Helios Communications Technologies
Founded in 1927 by Randolf Alexander Helios. Helios Communications Technologies was originally called Helios Radios. During the 1930's and 1940's 4 out of 5 households owned a radio manufactured by Helios. When the build up for World War II began, Helios was chosen by the US government as a contractor to produce the field radios. After the war ended Helios radios changed their name to Helios Communications Technologies, to reflect the fact they they were no longer just manufacturing radios for households to listen to, but telephones, broadcasting equipment, and television equipment.
Helios released the very first cellular phone in 1965, the Ranger Mk. 1, for US military communications use. The Ranger Mk. 1 while housed in a backpack, proved to be very popular with the military due to the fact that the soldiers could use it to call home while in the field, and when needed to call secure lines, as the Ranger phones were able to use the the signal encryption that the US military used. These phones gradually replaced all other US Military communication radios, both in the field, in military vehicles/watercraft, and command centers on US military bases, on board naval vessels and on bases the Ranger Mk. 1 were built into a special console that eliminated the portability of the phone, larger naval vessels also received Ranger Mk 1.5 phones (also built into a console) for the crews personal use for calling home to family while deployed at sea. The Ranger Mk. 2 released in 1980 cut the size of the phone in half. From the Mk. 2 model Helios released a civilian version the Eagle. Initially the Eagle was used by those who ran companies, financial moguls and brokers, Helios seen the need to release a more consumer obtainable model, which they did with the Pilot, a cellular phone that while it cost $200 without any service when initially released, Helios did offer great rebates, in some cases up to 80% off the retail price, for those who purchased it, they also went with including a free years worth of service with selected cellular providers that Helios partnered with. Currently 1 in 3 cell phones are a Helios smart phone using the Helios Sunfire OS, and 1 out of 3 smart phones by other manufacturers use the Sunfire OS. The Helios Sunfire OS has proven to be an very popular OS for smart phones. It is both efficient and easy for the user to use, phones with the Sunfire OS also have on average a better battery life, typically a talk time of up 68 hours to 72 hours longer then other cell phones, and 480 hours (20 days) of stand by time.
Helios also was one of the leaders in the pda/multi-media phone/smart phone field along with computer networking, both wired and wireless. Helios modems, routers, and network servers sales soon surpassed even those of Castle Pharmaceuticals, which lead to a partnership between Castle Pharmaceuticals communications division and Helios, with Helios as the majority partner. Through the partnership Helios manufactured select communications equipment, primarily limited to computer networking equipment, and the Castle Pharmaceuticals Axiom cell phone, for Castle Pharmaceuticals to sell under their own branding.
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During the early 1990's Helios released the Helios Satellite Communications System (SCS), which has since been adopted by 80% of the worlds broadcasting networks. The Helios SCS consists of the Helios 1 Communications Array. The Helios 1 unlike other Broadcasting arrays of the time was a fraction of the size, the dish was about 6ft wide, and attached to a base station of approx the same height. The Helios 1 was designed to be upgradeable with any new technologies that would come out in the next 30 to 40 years. In fact Helios 1 SCS were broadcasting the first true digital signal back in 1996, 8 years before any other broadcasting communication system was. Helios soon released the Helios 2 SCS a smaller man portable version primarily for use by news teams in the field, that was able to broadcast its signal out to a 1000 mile radius without having to broadcast to a satellite orbiting in space. Helios also released the Helios 3 a higher powered version of the Helios 2, that was able to broadcast up to a 10,000 mile radius, again without having to broadcast to an orbiting satellite, further if it was broadcasting to repeater stations. It isn't uncommon for a news team to carry two Helios 2/3 units, one mounted on their vehicle and one that they will set up on location for those times where its not feasible to have the vehicle right there on site. The Helios 3 SCS also found favor on various marine vessels due to the range it could broadcast, because of this Helios released the Helios 3 Marine Communications System (MCS) version of the Helios 3 SCS, with refitted the Helios 3 with more durable weathering seals, slightly higher power, the Helios 3 MCS could transmit out to a 15,000 mile radius, and also the Helios 3 MCS has a built in emergency life support system that transmits the MCS's location in case of an emergency to search and rescue teams, that consists of an inflatable life boat for up to 15 people, and a weeks worth survival bars, a high calorie, high protien energy bar and a small water distillation/desalination plant that can process 2 gallons of water a day for 4 weeks, in addition to the standard first aid kit, flare, survival blankets, etc...
