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Someone once told me jokingly, "An out-of-date web page is a good indication that we've been too busy doing real work." That's actually no joke... OK, since I apparently haven't updated this page for three years, here's a high-level on recent projects:
- Pocket PC Applications
- Warehouse Management Software
- Customer Relations Management
- Macromedia (Adobe) Flex Applications
- eCommerce sites
- Stock Market Analysis
- Customer portal sites
- Systems Integrations
Of course, that's not to say that I've got too much going on ... I'm always on the lookout for something new.
-W
August 24, 2006
contact
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Selected Clientele
| DOULOS TECHNOLOGIES
- August, 2003 |
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Home page
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Doulos Technologies is a privately owned tech company-hopeful in Sugar Land, TX,
dedicated to providing technical support to small and medium-sized
businesses. They specialize in network administration, network
support, PC support, and multimedia design.
The site contains both HTML and Flash areas, written to
portray the same look and feel. The Flash version is slightly
faster.
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| VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
- September, 2003 |
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Manually scheduling courses
Defining course attributes
Defining course relationships and constraints
Printable master calendars
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Virginia Commonwealth University had some fairly strict needs: course offerings that changed on a yearly basis, unpredictable enrollment, and the demand to utilize classroom space as efficiently as possible. Scheduling classes for small departments would often consume a full two week's time and involve several faculty members.
This solution allows the administrator to set up courses, classrooms, and personnel, and assign courses to classrooms and timeblocks. Classroom requirements are specified for each course (e.g., minimum occupancy and course enrollment; classroom resources and course resource requirements; student enrollment, etc.). Instructors' schedule preferences may also be taken into consideration.
Relationships between courses, instructors, students, and classrooms are set up through a windows-style interface. When the relationships have been set up properly, the system will guide the instructor through intelligent scheduling, not allowing a course to be scheduled in a room or timeblock that conflicts with any other defined component (student registration, teacher schedule conflict, or classroom conflict).
The most advanced feature is an "automatic generation" of schedules that will generate up to 1000 working schedules, each given a ranking according to a customized system of acceptance likelihood.
The system is written in a combination of Flash, Javascript, Perl, and PHP. |
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| BMC SOFTWARE -
May-August, 2003 |
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"Willis is extremely adept at solving problems
and has a high degree of technical ability. He was
able to quickly learn, build upon, and improve existing
code frameworks with very little supervision or explanation.
Moreover, Willis is a hard-working, conscientious
individual who worked well with his team, always taking
care to communicate issues and relevant information
accurately and promptly as well as suggesting approaches
or design considerations that may not have initially
been considered. He is considered to be an integral
part of the success of BMC's major IT initiatives."
Matt Spera, BMC
Programmer
matt_spera@bmc.com
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I was called to BMC to assist in the development of an integrations
system for the delivery of products through customer, reseller,
and internal application interfaces. Most of my work there
was spent building SQL Server stored procedures, data transformation
services, and back-end ASP pages for the receiving, processing,
and sending of data to and from Unix- and Oracle-based systems.
I also assisted in the development of a VisualBasic-based
FTP transfer and file manipulation program, as well as translating
PHP-based report pages into ASP.
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| MONTY AND JESSICA.com -
May 2003 |
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| OPENING MOVES -
August 2002 - present |
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Home page
Online tutorial
3D Flash version (in progress)
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One of my most mind-demanding sites to date. This project
began as a personal endeavor to provide a methodical method
to learn
chess openings. The project eventually evolved into an educational
site. The unique approach of the site towards chess instruction
is the methodical and repetitive training of both sides of
standard chess openings.
"Dr. Miller's work on our OpeningMoves.com site
has been an excellent value. As a start-up company
we can't
afford to have dedicated technical personnel on staff
or to pay expensive contractors. Dr. Miller has
given us exactly what we needed . . . high-quality
development
work at reasonable prices. We're looking forward to
working with him again on our next project."
Matt
Blanchard, OpeningMoves.com
Owner
mblanchard@openingmoves.com
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The current site appeals to the younger, gaming generation,
with its dark colors, 3D graphics, and futuristic style. The
actual instructional portion is completely Java based, and
allows the user to play full opening lines against a computer
coach. Data collected from the accuracy of game play is stored in each user's
profile for methodical learning.
I am currently creating a 3D Flash version to provide more
engaging content.
