
Training of develpment staff in system use and development methodologies.
| 1988 |
Real Time OS Reimplementation
Re-write of a proprietary
cooperative multitasking operating system (MTOS) used in a
BNR
product.
MTOS runs on the Intel 8086 processor and supports applications written in
PL/M.
MTOS originally supported individual 64K Byte segments for
code and data and used ``near'' pointers for all data references.
The re-write centered on an upgrade to the hardware
supporting multiple segments
and required extensive changes to the internal data accesses and to
the PL/M interface.
MTOS was re-implemented in C, and then hand-optimized in assembly to eliminate
the performance loss associated with the memory model change.
Telecommunications Site Survey
Survey and analysis of tenants telecommunications needs in multi-tenant urban
office environment for the purpose of identification of new telecommunications
products.
| 1987 |
Software Development Project Management
Planned and tracked development of
BBL's
integrated Voice Messaging and Paging Terminal.
Consolidated Software Development schedule from various
group leaders, established interdependencies, established overall
development plan, and tracked project progress.
Re-allocated resources in response to changes during development.
Paging Terminal In Core Subscriber
DB
Software supporting protected, concurrent access to
an in-core subscriber database with fault resilience provided by
mirrored disk images.
Wrote MMU management software for use in the XINU operating
environment using custom hardware with Z8001 MMUs on each memory expansion
units. The MMUs controlled access to each bank of memory containing
paging terminal subscriber records. These records were periodically
flushed to disk alternating images for recovery after system failure.
This mechanism was designed to recover billing and subscriber information after
system failure and was tolerant of failures during the in-core writes
to disk.
XINU File System
Ported the XINU file system including the low level SCSI disk drivers.
The file system stored configuration and logging information and was
co-resident on disks with voice storage.
XINU TTY Drivers
Ported and debugged the XINU TTY drivers, including register
level Z8530 programming.
| 1986 |
XINU Z8000 Base Port
Assisted in the core port of XINU (acronym for XINU Is Not UNIX) to Z8000.
XINU is a text-book real
time operating system developed for network research.
It is highly portable, and is available in source code form.
The hardware platform consisted of proprietary processor board and bus
architecture interfacing to off-board memory units and shared memory
interface co-processors (Z80).
Paging Terminal RTOS Analysis
Evaluation of cooperative multi-tasking versus pre-emptive multi-tasking
for radio paging terminals.
This system analysis of a design requiring real-time Voice and
Paging applications and on-line access for system management, maintenance
and billing reports.
This was an internal effort that resulted in the use of a Real Time OS
in an integrated Voice Messaging and Paging product.
| 1985 |
Real Time Graphics RTOS Analysis
Technical evaluation of real time operating systems.
Study of the applicability of pre-emptive multi-tasking for
process control terminals. This included a survey of competitor products,
an analysis of internal requirements and a cost justification.
VT220 Terminal Emulation Development
Participated in the team development of a color VT220 emulation written
primarily in C. Provided optimized screen access routines, character cell and
downloadable font routines, and automated test software.
| 1984 |
Hardware Accelerated Line Rendering
Developed the software required using fast line draw hardware
in Intecolor's process control terminal to improve line and pattern rendering
operations .
This was implemented as a library of utilities written in Z80 assembly,
callable from C code.
Use of this library resulted in an order of magnitude improvement in
graphics performance for this product.
PC Interactive Graphics
Package
Co-designed and developed an interactive computer graphics package hosted
on the IBM PC. The intended audience was middle to junior high school
students and low end computer graphics applications.
This package supported multiple screen resolutions,
several graphics primitives, object grouping, printing and file I/O.
| 1983 |
Sub/Final Assembly Support
Company liaison to sub-assembly and final assembly vendors for
Chalk Board.
This included on-site supervision of screen printing of
matrix switch sub-assemblies, circuit board sub-assembly and final
product assembly.
Developed software utilities and fixtures for sub-assembly testing at
each facility.
Supervised the board stuffing and subassembly operations at the circuit board
sub-assembly facility.
Provided direct assistance for incoming and final QA at the screen
printing/final assembly facility.
