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ABOUT US | PRINCIPLES | OUR WORK | SERVICES | CONTACT

About Factor of 4

Factor of 4, LLC embodies an alliance of professionals with decades of consulting, design, and development experience in computer-systems applications ranging from multimedia, visual communication incorporating graphic design and the World Wide Web, to database, networking, and general-purpose software.

The four principal partners of Factor of 4, LLC - Jim Miner, Andy Mickel, Bill Dobbs, and Mark Stanley — serve clientele ranging from Fortune 500 firms, to government and research institutions as well as local small businesses and non-profit organizations. We draw upon the talents of a number of affiliate partners which assist us on various projects in their areas of expertise.

Factor of 4, LLC is a limited liability company chartered by the State of Minnesota in 2000. Factor of 4 is a service mark of Factor of 4, LLC.


Principal Partners

Jim Miner

Jim Miner has over 25 year's experience in software design and specification dating from the use of structured methodologies in developing reliable software systems both in research and production environments. His work in the last 10 years has focussed on building and developing effective information services and relational databases operating over local- and wide-area networks. Jim's website development projects in the last 8 years have earned him a positive reputation for producing accuracy, reliability and elegant software.

Andy Mickel

Andy Mickel has over 15 year's experience in internetwork engineering both as a Project Engineer at Apollo Computer (now HP) and as Director of Engineering at Minnesota Regional Network (MRNet, the oldest, largest ISP in the region) where he implemented software systems to facilitate workgroup business flow. He also has 15 year's experience in software engineering, leading software development teams both at Apollo Computer and the University of Minnesota Computer Center. Andy's excellent personal management skills and insightful approach to teamwork serve his advocacy for clear, functional design.

Mark Stanley

Mark Stanley has more than 25 year's experience in graphic design and video production, and 12 year's experience in interactive multimedia. His award-winning multimedia productions and website designs through his company 4insight, LLC, incorporate the latest in interactive, video and animation technologies with particular detail given to the user interface. Mark lectures on interactive design principles at the University of Minnesota Design Department and is an advocate for the use of interactive media to transform business and education.

Bill Dobbs

Bill Dobbs has more than 20 year's graphics design experience involving promotion of products and services. In the last 8 years through his company Animuse.com, Bill has become an award-winning website designer with extensive digital illustration, photo manipulation and animation development. His clients include Compaq Computer, Gage Marketing, Gatorade, IBM, Intel, the National Hockey League, Public TV's Newton's Apple, the StarTribune Online, and Ziploc.


Our Affiliate Partners


Les Weber - Weber Engineering & Associates www.webereng.com
Custom programming & scripting, database administration, & UNIX Web Server systems administration for Linux, Solaris, etc.

Dan Boehkle - Internetworking Consultant d.boehlke.home.comcast.net
WAN and LAN design, router configuration and programming, Internet protocols, structured wiring, network security and firewalls.

Paul Phillips - Phillips Consulting, LLC, www.competitiveimage.us
a team of highly experienced professionals who work with senior executives, boards of directors and funders for both commercial and non-profit organizations.

Dan McCreary - e-Business Strategy Development www.danmccreary.com
IT strategy management consulting, Web Content Management, Zope and all things markup (XML, XSL and SVG).

Edwin Beylarian - Beylerian & Conner Design, beyle002@umn.edu
3-D modelling and 3-D animation.

Al Burns - Constructive Technologies
Custom, large website architecture & java programming.

Frank Brandon - PC 911 Inc. www.pc911inc.com
Wintel PC computer systems integration, hardware & software. NT, Millennium, Windows XP Desktop OS.

Chip Pearson - The Foundation, www.fndtn.com
Enterprise Mac Consulting, Mac Bench Repair & Outbound Repair, Mac Apps Education.

André & Carol Bergeron & folks - Babble-On Recording Studios
www.babble-on.com
Award-winning voice-over recording and sound design for radio ads, television commercials, film, video and interactive multimedia.

John Teisberg, 3D Illustrations www.3dillustrations.com
3D illustrations, cut-aways, animations, etc.

Jon Van Amber - onedesign, inc., broadcast creative www.onedesign.tv
Concept, design and animation for all forms of media, particularly 3D video.

Jim Schmidt, Scope the Net, www.greaterwebtraffic.com
Natural Search Engine Optimization & Search Engine Marketing for websites.

Kate & Martìn Thomas - Lotus + Lama, www.lotuslama.com
Custom Macintosh computer consulting, Macintosh applications software and system support, expert writing/editing services including creative website content development and search engine optimization.

Gary Leatherman - Digital Video & Sound Editing

Kathleen Laughlin, Laughlin & Associates, laughlink@goldengate.net
Custom video conversion.

Rick Naymark - Marketing Services, ricknaymark@qwest.net
Writing, Publicity, Targeted Newsletters, Website Copywriting.

Rick Peterson, CSM Audio and Video, Inc., www.csm-audio-video.com
High-Volume CD-ROM, DVD duplication and packaging.

Jon Nowaczek, Eric Osterberg & staff - BPSI Internet Services www.backpack.com (incorporating Sound Internet www.scc.net)
Full-service Internet Service Provider with multihoming, broadband connectivity, co-located hosting services, etc.

Jeff Anderson & Chris Halverson - Enventis Telecom www.enventis.com
IP Telephony, unified messaging & integrated calendaring & contacts.

Dick Rubenstein - Jargon Software www.jargonsoft.com
Wireless & Desktop Applications & Database Development And Deployment for Windows, Palm™ And PocketPC Devices.

Pete Hovde - The Possibilities Company www.theposs.com
Unleashing human and organizational potential.

Marj Kyriopoulos - MLK Solutions, Inc., marjk@visi.com
Business and Technical Communications.


Factor of 4 — Enhancing Workgroup Collaboration Through Web-Enabled, Interactive Software