Gandalf Technologies

Gandalf Technologies, Inc.
Founded1971; 53 years ago (1971)
Founders
  • Desmond Cunningham
  • Colin Patterson
DefunctAugust 7, 1997; 27 years ago (1997-08-07)
FateBankruptcy; acquired by Mitel
HeadquartersOttawa
A Gandalf terminal host selector, or "Gandalf box", was a common feature in many university and company computer centers into the 1990s. It communicated with a Gandalf PACX crossbar in the machine room.

Gandalf Technologies, Inc., or simply Gandalf, was a Canadian data communications company based in Ottawa. It was best known for modems and terminal adapters that allowed computer terminals to connect to host computers through a single interface. Gandalf also pioneered a radio-based mobile data terminal that was popular for many years in taxi dispatch systems. The rapid rise of TCP/IP relegated many of Gandalf's products to niche status, and the company went bankrupt in 1997; its assets were acquired by Mitel.