<s>
Stofor	B-Device
,	O
pronounced	O
as	O
in	O
"	O
Stow	O
Four	O
"	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
store	B-Protocol
and	I-Protocol
forward	I-Protocol
message	O
switching	O
system	O
designed	O
by	O
Fenwood	O
Designs	O
Ltd	O
,	O
UK	O
in	O
1980	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Stofor	B-Device
was	O
aimed	O
squarely	O
at	O
the	O
bottom	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
market	O
and	O
its	O
competitors	O
were	O
from	O
companies	O
such	O
as	O
Chernikeeff	O
(	O
now	O
John	O
Lilley	O
and	O
Gillie	O
Ltd	O
)	O
and	O
Racal	O
but	O
Stofor	B-Device
was	O
soon	O
outselling	O
both	O
with	O
ease	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Stofor	B-Device
range	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
a	O
4MHz	O
Zilog	B-General_Concept
Z80	I-General_Concept
processor	O
with	O
64K	O
RAM	O
and	O
provided	O
from	O
4	O
to	O
64	O
ports	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
models	O
,	O
and	O
some	O
later	O
ones	O
,	O
were	O
floppy	O
disk	O
based	O
but	O
later	O
and	O
larger	O
versions	O
had	O
10Mb	O
Winchester	B-Device
technology	I-Device
hard	O
disks	O
for	O
storage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Stofor	B-Device
was	O
the	O
only	O
message	O
switching	O
system	O
of	O
its	O
size	O
to	O
boast	O
a	O
custom	O
text	O
editor	O
designed	O
by	O
Fenwood	O
with	O
the	O
needs	O
of	O
the	O
telex	B-Application
user	O
in	O
mind	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
main	O
workload	O
was	O
in	O
the	O
sending	O
and	O
receiving	O
of	O
telex	B-Application
messages	O
but	O
it	O
was	O
also	O
put	O
to	O
work	O
in	O
a	O
wide	O
range	O
of	O
other	O
communications	O
areas	O
including	O
fax	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
initial	O
design	O
was	O
for	O
a	O
system	O
that	O
would	O
replace	O
a	O
London	O
commodity	O
broker	O
's	O
antiquated	O
telex	B-Application
room	O
,	O
containing	O
12	O
telex	B-Application
machines	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
computer	O
for	O
sending	O
and	O
receiving	O
messages	O
plus	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
VDUs	O
(	O
computer	B-Device
displays	I-Device
)	O
for	O
preparing	O
and	O
editing	O
messages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
resulting	O
Stofor	B-Device
system	O
was	O
an	O
instant	O
hit	O
and	O
many	O
orders	O
were	O
placed	O
when	O
the	O
broker	O
's	O
associates	O
and	O
competitors	O
saw	O
the	O
system	O
in	O
operation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additional	O
options	O
such	O
as	O
direct	O
input	O
from	O
dedicated	B-General_Concept
word	I-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
,	O
leased	O
line	O
working	O
and	O
several	O
other	O
features	O
were	O
soon	O
requested	O
and	O
incorporated	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Stofor	B-Device
became	O
very	O
popular	O
in	O
the	O
City	O
of	O
London	O
and	O
was	O
in	O
use	O
by	O
banks	O
,	O
shipping	O
brokers	O
,	O
commodity	O
traders	O
and	O
insurance	O
companies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
were	O
supplied	O
to	O
INMARSAT	O
to	O
provide	O
telex	B-Application
links	O
via	O
satellite	O
for	O
ships	O
at	O
sea	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
the	O
Lockheed	O
subsidiary	O
Memrykord	O
,	O
who	O
provided	O
international	O
flight-planning	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
Stofor	B-Device
was	O
born	O
,	O
Fenwood	O
employed	O
about	O
six	O
staff	O
but	O
this	O
grew	O
rapidly	O
until	O
there	O
were	O
forty	O
eight	O
,	O
covering	O
all	O
aspects	O
such	O
design	O
,	O
procurement	O
,	O
production	O
,	O
software	O
writing	O
,	O
sales	O
and	O
customer	O
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sadly	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
rapid	O
growth	O
of	O
fax	O
and	O
then	O
the	O
advent	O
of	O
email	O
,	O
demand	O
for	O
message	O
switching	O
systems	O
such	O
as	O
Stofor	B-Device
died	O
away	O
and	O
Fenwood	O
moved	O
into	O
other	O
markets	O
,	O
finally	O
being	O
wound	O
up	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
1990s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
their	O
'	O
lives	O
 '	O
Fenwood	O
and	O
Stofor	B-Device
were	O
based	O
in	O
Farncombe	O
,	O
Godalming	O
,	O
Guildford	O
;	O
all	O
in	O
Surrey	O
,	O
UK	O
and	O
in	O
Aldershot	O
,	O
Hampshire	O
,	O
UK	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Stofor	B-Device
was	O
the	O
result	O
of	O
work	O
by	O
Fenwood	O
's	O
three	O
directors	O
:	O
John	O
Kashel	O
,	O
Sales	O
and	O
marketing	O
director	O
,	O
who	O
came	O
up	O
with	O
the	O
concept	O
and	O
basic	O
specification	O
;	O
Bob	O
Fearnley	O
,	O
Technical	O
Director	O
,	O
who	O
designed	O
the	O
hardware	O
and	O
Tom	O
Grainger	O
,	O
Software	O
Director	O
,	O
who	O
wrote	O
the	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