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| TEXAS BUILDING AND PROCUREMENT COMMISSION -
January 2003 |
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Public site, home page
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This site was a quick-study during my stay at 3D/I. TBPC, as
required by the Texas Government Code, provides technical
services
required to enable the construction and / or lease-hold improvements
of offices and other facilities for various state agencies
and
entities. The site hold both public and restricted access to
information regarding the schedule and cost of active projects
throughout the state of Texas. It is powered by ASP and two
access databases - one that contains project information and
contains 3D/I's proprietary architechtural project management
software; and another that contains restricted access information
specific to the project, as well as context-sensitive help
files
for each page and term in the site. All the content of the
site, including images, schedules, cost, reports, and content
are
either dynamically generated or updated through administrative
interfaces. |
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Public site, secondary pages
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A detailed view for an existing project. All graphics, charts, timelines,
and project details are dynamically calculated and displayed. |
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Admin area, content management
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The content for the site is updated through administrative controls.
In order for the user to understand the details of the site, each
page and key term was linked to a help file database which
contains definitions and instructions. This screenshot shows a list
of helpfiles, also automatically generated, from which the administrator
updates content. |
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Admin area, content management
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For feature-rich pages, administrators of the site chose a system
in which they develop detailed pages internally with HTML authoring
software, and then copy and paste the generated code into textboxes
online. A full-featured image manager for uploading and updating images
was also created. |
| FAMILY PHARMACY OF SARASOTA
- June 2002 - Present |
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ECommerce area
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My involvement with Family Pharmacy began with the implementation
of an ecommerce area into a pre-existing site. The result
was a feature-rich ecommerce site, completely customized
for the pharmacy's needs. Credit for the site's large success
goes to the Pharmacy's staff, who daily maintains the items
and orders, in addition to ensuring that the site keeps
a
high profile in the major search engines.
The screenshot at the left is the site's main shopping
page. Customers can purchase vitamins, minerals, supplements,
herbs,
hormone replacement therapy products, and skin
care products, among other items. Credit card information
is validated online
and processed in house. |
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Admin area, phone order system
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The administrative area allows the Pharmacy staff to maintain every
aspect of the site. Some of the features of this area include the
following:
 Detailed tracking of customer activity to ensure customer satisfaction
Order management with email notification
Sales and profit reports
A recent addition to the administrative area is a phone order system
(shown at the left). Previous to this implementation, the Pharmacy
was required to maintain two separate order systems. This addition
allows the staff to quickly retrieve and edit customer information
and place an order with the customer while minimizing the time the
customer is required to spend on the phone. The speed required for
the application demanded a large amount of DHTML and Javascript.
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| SIA CONSULTING -
April 2003 |
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Introduction page
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An information and newsletter site for an outstanding business
development consultation company. The project was a redesign
with an approachable and easy-to-read
layout. The content for the testimonies and newsletters are
updated by
administrative
interfaces.
The
site
also features
a subscription service for newsletter announcements; notifications
are mailed to subscribers by administrators.
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Admin area, content management
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"When I was looking for someone to redesign my web site
and make it more interactive, I was lucky to find Willis Miller.
He listened to what I wanted, offered suggestions, and continuously
kept in touch with me for input on the work he was doing. The
design work he did for me was high quality, quickly produced,
and is easy to maintain. I also found his service to be a good
value for the price."
Susan Ashley Ingram, SIA Consulting
Owner
siaconsulting@houston.rr.com
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| WASHINGTON LODGING -
March 2003 |
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Flash introduction
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Designed for my friends in Bellingham, but apparently not quite
taking off as much as they would have hoped... This is another
beautifully yet simply
designed site, created with an easy-to-use navigation system
that provides much flexibility and ease of maintenance. Content
is maintained via FTP.
The site opens with a Flash introduction showing picturesque
scenes from various places in Washington. |
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Home page
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The navigation for the site is constructed so that the user may easily
access various attractions and lodgings in the state by region
or
by major city. |
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Hotel detail page
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A few hotels have begun to advertise on the site. This hotel is
a few blocks from our intended future home.
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| HANDWRITING ANALYSIS -
February 2003 |
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Flash site
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My wife has been studying handwriting analysis for a couple
of years. She's been toying with the idea of setting up a professional
service. I include this little site here to demonstrate the
(potentially effective) combination of actual photographs with
digital drawings - the base photograph was taken with a cheap
digital camera at my desk; the pop-up notebook is drawn completely
in Flash, down to the page curl. Multiple pop-ups are draggable
and closeable. Each pop-up notebook can have an infinite number
of pages, embedded photographs, links, headers, footers, and
indexes, etc. I see little on the web with this sort of medium.