Trade Show Representative
Product presentation at trade shows:
Presentation of product to potential vendors for
Chalk Board
at the Consumer Electronics Trade Show and at the annual Apple
Developers' Exposition.
Included product demonstrations and presentations.
PC Paintbrush Program
Co-designed and developed a simple interactive paint program for Chalk Board.
This product was hosted on Apple ][, Commodore 64 and Atari computers
and was intended for pre-school to elementary children.
I/O and Graphics Libraries
Design and development of platform specific low level graphics and input tablet
drivers, providing
consistent programming API across multiple platforms.
| Publishing |
Special Edition Using CGI,
ISBN: 0-7897-0740-3, Copyright 1996.
Acquisitions Editor: Cheryl D. Willoughby.
Special Edition Software Engineering with Turbo C++,
ISBN: 1-56529-837-3, Copyright 1995.
Acquisitions Editor: Lori Jordan.
Special Edition Using the Internet, First Edition,
ISBN: 1-56529-353-3, Copyright 1994.
Acquisitions Editor: Nancy Stephenson
This book won the 1995 Award of Achievement from the Society
for Technical Communication.
Solar Assisted Poultry Growout House Design,
by Kenneth M. Thompson, Wiley D. Holcomb and Michael S.
Smith.
Prepared for Solar Applications Branch, Tennessee Valley
Authority, January, 1983.
Co-authored as a part of my work as a Graduate Assistant with the
Georgia Tech Engineering Experiment Station.
| Education, Training and Teaching |
Planned and taught these courses in the Computer Science department:
Co-developed the C programming language seminar for Southern Tech's
Continuing Education Department.
| Client and Employer Information |
MileStone Solutions Inc. provides a complete range of computer systems analysis, design and development, including: custom software development and system implementation; modeling, simulation and system benchmarks; and system integration, testing, documentation and training.
Shopper's Express
3100 Medlock Bridge Road, Suite 110
Norcross, Georgia 30071
Shopper's Express provides shop-at-home grocery services
using telephone dial-in, internet access and interactive
TV interfaces.
Shopper's Express has been in business for several years as a
catalog/phone-in service in several major US markets.
Deployment of a Web-based interface is expected in 1Q96, with
an interactive TV interface to follow.
Alumax(bought by
Alcoa)
5655 Peachtree Parkway
Norcross, Georgia 30092-2812
Alumax is one of the world's largest producers of aluminum and aluminum products. Headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, this decentralized company, with over 14,000 employees is noted for close custmer relations and low-cost operations. In addition to aluminim, Alumax manufactures products of vinyl, steel and glass with downstream businesses that are well established in markets throughout the world.
Alumax headquarters houses the corporate network hub
and data processing center for all national and international divisions.
The central data facility is hosted on an HP/UX system using
Holos and Sybase.
Digital Video(Arris Interactive)
ANTEC Technology Center
5720 Peachtree Parkway, NW
Norcross, Georgia
Digital Video manufactures a line MPEG video servers and
head end equipment for the cable industry.
Digital Video started in late 1993 with the intention of
being a venture capital funded startup.
In early 1994, prior to beginning
operations, Digital Video was funded by ANTEC in conjunction with ANTEC's
acquisition of ESP (started by a co-founder of Digital Video).
ANTEC is a $500M per year revenue distributor, manufacturer
and integrator of cable equipment.
In early 1996, Digital Video was re-positioned as a joint venture
between ANTEC and Northern Telecom.
Digital Video has since been renamed Arris Interactive.
Melita International
Norcross, Georgia.
Melita is a privately held manufacturer of predictive dialers, agent
workstations and associated telephony equipment.
Melita's predictive dialer is used by collections and
telemarketing call centers to
dial phone numbers from call lists and connect answered calls to live
agents.
Melita's primary market is collections with recent product
enhancements increasing their presence in the inbound telemarketing
area.
IVEX Corporation
Norcross, Georgia 30093.
IVEX (Interactive Visual EXperience) originated as an
Advanced Technology Development Center
startup
developing advanced technology for computer games. The technology developed
was too expensive for consumer market applications, and was re-directed to
visual systems for flight similator, where the IVEX systems were extremely
cost-competitive.
