<s>
BLAST	B-Protocol
(	O
BLocked	O
ASynchronous	O
Transmission	O
)	O
,	O
like	O
XMODEM	B-Protocol
and	O
Kermit	B-Protocol
,	O
is	O
a	O
communications	O
protocol	O
designed	O
for	O
file	O
transfer	O
over	O
asynchronous	O
communication	O
ports	O
and	O
dial-up	B-Application
modems	I-Application
that	O
achieved	O
a	O
significant	O
degree	O
of	O
popularity	O
during	O
the	O
1980s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reflecting	O
its	O
status	O
as	O
a	O
de	O
facto	O
standard	O
for	O
such	O
transfers	O
,	O
BLAST	B-Protocol
,	O
along	O
with	O
XMODEM	B-Protocol
,	O
was	O
briefly	O
under	O
official	O
consideration	O
by	O
ANSI	O
in	O
the	O
mid-80s	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
that	O
organization	O
's	O
ultimately	O
futile	O
attempt	O
to	O
establish	O
a	O
single	O
de	O
jure	O
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BLAST	B-Protocol
grew	O
out	O
of	O
the	O
mission-critical	O
experience	O
of	O
providing	O
air	O
pollution	O
telemetry	O
within	O
the	O
dial-up	O
communications	O
environment	O
of	O
the	O
petroleum	O
belt	O
of	O
southern	O
Louisiana	O
and	O
Texas	O
,	O
with	O
not	O
only	O
noisy	O
telephone	O
lines	O
but	O
also	O
unexpected	O
satellite	O
hops	O
to	O
remote	O
locations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
such	O
,	O
BLAST	B-Protocol
was	O
the	O
only	O
asynchronous	O
protocol	O
to	O
have	O
entered	O
the	O
1980s	O
computing	O
arena	O
with	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
following	O
features	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
BLAST	B-Protocol
thus	O
gained	O
a	O
reputation	O
as	O
the	O
protocol	O
having	O
the	O
best	O
combination	O
of	O
speed	O
and	O
reliability	O
in	O
its	O
class	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
idea	O
for	O
the	O
BLAST	B-Protocol
product	O
belongs	O
to	O
Paul	O
Charbonnet	O
,	O
Jr.	O
,	O
a	O
former	O
Data	O
General	O
salesman	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
original	O
version	O
was	O
designed	O
and	O
implemented	O
for	O
the	O
Data	O
General	O
line	O
of	O
Nova	B-Device
minicomputers	O
by	O
G	O
.	O
W	O
.	O
Smith	O
,	O
a	O
former	O
BorgWarner	O
Research	O
Center	O
systems	O
engineer	O
who	O
,	O
having	O
developed	O
a	O
basic	O
"	O
ack-nak	O
"	O
protocol	O
for	O
the	O
aforesaid	O
telemetry	O
application	O
,	O
now	O
created	O
an	O
entirely	O
new	O
protocol	O
with	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
above-mentioned	O
features	O
,	O
and	O
for	O
which	O
he	O
devised	O
the	O
"	O
BLAST	B-Protocol
"	O
acronym	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
another	O
Baton	O
Rouge	O
company	O
,	O
Communications	O
Research	O
Group	O
(	O
CRG	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
to	O
successfully	O
commercialize	O
the	O
BLAST	B-Protocol
protocol	O
,	O
and	O
which	O
was	O
also	O
to	O
employ	O
Charbonnet	O
and	O
Smith	O
as	O
,	O
respectively	O
,	O
Sales	O
Director	O
and	O
Vice-president	O
of	O
Research	O
and	O
Development	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
downside	O
,	O
BLAST	B-Protocol
was	O
criticized	O
by	O
ZMODEM	B-Device
developer	O
Chuck	O
Forsberg	O
because	O
of	O
its	O
proprietary	B-Application
nature	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
"	O
tightly	O
bound	O
to	O
the	O
fortunes	O
of	O
[	O
its	O
supplier ]	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Communications	O
Research	O
Group	O
(	O
CRG	O
)	O
was	O
a	O
Baton	O
Rouge	O
,	O
Louisiana	O
based	O
company	O
which	O
became	O
a	O
major	O
international	O
vendor	O
of	O
data	O
communications	O
software	O
during	O
the	O
1980s	O
,	O
and	O
which	O
software	O
had	O
the	O
BLAST	B-Protocol
protocol	O
at	O
its	O
core	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
representative	O
of	O
one	O
of	O
CRG	O
's	O
mature	O
products	O
,	O
the	O
BLAST-II	O
file	O
transfer	O
software	O
was	O
distinguished	O
by	O
its	O
wide	O
range	O
of	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Beyond	O
supporting	O
the	O
BLAST	B-Protocol
protocol	O
,	O
it	O
enabled	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
competing	O
XMODEM	B-Protocol
,	O
encrypted	O
and	O
transmitted	O
data	O
using	O
Secure	B-Protocol
Sockets	I-Protocol
Layer	I-Protocol
(	O
SSL	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
had	O
"	O
versions	O
for	O
about	O
a	O
hundred	O
different	O
micros	O
,	O
minis	O
,	O
and	O
mainframes	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
Columbia	O
University	O
's	O
Kermit	B-Protocol
software	O
,	O
CRG	O
's	O
BLAST-II	O
also	O
provided	O
a	O
scripting	B-Language
language	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
CRG	O
was	O
recognized	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
100	O
largest	O
microcomputer	B-Architecture
software	O
companies	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
was	O
ultimately	O
acquired	O
by	O
modem	B-Application
manufacturer	O
U.S.	O
Robotics	O
in	O
1990	O
,	O
and	O
which	O
company	O
continued	O
to	O
develop	O
and	O
sell	O
BLAST	B-Protocol
products	O
.	O
</s>