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| 3D/INTERNATIONAL -
July 2002 - February 2003 |
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MOBIS Government Contract
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| 3D/I is a large-scale architectural project
management corporation. Their services and clientele base
are vast and impressive: Architecture & Interior Design,
Construction Management, Design-Build, Engineering, Environmental
Consulting, Facility Assessment, IT Implementation, Project
or Program Management, and Management Organizational and
Business Improvement Services (MOBIS) for airports, auditorium,
colleges, government
buildings, hospitals, museums, and telecommunications facilities,
among others. |
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Orbit project management software
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I served as web programmer for 3D/I from July, 2002 to February,
2003. My primary responsibilities at 3D/I were converting large-scale
Visual
Basic applications to ASP for use through an internet browser. Because
their user and client community were accustomed to the existing
application
interface, a large amount of DHTML and Javascript was required to
make a smooth transition to the web front end.
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Project management software - DHTML requirements
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Screenshot showing DHTML implementation of selecting persons to
notify of a milestone schedule update.
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Project management software - Daily log
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A daily logs feature of project progress. Some forms (as the one shown
here) were quite extensive. This one features team member notification
as well as a "rollover" feature, which drew data from previously
entered forms in order to make data entry quicker. |
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Orbit project management software
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Authenticated users had access to an ASP-driven online folder system,
with which they could upload and share files with other team members.
The system allowed browsing folders online much in the same way
as
using Windows Explorer. Permissions could be set at the folder level,
and all pertinent detail was stored and retrieved from a centralized
database. |
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Compilation screen
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| CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM
- December 2002 - February 2003 |
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One particularly demanding project that I authored was developing
the reporting mechanism for the California Community College's
five-year-project
plan. My contribution featured twenty-five high-level and detailed
reports, containing information for the projects enrollment requirements,
space requirements, building construction, demolition, and renovation
cost, and approved projects to reconciled the differences between
the anticipated requirements and current facility resources over
five years.
The screenshot shown here begin to indicate the volume of data
required for this report. Details about rooms square footage, building
age and condition, projected enrollment, and approved projects had
to be taken into account in order to produce accurate results. Before
the report could be completely generated, over twenty logically
separated areas were required to be built in strict order. |
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Capital Outlay Report
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A sample capital outlay report that spans the system's five year
projected growth plan. |
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Gross Assigned Square Footage report
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A feature most useful to the administration was the aggregate and
detailed breakdown of any of the individual areas that served
as the
foundational computations for the final report. This report shows
the details and summary of each campus's gross available square
footage,
broken down by year and room type (lecture space, library space,
office space, etc.). These reports can be copied and pasted into
Excel
with the click of a button. |
| PROFESSIONAL COMPOUNDING CENTERS OF AMERICA
- December 2000 - July 2002 |
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Public site, home page
Public site, secondary pages
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PCCA is an international supply, training, and support company
for independent pharmacists. I was a full-time employee for
PCCA from December 2000 to July 2002, serving as Project Lead
of web development and senior web developer. I enjoyed the job
immensely, and remain in close contact with many of my former
co-workers.
Accomplishments:
Assisted
in the rebuild of the company's Warehouse Management System,
Customer Care System, and Order Entry System.
Presented
"Willis is a very good source to talk with in any
situation. He is a very devoted worker to all projects
and extremely helpful no matter what the job may be.
I would be more than happy to work with him any day."
Jonathan Owens, PCCA
PC Support
jowens@pccarx.com
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ongoing work and possibilities for technological growth to
board members and executive committees.
Organized
and delivered technology symposiums at PCCA's international
seminars.
Managed
the development of P*ceutics, an educational site through
which pharmacists receive ACPE-approved CE Credits (detail
here).
Managed
the development of the company's messaging system, a critical
part of PCCA's Pharmacy Consulting Department. This
system was written to facilitate the calls between PCCA's
members
and staff, ensuring that all calls are assigned, prioritized,
logged, and followed through.
Formalized
coding standards, work flow, and documentation procedures
for the company's software development.
Developed
the company's public site, members-only site, and intranet.
Developed
revision control and project tracking systems for the IT department.
Developed
help desk center for customer service and support teams.
Developed
automation processes for the validation and activation of
digital certificates.