The visual system market is mature and dominated by a few
well established vendors and IVEX has struggled to acquire market share.
Bell Northern Research/Nortel
Norcross, Georgia.
Bell Northern Research is the Research and Development subsidiary of Northern Telecom (Nortel) and is jointly owned by Nortel and Bell Canada. BNR operates several research facilities around the world including Canada, Europe and the U.S.
The Atlanta Lab is responsible for Transmission systems including Optical
Fiber transmissions and the DMS-1U (Urban) line concentrator product line.
BBL Industries (purchased by Glenayre)
Duluth, Georgia.
BBL was formed after FCC deregulation of the Telephone industry to design and market radio paging terminals. Paging terminals automate the previously manual operation of answering a phone and sending a radio transmission to a specific pager, as well as providing billing for the business operation. These systems advanced to include alpha-numeric pagers with ASCII and DTMF interfaces as well as voice pagers, voice insurance and voice mail systems.
After initial product introduction, BBL was funded and largely owned by
outside investors.
During the early years, BBL established itself as the
market leader for large systems (>> 100,000 subscribers), but later saw market
share lost to low-end vendors (10,000+ subscribers) as their systems scaled up
in capacity.
The last development project was strategic in nature, defending the low end
of the market,
and was successful enough to position BBL to be purchased by a
major competitor.
Intecolor Corporation
Norcross, Georgia.
Intecolor manufactures graphics and process control terminals for the industrial market.
Intecolor was founded by Charles Meunch and later merged with
Quadram to form Intelligent Systems.
Leyland Strange, the Quadram CEO, became the president
of Intelligent Systems.
After a period of disappointing performance as a
public company, Intelligent systems was re-organized as a master limited
partnership.
After a few years later, Intecolor was purchased by its employees
in a leveraged buyout.
Intecolor has since re-focused on the industrial market for process
control terminals and has returned to financial success.
Chalk Board, Inc.
Atlanta, Georgia.
Chalk Board was the first startup company supported by the Advanced Technology Development Center at Georgia Tech. Chalk Board was founded 1983 to deliver educational software and hardware to the home computer market. These products targeted the Pre-K to High School students and consisted of a touch sensitive input device (eliminating the need for a keyboard and with its associated motor and language skills) and associated software.
After growing from zero to over 4 million dollars in sales, Chalk Board filed
for bankruptcy and has since been liquidated.
The product and technology was
acquired by a former employee and remains in production targeting the handicap
market.
| Educational Institutions |
Georgia Institute of Technology (Ga Tech)
Atlanta, GeorgiaSouthern Polytechnic State University (Southern Tech) Marietta, Georgia.Founded in 1885 as the Georgia School of Technology, Georgia Tech provides one of the finest engineering educations available today. In the late 1970's Georgia Tech formed the School of Computing Sciences under the College of Arts and Sciences, beginning with a Master's program. This grew to include a Bachelor's and PhD program that now boasts a faculty of over 20 and an enrollment of over 200 students. Engineering Experiment Station (GTRI)
The Engineering Experiment Station is the research branch of Georgia Tech. The Experiment Station consists of several labs and provides research in military and non-military areas. The Applied Technology Lab focused on appropriate technologies including infrastructure programs for third world countries, solar energy, conservation and co-generation. Advanced Technology Development Center The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) was formed by the state of Georgia and Georgia Tech for the purpose of assisting high technology startups with the business aspects of operating and funding a company.
Southern Tech was founded in 1953 as a branch of Georgia Tech at the direction of the state of Georgia. It remained a part Georgia Tech as a college of Engineering Technology until the mid-80's when the state of Georgia made Southern Tech an independent 4-year college.
As a college of Engineering Technology, Southern Tech emphasizes the practical application of engineering theory. The curriculum in Electrical Engineering Technology requires in excess of 500 hours of lab work for a degree.
In the late 80's Southern Tech formed a School of Applied Computer Science, adding a Master's degree in the early 90's. Shortly afterwards, the name was changed to reflect the addition of Master level programs in several disciplines.