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September 7, 1999: The Columbus Dispatch runs the complete Newspaper facility from platemaking to the Bundle Distribution System using a Year 2000 dateline of January 3, 2000.
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September 4, 1999: Web Site Design for a legal firm specializing in Corporate, Securities, Commercial, and Business Law. Look for it at http://www.michellekain.com.
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August 26, 1999: Ink Jet Installation completed at the The Washington Post Springfield plant. A picture of an actual generated label shows the product code, tyeline name, and bundle size. Twelve press lines, six manual insert lines, and the key bundle line will all be able to uniquely identify the bundles produced. No additional operator commands were required to add this functionality.
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August 23-24, 1999: Year 2000 modifications that were previously installed at The Columbus Dispatch were formally tested during daytime production runs.
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June 28, 1999: House call at The Toronto Sun corrected problems with the reception and processing of truck manifest data. Trucks could be re-checked in and receive their original allotment of bundles again. Some changes did not get properly reflected in the product totals for the run. These problems had been present since the system was originally installed, a decade ago!
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June 22, 1999: Custom DB-15 patch connector constructed by Lakes Electronics of Lauderhill, FL will allow a "kinder, gentler" interface from the Bundle Distribution System being modified by Warren Systems, Inc. to the Quipp Bottom Wrap devices that are connected to the Matthews DOD 2002+ Ink Jet Controllers at The Washington Post Springfield Newspaper production facility. The patch connector is for the 20 ma signal that was converted from RS-422 supplied by the Emulex P-8000 terminal servers. The actuator signal from the Quipp equipment is combined with the Bundle Identification data signals generated from the modifications performed to the system. Instead of modifying the actuator connector itself, this patch connector will allow for a quick disconnect should any issues arise at the plant.
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June 3, 1999: Year 2000 modifications performed at The Toronto Sun of Ontario, Canada. Their FORTRAN IDAB Bundle Distribution System, running on DEC MicroVAX 3400 computers was modified and tested to ensure that the original, and custom in-house procedures will provide smooth operation in the future.
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May 10, 1999: House call at The Washington Post to assist in the chain replacement for one loop in their Dual-loop Bundle Distribution System at the Springfield, VA facility.
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May 5, 1999: Repairs, Modifications and Enhancements at The Columbus Dispatch fixed deficiencies previously identified in this Fortran Bundle Distribution System. The Product Balance Displays were made to operate when exactly 19 or 20 products are defined. A new command allows the Tray Control Operator to Assign Multiple Loaders to a single Product code resulting in a tremendous time-savings, and eliminating redundant keystrokes. The Device Position Modification script was made less confusing, double-bundle assumptions when unidentified product is detected, and minimizing the number of bundles that drop into the Tray Loop when stops occur were all successfully integrated into the MicroVAX 3100 computer system.
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May 3, 1999: Year 2000 modifications performed at The Columbus Dispatch of Ohio. Code was found that took the four-digit ASCII time value, then stripped off the leading two digits, and re-inserted a "19" in place of the actual century existed. This was fixed along with other scripts and programs that would have ceased to function come the end of the year.
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April 30, 1999: Year 2000 contract awarded by The Toronto Sun of Ontario, Canada. A sister system to the The Columbus Dispatch of Ohio (see below). This Newspaper Distribution System would not have worked as soon as an operator entered a two-digit year that was less than 89!
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April 9, 1999: Year 2000 contract awarded by The Columbus Dispatch of Ohio. Their redundant computer system distributes bundles to awaiting trucks via "roller coasters with ejector seats". This process control system utilizes Opto22 data acquisition hardware and Digital Equipment Corporation minicomputers. Our modifications will allow their system to remain intact without any external interfaces changing!
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April 5, 1999: Device position modification script provided for the Riverfront Plant of The Detroit Newspaper Agency allows permanent modifications when adjustments are required to their IDAB Distribution System.
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March 30, 1999: Installation completed for The Washington Post Springfield Expansion project to allow the waiting trucks to be called over an AM radio system integrated with the control system computers. Using an Accu-Talk® text-to-speech device developed by TechEn, Incorporated, the VAX computer system will direct the truck driver to a waiting dock. For more information, click here.
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February 22, 1999: House call at the Riverfront Plant of The Detroit Newspaper Agency was made to assist in a tray removal for their IDAB Distribution System.
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January 28, 1999: Year 2000 modifications installed on the Newspaper Distribution System at The Washington Post. These computer systems consist of Digital Equipment Corporation MicroVAX 3100 Model 80 computers running VMS version 6.2 coupled with the Oracle Data base for parameter definitions and logging. Interfaces with external mainframe systems for manifest generation were also made compliant. Windows NT interfaces via a Wonderware MMI also made compliant. Allen-Bradley PLC interfaces to the palletizers and conveyor systems were also tested. Emulex P8000 Terminal servers serve as distribution points to the I/O, touch screens, and user monitors located at the Springfield Plant. Critical dates such as 9/9/99, and the leap year considerations of next year, all were tested thoroughly.
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January 11, 1999: Year 2000 modifications installed on the Newspaper Distribution and Automated Guided Vehicle Systems at The Star-Tribune of Minneapolis. These computer systems consist of Digital Equipment Corporation MicroVAX computers running VMS version 4.6 coupled with the Oracle Data base for parameter definitions and logging. Interfaces with external IBM systems for manifest generation were also made compliant. Utilizing pivot years for all user interfaces removed the need for the computer operator procedures to be modified. The Fortran and C code will now be fully functional well into the next millennium!
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