http://peripheralexchange.com/aboutus/aboutus2.htm Detailed History Of ISC / Intecolor In 1973, Mr. Charles A. Muench formed a new company called Intelligent Systems Corporation (ISC). The ISC "basement team" designed a new color terminal product and began light product manufacturing in a prominent northeastern Atlanta neighborhood in the Riverview subdivision in Duluth, Georgia. The initial goal was to design an "intelligent" and affordable "color" cathode ray tube (CRT) terminal. Until this time, most computer terminals were "dumb" (text only) and only monochrome (black and white, green, or amber). ISC's new design was a breakthrough in terminal design since it offered an 8-color display with character graphics capability. The product was based on Intel Corporation's newest microprocessor product releases. At this point in time, Intel Corporation itself was not not much more out of the garage as a company than ISC. Although the Intel 4004 and 8008 products looked promising, ISC ultimately focused on the 8080 8-bit microprocessor from Intel. The Intel 8080 microprocessor married with additional integrated circuit chips from Texas Instruments (TI) made it possible to create the product. TI manufactured a support set of IC's such as the TMS5501 (multi-function I/O), TMS8224 (Clock/Divider), TMS8828 (Bus Controller), and TMS1702/2708/2716 family of Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory(s) (EPROMs). Once this collimation of IC products became generally available, it was the birth of many products with intelligence well beyond a simple four function calculator design. As the demand expanded and licensing to other chip manufacturers began, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), National Semiconductor (NS), and a few others began cloning the TI chip designs. ISC's first product design used the Intel 8080 processor operating at slightly under 2Mhz along with 8KB of dynamic RAM for use as screen display memory, and about 1-3KB of operating system ROM. The unique design of ISC's "custom" display generator coupled with the Intel and TI chipsets was all that was needed to bring a new product to market. The ISC display generator used the latest IC technology with customized fuse-link ni-chrome devices. Essentially, this display generator used "lattice logic" to create text, color, and graphics. The "Compucolor 1" was the first intelligent color terminal product based on the 8080 microcomputer architecture. This product evolved rapidly and later was re-branded the name "Intecolor". The product name was derived from the founder's notion for the contracted words "Intelligent" and "Color" to come up with "Inte" and "color", or simply "Intecolor". On a parallel path, a consumer home computer product known as the Compucolor II was created by the same design team, and operated as an independent company called Compucolor Corporation. The Compucolor II was positioned as one of the early full featured home computer products selling in the $1,395 to $1,795 range. This product was considered to be the standard in home computing products years before Apple or IBM PC-based products. However, the history depicted here is not concentrated on the Compucolor II, but on the Intecolor brand of products. Why Develop Such A Product? The primary purpose for developing such a product was to fill a rising need from within the petrochemical, paper, electrical, and process control industry. The Intecolor terminal was the first of it's type in a market which was otherwise based on monochrome terminals with either no graphics or limited graphics ability. The Original 8001 Series In 1977, ISC's manufacturing operations relocated to a small warehouse and office space located at 5965A Peachtree Corners East in Norcross, Georgia. The first commercially available terminal product was the 8001 Series. Based on an RCA 19-inch delta-gun cathode ray tube (CRT) design, thousands of these terminals were sold. As newer CRT designs became available, the 8001 used a pre-converged in-line (PIL) CRT designs from Hitachi, Mitsubishi, and Panasonic. This product series lasted for 20 years. F8001G Industrial Terminal. The 8050/8060 Series In 1978, additional options were designed to extend terminal operations into one of the first standalone microcomputers. Operating systems incorporated within the product had included the BASIC language (in EPROM) which was based on Microsoft BASIC (at the time). Options for floppy disk drives (made by Wangco, Shugart, or Seimens), light pens (ICC), printer drivers (Centronics, Daisywriter, Okidata, Qume, Printronix), programming languages (BASIC, 8080 ASM, FORTRAN IV), and developer tools were added to the product line. During this time, there were fewer than three companies manufacturing color microcomputer based products with a robust peripheral offering. The 8050 Series was a self-contained microcomputer system having a proprietary file control system known as FCS. It was a precursor to today's DOS based systems. The 8060 Series was also a self-contained microcomputer system but designed on the CP/M operating system licensed from Digital Research Corporation which was founded by Gary Alan Kildall. Both the 8050 and 8060 Series products filled a niche until about 1988, at which point newer PC competitive products became the new platform of choice. More Manufacturing Space Required By 1979, sales of Intecolor terminal and microcomputer products had increased dramatically. With an immediate need for more manufacturing floor space, the sales and manufacturing portion of the company relocated to 225 Technology Park/Atlanta in Norcross, Georgia. The engineering, inventory, and board level manufacturing portions of the company remained in Peachtree Corners East until late 1987. As a side note: Technology Park/Atlanta was "the" place to have facilities since the office park was comprised of the "who's who" of high tech companies of that time. It was often termed as "Silicon Hill" (Georgia), patterned after Silicon Gulch (Texas), and Silicon Valley (California). Initial