History of Software 2-20-24

The history of software in the US began in the 1970s when Electronics Engineers programmed the first programmable logic controller hardware components. This led to writing code and placing it on chips to instruct the other components on circuit boards. This led to reorganizing code to be “object oriented” in the 1990s as chips developed to become smaller, cheaper and faster. The advances in memory chips allowed enough power to PCs to introduce internet access for PC users.

Ethernet development allowed data entered on PCs to be shared with mainframe computers. Microsoft had developed MS Dos as its software product. Apple was developing mouse-driven features. IBM PCs became the standard and other PC developers like Dell were competing with IBM. Microsoft developed a browser to allow information to be posted on the internet and begin to make libraries obsolete. Intel was the primary supplier of chips in PCs.

Eventually, Google became the preferred browser. Servers became the hardware that stored internet content.

I was kidnapped to start my consulting practice by the company CEOs I served with at the HR Chair on the American Electronics Association Board in Atlanta. They said: “Go on your own and we’ll keep you busy. I started with a 2 year backlog. I was well known in Atlanta Electronics Company circles having founded the Metro Atlanta Personnel Association in 1983 and leading the Personnel Function at Hayes and EMS. I wrote articles for Computer Currents.

When I started NTL Consulting in 1993, I bought a Gateway PC and worked in my home office. I did not incorporate and chose to file my taxes as a “sole proprietor”. I did my own taxes and quarterly tax filings. I had no employees. I established a Vanguard 500 account to defer income. I had no overhead expense, so my billing rate was far cheaper than my competitors. I billed out between 60 to 80 hours per week.

I made no sales calls and all customers were referred by my current customers. I received calls from potential customers and met with them to receive my confidentiality agreement and sign my consulting agreement.

I used discs to store my work and delivered discs to customers. I did a lot of policy writing and engineer recruiting where I wrote postings, placed ads, received resumes, screened candidates and held interviews on customer sites. I was available to customers 24-7.

The move to the internet was a game changer.  I chose Mind-spring as my Internet provider in 1995. It allowed me to receive and send emails and attachments to my customers. I used an external hard drive to store my customer data. I moved to posting ads on Monster and later on Indeed. Applicants would email resumes, I would screen in the best resumes and email the resumes to hiring managers and together select candidates to interview. I would schedule the interviews and meet the candidates on customer sites. It was fast, efficient, effective and easy on the candidates.

I used my corporate career to learn what I needed to know to operate my own consulting practice. I was always a “Project Manager” working inside companies to learn the basics, understand current conditions, avoid unionization, automate their processes, increase productivity, hire the best employees, develop employees, develop policy, work on acquisition teams, comply with regulatory requirements, manage benefit plans, manage compensation, apply current technologies and solve operating problems.

My wife and I paid off our house at age 60. We took Social Security at age 66. We were able to gradually reduce our earned income. I had planned to retire at age 74 and spent my last year training current customer staff to do what I had been doing.

Now applying for a job on a company website is a nightmare for applicants. Large Companies went offshore and global and became Woke and toxic. Good managers have quit their jobs in these companies. We are grateful to have had our careers from 1965 to 2017 when the US economy was allowed to thrive.  We are concerned that our grandchildren and great grandchildren might struggle if our economy fails to regain its footing. We need Trump to win in 2024.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader