ZKO Barcode

One of the most well known features of the former ZKO facility is the barcode on the wall at the entrance of ZKO1. There have been a number of posts on the usenet group comp.os.vms like this one and this other one where the translation has been a hot topic.

When ZK originally opened it started out as a 26 character, 7-bit ASCII string that read:


digitalsoftwa
reengineering

VAX/VMS V3 Development Team Outside ZKO

digitalsoftwareengineering

ZKO Entrance, 2008

Eventually, some time in the early 1990s the wall was altered; repainted from orange to grey and the message changed to:

Customers Win
WhenWeDeliver

Over time some bars rusted and were either replaced (incorrectly) or not at all, which resulted in its final incarnation as:

Customers Win
?henWeFeliver

Customers Win?henWeFeliver

In 2007 HP sold the ZKO Facility to a local property developer, John J. Flatley Co. ZKO1 became 200 Innovative Way and the barcode was eventually taken down and replaced with a covered walkway.

However, the barcode continues to live on in a new location, on the wall of the cafeteria. Since the facility changed hands, ZKO has been renamed Nashua Technology Park. The new barcode comes complete with an explanatory plaque and now reads:

NASHUA TECH PARK

200 Innovative Way