Public Offering (IPO) ... Going Public! By late 1980, Intelligent Systems Corporation prepared an initial public offering (IPO), and successfully went public on the NASDAQ market creating the necessary capital to expand sales and manufacturing. At this point in time, practically all industrial control integrators, were purchasing ISC terminals for their control systems. In the early 1980's, ISC created a Master Limited Partnership (MLP) for favorable corporate income tax purposes and acquired additional hardware and software products from other companies. The overall company effectively became known as "Intecolor an Intelligent Systems Company". The product name Intecolor became the new corporate name for this operating division of ISC. Other companies owned were Quadram Corporation, Princeton Graphics Systems, Peachtree Software, Datavue Corporation, and a few other less notable start-up companies. By 1981, the world was looking forward to the debut of IBM's "PC" architecture. At this point , the proprietary design of the 8001 terminal seemed to be in jeopardy, but PC or not, it remained in production until 1993. Cloning the Data And Graphics Terminal Markets In the 1982-1985 timeframe, Intecolor began manufacturing color terminal products to address the data management and scientific graphics markets hugely dominated by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) and Tektronix Corporation. Most notable were the Intecolor "ColorTrend" and Advanced Graphics Systems (AGS) terminal series. ColorTrend Series Models designed to compete for the DEC data terminal segment. The ColorTrend series targeted the DEC customer base since it was VT52/100/220 compatible. The AGS Series targeted the Tektronix customer base since it was 4010/4014/4105A compatible. The ColorTrend Series was moderately successful in the markets served by Northern Telecom and Baxter Health Care. Other customers also used the product since DEC had yet to release a color terminal product till the late 1980's. The same cannot be said for the AGS Series, since this market had many other competitive products from other vendors. It could be best described as low volume to a "write-off". Another later design based on "X" technology was designed, but failed due to competitive pressure from other vendors. By this time, Intecolor could not "pull another rabbit out of the hat" in custom terminal design. Time To Sell Off The Assets By 1986, Intelligent Systems Corporation MLP, realized that there was more profit to be made by selling individual business units since the stock price had peaked. Essentially, the marketable inventory, trademark, and patent rights, were sold to create profits. Individually, and in fairly rapid order, Quadram Corporation was sold to National Semiconductor. Princeton Graphics Systems was sold to Worldwide Technologies. Datavue Corporation was sold to a private entity. Peachtree Software was sold back to it's management/employee group (which is now owned by Sage Software). Intecolor Corporation was purchased by it's management/employee group with the help from it's founder. Intecolor, again reverted back to a privately held company owned by it's management team, employees (as 401K holders), and outside venture capitalists. New Manufacturing Location Needed Intecolor was paying for prime corporate office space along with remote warehouse spaces, which led to daily transportation of manufacturing goods from one location to another. Although, assembly operations at the Peachtree Corners East location were only a few miles away from the Technology Park/Atlanta corporate office, it became clear that the daily company truck routine was outgrowing itself. A centralized space was needed badly, and at an overall lower cost per square foot. By 1988, Intecolor decided to relocate to a new facility in the Gwinnett Forest complex at 2150 Boggs Road, Building 100, in Duluth, Georgia. This new 60,000 square foot facility allowed all operations under one roof. This new location was about 8 miles north of Norcross, Georgia and became the all-in-one facility for manufacturing, engineering, marketing, and sales. Since the distance daily business. MegaTrend Monitors Monitor products addressing generic PC markets and custom monitors for OEM applications continued to evolve rapidly in the mid 1980's. Market conditions showed that large format color monitors were needed for the PC marketplace. The MegaTrend product line began it's humble beginnings as one of the first 19-inch CGA/EGA monitors available in the PC marketplace. So the "Mega" meaning big, and "Trend" meaning the trend towards larger displays, led to the product line name. As PC video standards evolved, many versions of the product line were manufactured to address standard video interfaces as well as custom "proprietary" interfaces. The MegaTrend was produced from 1985 till 1991. By this time, many OEM companies had settled on their own specific graphics generator and many other monitor manufacturers entered the marketplace. As time passed, many monitor designs were designed but not related to the MegaTrend Series. Future monitor designs took on a product nomenclature such as E01954-20x, or E20Hxxxxx. See Archived Monitors. New Terminal Product Offerings The original 8001 terminal series was showing it's age which led to the development and manufacture of the 8800 and 3800 series product lines. The 8001 product line utilized three independent logic boards to achieve a working product. Given advances in technology, the 8800 and 3800 series product lines were designed to have one logic board rather than three. Another major factor was an emphasis on customized enclosures and harsh environment designs. This added additional life to the specialized terminal market. The 8800 Series proved to be successful as the upgrade path from the 8001 series as well as the smaller 3800 series. Both the 3800 and 8800 series terminal product lines flourished until late 1993. What Happened To Intelligent Systems Corporation (ISC) MLP? After the sell-off of most of it's