Our Information Systems department licenses the perfect compliment of hardware and software to provide state-of-the-art systems and automation. This capability increases our ability to furnish our customers with timely, accurate deliveries, six days a week. Most orders are delivered the next day!
The next time you hear the song, "Old MacDonald had a farm", remember us!
Our computers put the I/O, in EI E I O, on ole' Balford's Farm!
Some BITS about our systems and ourselves:
- Mainframe: IBM 9221-150 with SMC RAID DASD, IBM 3490 tape, and
STC 5000 printer.
- Mainframe: IBM 4361-5. On August 15, 1996, our beloved 4361 was sold off for scrap. We hated to
do it, but he had a good life and served us well. His gold chips will be
melted down, and his steel and aluminum frame shipped to China to be recycled.
Think of him next time you reach for the Reynolds Wrap!
In November 2004 a most exciting conversion was made from IBM 9336 DASD to an EMC RAID system. Along with the tenfold increase in speed, our CIO can now go on vacation without worrying everytime his cell phone rings. - Mainframes operating under VSE/ESA 1.4.4 with SPRI 3.8 spooler.
- Other major mainframe software: CICS, pcMainframe, Bim-Edit, Easytrieve (licensed in the Pansophic days, since we would never willingly become a CA customer), ConMan Console Manager, SyncSort, PLF, Mackinney untilities.
- Virtually all mainframe applications, including order/entry, invoicing, inventory control, direct mail, payroll and general ledgers, are designed and maintained in-house. Prior to 1990 all applications were written in Assembler. Since then, most new applications are written using Easytrieve Plus.
- Micro computers: various IBM PC compatibles.
- Micros operating under Win2k Professional and WinXP.
- Micro Servers: LINUX replaced NT in February of 2000, as our LAN operating system. We thank you Linus Torvalds, it's awesome! Unfortunately, we had to install a Win2k Server with HIS for SNA access in January of 2001 and run a winXP server for Handheld computers.
- Handheld computers (Route Sales & Accounting): Intermec Systems (Currently in developement).
The Balford Farms Wizards.
- Wayne E. Baldwin; Chief Information Officer, Alpha Geek, Applications Programmer, Systems Programmer, Systems Integrator, WebMaster… and everything in between. Likes; railroads, industrial history, in-line skating, firearms, Harley Davidson, Harley Davidson, computers (of course) and Harley Davidson.
- Dawn Rodgers; Senior Operator, Applications Programmer and Data-Entry. Likes money and cooking (hehe), fairy's (the imaginery kind), and her little girl, Jessica. Used to like cats (the kitty-cat kind), but they weren't compatible with Little Jessie so she put them out (mean ole Dawnie, I'll bet Jessie would like a little kitty-cat to play with).
- Carol Root, Operator and Data-Entry. Likes; video games and videos, Monopoly game collectables. Not as mean as Dawn, she still has her kitty-cats.
- Robert R. Boerner, Part-time Consultant, Applications Programmer and President of AstroComp (a private software processing company). Likes; ...we won't say.
Complete Data Processing Services:
We are skilled in both Mainframe and Micro computers and can fulfill virtually any of your processing needs, either directly or through the services of proven associates. Our capabilities include:
- Mainframe to PC (and visa versa) data transfer.
- Creation of PDF files, from mainframe or PC sysout files.
- Mainframe time sharing.
- Direct mail processing.
- ZIP+4 and Carrier Route addressing.
R.B.O.E.:
R.B.O.E. (pronounced ROBO, as in robotics) - Remote Balford Order Entry is a program which once installed, enables our clients to transmit orders directly to our mainframe computer using the internet! RBOE transfers complete control of the order/entry process to the customer. Phone calls at inopportune time are GONE. Keying errors are virtually eliminated. Orders can be transmitted around the clock. RBOE keeps you abreast of new products by downloading copies of our product database. You can even print the product database, so you'll always have a current ordering guide. RBOE facilitates product selections by allowing you to build a Standard Order profile of the items you regularly buy, or to repeat previous deliveries, altogether. Click Here for Screen-Shot (142kb).
RBOE is now available to our general customer base. If you have a Personal Computer and would like to place your orders electronically, use the EMail link below to send a request to us. Be sure to include your account number, contact name, and telephone number.Your E-Mail and RBOE comments are welcome here: wayne@balford.comNote: You must be running Windows 9x or higher and have an existing internet connection. RBOE performs Telnet 3270 communications on special ports. If your internet access is VIA a corporate LAN and/or you have firewalls limiting your access ports, you may not be able to use RBOE. Please speak with your LAN, Network or Firewall administrator and/or have them contact us first.
To use RBOE, we request that you order regularly, and maintain weekly purchases of $200 or more. Keep in mind that installations are extremely limited to our staff availability. We only do 1 or 2 installations per week so there may be a tremendous backlog of requests. However, if you are comfortable behind your computer keyboard we may be able to expedite putting you on line by mailing you an installation disk.