Bulls-Eye Burger (Bullseye Burger and Bulls Eye Burger are also trademarked and used by the Bulls-Eye Burger corporation)
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| A typical Bulls-Eye Burger sign. Most received "bullet-holes" while still at the factory to add to the "authenticity" of the signs, in truth the holes typically resulted from employees creating the signs deciding to use it for their own target practice before they were shipped out to be installed at the various Bulls-Eye Burger restaurants. |
Bulls-Eye Burger opened their first restaurant in 1975, it was a small drive up place located just outside Mayhem City (in my campaign Mayhem City is located roughly where Flint, MI is located) in the suburban town of Burtucky. Right away Bulls-eye Burger proved to be a popular place to eat. Within 2 years Bulls-Eye Burger had expanded to 40 locations across the state, and by 1980 there were approx 500 Bulls-eye Burgers across the nation with 3 over in the United Kingdom. By the mid 1990's there was a Bulls-Eye Burger on every continent (including Antarctica at the McMurdo Station and the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station).
The main attraction of their menu was the aptly named Bulls-Eye Burger, a 1/4lb burger with lettuce, onions, tomatoes, cheese (your choice of American, Swiss, or Pepper Jack), 6 strips of thick cut bacon, it also came with Mustard and Ketchup, Mayo or the Bulls-Eye Sauce (a special recipe Bar-B-Que sauce).
Bulls-Eye Burger's menu also included other standard staples such as their specially seasoned french fries, onion rings, chicken sandwiches, a fish sandwich, soft drinks, alcoholic drinks (for the adults, they could chose from Whiskey, Scotch, Beer (from both nationally known brands and local breweries), or the Bulls-Eye Bourbon Special, a drink that mixed a shot of 170 proof bourbon with the soft drink of your choice), shakes (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, banana, orange or the special of the month), a smaller burger (the Little Target Burger), a double burger (Big Target Burger) and chicken fingers.
The Bulls-Eye Kids Meal consisted of a small soft drink, shake or milk as the beverage, a small Fry or Onion Rings and the main entree of either a Little Target Burger (with or without cheese) or chicken fingers. Every kids meal came with a prize for the child,a scratch card that the child could win either a small plastic gun that shoots the suction cup darts or a Matt Black Deluxe BB gun (1 in 50 cards was a Matt Black Deluxe), based on the iconic Time Traveling TV hero, Matt Black's handy rifle which he used to kill the evil Aliens, Nazis, Communists, Indians, Cavemen, ect... that might be opposing him in the time period he visited that week. Later Bulls-Eye Burger introduced the Big Bulls-Eye Kids meals for older children, these consisted of a medium soft drink or shake, a small fry or onion rings, and a Big Target Burger (with or without cheese) or a chicken sandwich. The prize continued to be the scratch off cards, but for the Big Bulls-Eye Kids Meals, they small plastic suction cup dart gun was changed to a spring loaded bolt action airsoft rifle, and the Matt Black Deluxe BB Gun was changed to the Matt Black Deluxe .22LR (North American Stores only), with a 20 round magazine (these came with a mail in order form to purchase additional magazines of 20, 40 or even 100 round capacities), and a pad of 1000 targets (consisting of the aforementioned Evil Cavemen, Nazis, Aliens, Communists, Indians, etc... with each one on a separate page in the pad, the order form for the additional magazines also allowed for one to order additional sets of targets), (stated odds were still 1 in 50 for the .22 but in actuality they were closer to 1 in 30). Outside of North America all prizes were either the suction cup dart gun or the airsoft gun (1 in 100 were an airsoft spring loaded bolt action rifle).