divisions, Intelligent Systems MLP evolved into a high-tech incubator company helping high technology start-up companies develop products or services. ISC still exists today but has no corporate or financial relationship to Intecolor. Visit www.intelsys.com to learn more about the modern day workings of ISC. 8001 Intecolor Terminal Emulation Software In 1991, Intecolor began offering a terminal emulation software product bundled with an industrial PC workstation product to address the terminal replacement market. However, the combined cost of emulation software and the PC workstation product was significantly more in cost than the terminal product. At this point in time, terminals were still being manufactured, and the emulation software could not generate the equivalent gross revenue, so the emulation solution remained in the background. Leaping forward to 2001 till today, the Intecolor terminal emulation software (ITE8001) is marketed as a software only product and also bundled with a variety of low cost, highly reliable industrialized PC based computers. Terminals Destined For Obsolesce By 1992, Intecolor partnered with several OEM companies to build custom color monitor products and rack mount computer products. A PC-based "workstation" product line referred to the "WS" series was created as a combination of an Intecolor monitor with PC compatible hardware. At the same time, custom color monitor products were being made for Allen-Bradley, Honeywell, Westinghouse, and Bailey Controls (now ABB). The classic product lines including the 8001, 8800, 3800, ColorTrend, AGS, and numerous other terminal models were rapidly discontinued due to accelerating product obsolescence. By mid 1993, these product lines were no longer in production. Custom engineering of PC based computers and further broadening of color monitor designs became Intecolor's new product line direction. Peripheral Exchange Provides Intecolor Product Services In July 1993, the classic Intecolor product line had come to an end. The major thrust had become primarily based on color monitor technology (CRT based), along with industrialized PC-based products, and the beginnings of TFT LCD flat panel display product offerings. Intecolor was positioning itself to manufacture newer product designs to stay ahead of a growing number of competitors. As a result, support for the classic product lines was left behind and became non-existent at best. Peripheral Exchange, (PE) was formed at this time as a service company to continue the service and support of Intecolor classic products for OEM's and the end-user customer base. Rockwell Automation Buys Intecolor For Cash In May 1996, Rockwell Automation completed a total cash buyout of Intecolor Corporation for an undisclosed amount, but was rumored to be about $27 million dollars. Upon this acquisition, Intecolor became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rockwell Automation and took on the name "Intecolor/Rockwell Automation". Rockwell Automation needed a small company like Intecolor, to fulfill their need for color CRT monitors, TFT LCD flat panel displays, and industrialized PC products for their Allen-Bradley division. As part of the purchasing arrangement, the top Intecolor management agreed to stay intact for a specified term (around 4 years) to keep the new acquisition running smoothly. Meanwhile, Rockwell management bolstered it's management team presence within the Intecolor offices in Duluth, Georgia. By 2001 (or slightly earlier), the entire original Intecolor management team had been retired or replaced. Changes in Business Activity By 1998, Intecolor/Rockwell Automation had discontinued repair and support services on the classic terminal product lines. Repair and support services continued on color monitor products, PC based workstations, and flat-panel monitors. By Fall 2000, Intecolor/Rockwell Automation had ceased production of CRT-based monitors altogether. A stockpile of CRT monitors were built and warehoused as the last production run took place. All efforts were placed on industrialized color TFT LCD flat panel display systems. The ever decreasing cost of flat panel technology and market research showed that flat panel products were the new display technology of choice. The sales of CRT-based products were on a steep decline. Say Goodbye to Intecolor as a Name Brand By 2001, Rockwell Automation decided to dismantle and cease the use of the Intecolor brand product and product name. Effectively the name Intecolor would disappear from the marketplace. The Intecolor flat panel products would continue to be manufactured and sold under the Allen-Bradley name and marketed through AB distribution channels. On September 25, 2001, the Intecolor corporate web site described Rockwell's management decision to close facilities in Duluth, Georgia, and encouraged customers to contact Allen-Bradley's new support facilities. Over 200 Intecolor employees, (many having 15 to 25 years experience), lost their jobs as part of the shut down process. For all practical purposes, the support of the original Intecolor product ceased to exist as did the wealth of technical knowledge. Although, the AB site offers support for "all" Intecolor products, it is strongly advised to contact Peripheral Exchange for product support. The Intecolor/Rockwell Automation operations in Duluth, Georgia closed it's operations in October 2001. A needle roller bearing manufacturer now occupies this location. Who Services Intecolor Terminal Products Today? Peripheral Exchange (PE) acquired the inventory of several Intecolor service centers throughout the 1990's. In addition, a significant amount of Intecolor/Rockwell Automation's inventory was purchased prior to the Duluth Georgia factory closing in 2001. By specializing primarily on Intecolor brand repairs and refurbishments, many other multi-line service providers use our company on a subcontractor basis. We are dedicated to provide service and support of Intecolor products as a service arm to former OEM's and the end-user customer base.