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Members-only site
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The members-only site of PCCA is a high security site. PCCA posts
sensitive, intellectual property and formulas for pharmacists to
use
to compound medicine. To keep in accordance with the DEA's restrictions,
the site is protected by digital certificates. Direct contact with
each of PCCA's members is required in order to ensure the validity
of each request for a certificate. The screenshot shown here is
a
retrieval of formula information from a SQL Server database, based
on search criteria. |
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IT Project tracking software
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When I arrived at PCCA, there were no revision control systems in
place. I developed an IT project tracking system that enabled the
IT
team
to carry out its responsibilities in a more orderly manner. It featured
Detailed
tracking of changes made to the supporting computer system
Stage-based
approval requests made by area managers
Email
notifications to managers as projects progressed
Multi-level,
user-based DHTML menus embedded in the browser, dynamically generated
with pertinent project information
Online timesheets for making cost benefit analysis at the user and
project levels |
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Graphic designs for site redesign
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"It was my pleasure to work with Mr. Miller. His ability
to work with a customer one on one was Mr. Miller's signature.
Very remarkable! Mr. Miller's skills are a great access to any
corporation."
Yuri Flores, PCCA
Systems Administration
yflores@pccarx.com
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A few screen mock-ups I designed for site redesigns: splash page,
secondary pages, and the company's intranet site.
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| P*CEUTICS - February
2001 - July 2002 |
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Home page
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One of the most enjoyable projects I was involved in at PCCA was
the management of the development of an online educational site for
P*ceutics.
The purpose of the site was to provide pharmacists with an opportunity
to acquire ACPE-approved CE credit, required for them to continue
their practice. Through this site, the pharmacists were able to purchase
access credits towards HTML-based lectures with embedded media. Dynamically
generated quizzes followed the lectures, and printable certificates
were awarded to successful completion of quizzes.
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"My recall is that you were able to conceptually understand
the myriad activities that my department is involved with and
distill an image and message that clearly defined what it is
that we offer to pharmacy students. Your creativity is a great
strength and your execution was always on schedule. I appreciated
your candid comments during our brainstorming sessions. Too
often IT support will attempt to disguise the issues and problems
related to a project. Your creativity, candor and adherence
to schedules are three traits that I believe describe you best."
Bill Letendre, P*ceutics Institute
Managing Director
blet@pccarx.com
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Administrative interfaces control the content for lectures and quizzes.
Administrators also access reports for quiz results and monies received.
P*ceutics also featured a rich video library to assist the pharmacist
with learning compounding techniques. The videos were integrated into
the P*ceutics courses as needed, and were also accessible for an additional
fee as a whole.
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Video library - still images
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| THE SCHIRMER AUDIO DICTIONARY OF MUSIC -
October, 2002 |
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Flash site
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Dr. Timothy Koozin, one of my former music theory professors
at the University of Houston, saw the work I had done for
UH's
Rehearsalnet and brought me to Schirmer-Thompson's attention
for this project. Dr. Koozin specializes in media content,
and provided the interactive Shockwave examples for the project.
My contribution to this project was designing
the application framework through which the dictionary would
be presented and controlled.
Each musical term is classifiable into one or more categories,
and students may browse the dictionary by any number of methods.
The filter system is highly effective - a list of several
hundred terms may be easily narrowed down into a specific
study group by two or three clicks. A history feature allows
the user to explore related terms and be able to quickly return
to his original path. The system may be easily used for any
educational scenario.
All content is maintained through administrative interfaces.
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Admin area
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To Whom It May Concern:
Willis Miller was a contract web application programmer
for Thomson Learning from October 2002 through May 2003.
He designed and programmed a dynamic web site application
using ASP and SQLServer (see http://schirmerdictionary.wadsworth.com)
. The coding was clean, efficient and secure; the application
very robust.
It was a pleasure to work with Willis and we would consider
using his services for other projects.
Don Glasco
Web and Database Systems Manager
Wadsworth (Thomson Learning)
don.glasco@thomsonlearning.com
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Administrative tools allow full customization of each entry for
placement and integration with Shockwave media.
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| ARLIS ASSOCIATES -
May, 2001 |
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Home page
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The owners of Arlis Associates wanted a site with scrollable
content without frames. The design they chose required the content
to be centered in a graphic container, so Flash was chosen as
the medium. This site was written when Flash 5 was still new;
the user interface controls that were to come with later versions
of Flash had to be custom designed.
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| INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF COMPOUNDING
PHARMACISTS - 2000 - Present |
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&title=OPENING MOVES&img=images/screenshots/omFlash.jpg?js=no)
