A Brief Message From The Founder

Forty years ago I was studying, among other things, diode logic, analog computers, and vacuum tubes – all of which were technically obsolete before I graduated!

Twenty years ago I was building boards in San Jose, California, writing articles about S100 buss computers for “Printed Circuit Fabrication”, and creating my own software for programming and drilling boards on DAC drills.

Approximately 10 years ago I sold my shop and founded California Software Systems to provide “Computer Systems For Manufacturing Printed Circuit Boards”. “Clones” were taking over the market previously dominated by IBM and Apple. A 16 Mhz “AT” was a fast computer and cost about $3,000.00. DOS 3.0 had just been released and Novell was about the only choice for networks.

Five years ago local area networks were the rage. The World Wide Web was starting to take off and Microsoft was releasing updates faster than you could learn the one you just bought. Today Windows is king, networks are everywhere, CPU speeds are moving into the gigahertz range, and computers cost $500.00.

So – what’s new? Everything and nothing, simultaneously. Technology continues to bring innovation at a rate that exceeds our ability to comprehend and is impossible for any one individual to master. Babies are born, people die, and in between our careers streak by like an endless roller coaster.

Why this babble on a web page for a high tech, niche market, software company? It is here because I think I have lived long enough to have gained some perspective on our industry. I feel I know what it takes to be successful manufacturing printed circuit boards. I do my best every day to assure that the products we sell, and services we provide, contribute value to your business far beyond the hard earned dollars you pay to us in return. To be successful you must consistently deliver a high quality board, on time, at a competitive price. For us to be successful we have to help you do it.

Our fundamental business is connecting computers to printed circuit board drills and routers and then networking the computers to your CAM department. We make both the operator and the machine more efficient. In fact, the installation of our Drill Room Network will probably do more to increase the productivity of your drilling and fabrication departments than any other single investment you can make.

California Software Systems now has products which cover the complete field from a single computer driving one drill to hundreds of machines connected via a high-speed network and the internet to remote file servers. We pride ourselves on the fact that our Graphical Drill/Route Systems do the job better than anything else you can buy. Our products are stable, reliable, and flexible which means you can make money using them. Unlike our competition, we never charge for technical support via voice, fax, e-mail, or the web. If you are not happy with any product we will do what ever we have to satisfy you. This includes refunding your full purchase price.

Our products are excellent, we support what we sell, and we are good, honest people. We have never had a customer request a refund. In fact, to the best of our knowledge, we don’t have any unhappy customers. Our competition cannot truthfully make the same statement.

California Software Systems develops and sells standard software products. We are not a consulting firm. However we recognize that every installation is a little different. Therefore, we are happy to customize our standard products to make them do exactly what you want – the way you want it done.

When you’re ready to make a significant improvement in your drilling and fabrication operations contact us. We can bring a computer, connect it to your machine, and demonstrate what we do.

Russell W. Walton