Beagle Bros

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Beagle Bros Micro Software, Inc.
Type Private
Industry Software
Founded 1980-10-01
Founder(s) Bert Kersey
Defunct 1991
Headquarters San Diego, California, United States
Key people Bert Kersey, Alan Bird, Jack Cassidy, Mark Simonsen, Rob Renstrom, Randy Brandt, Dan Verkade, Matt Reimer, Mark Munz

Beagle Bros was an American software company that specialized in creating personal computing products that were both useful and whimsical. Their primary focus was on the Apple II family of computers.

History

Beagle Bros (the lack of a period at the end is intentional; according to the company, "there wasn't room") was founded in 1980 by Bert Kersey and expanded over the years to include a wide variety of staff members, programmers, and designers. Whereas most software companies focused on professional users and business systems, Kersey founded the company with the intention of supporting the "hobbyist" users who had sprung up when affordable personal computers were made available to the general public.

As a result, much of the Beagle Bros product line consists of software that put the creative power in the hands of the user or expanded popular products of other companies. Apple Mechanic allowed users to create their own shape tables (an early form of sprites) to create their own games, DOS Boss let users patch the disk operating system, and Beagle Bag had a number of simple but fun games written in BASIC that budding programmers could also list out and learn from. In the early days, every Beagle Bros order also included a "Peeks, Pokes, & Pointers" chart, a wall poster that budding Apple programmers could use. One use was to protect their boot disk by entering the Peeks and Pokes that would disable the Control+Reset function that hackers would to use to access the boot disk programming. Another was as a reference for the memory locations that did useful things on the Apple II. The company also later released a Big Tip Book containing many programming tips for Apple hobbyists and also published a Tip Disk. The company took great pride in not copy-protecting their software.

When the Apple IIgs was released, Beagle Bros was among the first companies to release high-quality packages that took full advantage of that computer's capabilities. Both Platinum Paint and BeagleWrite GS (acquired and repackaged) are still regarded as being among the high points of commercial IIgs software.

Beagle Bros reached a new audience when they began producing add-ons for the AppleWorks integrated package. Their first AppleWorks add-on, released in 1986, was the MacroWorks keyboard shortcut utility by Randy Brandt. Beagle Bros programmer Alan Bird later devised an API for creating AppleWorks add-ons, which they dubbed TimeOut. The company produced an extensive and ever-expanding line of TimeOut products. TimeOut programmers Alan Bird, Randy Brandt and Rob Renstrom were tapped by Claris to develop AppleWorks 3.0, and the TimeOut API itself became a part of AppleWorks with version 4.0 (created by Randy Brandt and Dan Verkade; released by Quality Computers). Eventually the TimeOut API was made public and a number of non-Beagle TimeOut applications were released.

The end of an age came in 1991 when then-owner Mark Simonsen licensed the Beagle Bros Apple II line to Quality Computers. Quality Computers subsequently went through several acquisitions and no longer exists. However, many Beagle Bros "classics" were released as freeware[1] in the mid-1990s, including most of the company's early utilities and games. Today, their programs are available[2] on the Internet.

BeagleWorks, the company's main Macintosh product, was licensed to WordPerfect Corporation in 1992, where it became WordPerfect Works. This product was later discontinued after WordPerfect was acquired by Novell. The company also produced a few small Macintosh and PC utilities.

Many former "Beaglers" have continued to be involved in the software industry; for example, Joe Holt is one of the authors of iMovie, and Alan Bird has worked on Eudora and was the author of the OneClick shortcut utility for Macintosh. Randy Brandt created Online Army Knife, an award-winning Macintosh spell checker, and continued publishing AppleWorks products through his JEM Software spin-off. Mark Munz created Deja ][, which allows AppleWorks to run under Mac OS X. The company's founder, Bert Kersey, started a model train company after selling Beagle Bros, featuring much of the same humor, but is now retired and living in Fallbrook, California with his wife Sharon and a backyard full of barn owls.

Style

Perhaps the most memorable aspect of Beagle Bros was their use of vintage woodcut art in their print material. While many computer and software companies in the 1980s aimed for flashy, high-tech logos and advertising, Beagle Bros cultivated a nostalgic, down-home feel in keeping with their intended mission of creating software that was welcoming to inexperienced computer owners.

Humor permeated Beagle Bros products, even extending to the warning label printed on their 5.25" disk jackets. Unlike most disk care labels, which warned that magnets, water, and high temperatures could damage disks, Beagle Bros' warning icons admonished users not to use their disks as kites, fold them into paper planes, set fire to them, or feed them to alligators.

Another delight was the "two-liner" computer programs that peppered Beagle Bros advertising and mailers. Each new Beagle Bros communication contained one or more Applesoft BASIC programs tucked away in speech balloons or whitespace. The two-liners were always nigh-impenetrable, yet extremely clever, little programs that showcased unusual tricks or capabilities of the Apple II. At first these were written by Kersey himself; later, users began submitting their own. Eventually, almost every Beagle Bros release came with a selection of these "miniprograms" either on disk or in the box inserts.

Software

Title Author(s) Published Description
Apple Printer Lo-res graphics and titling program
Alpha PlotBert Kersey and Jack Cassidy1980Hi-res graphics program
Apple Mechanic/Shape MechanicBert Kersey1982Hi-res shape/font editor; multiple other utilities
Apple Mechanic TypefacesBert Kersey Twenty-six fonts for use with Apple Mechanic
AppleWorks 3.0 Companion Patches for various AppleWorks 3.0 modules
Bag of TricksDon Worth and Pieter Lechner Examine, edit, reformat and repair disk data (published by Quality Software)
Beagle BagBert Kersey and the Beagle Bros staff A collection of games including Buzzword!, Elevators, Hang Person, Magic Pack, Oink!, Pick-A-Pair, Quick-Draw!, Slippery Digits, Sub Search, TextTrain, Triple Digits and Wowzo, plus the Beagle Menu utility
Beagle BASICMark Simonsen1983An expanded version of AppleSoft BASIC with various new commands
The Beagle CompilerAlan Bird1986AppleSoft BASIC program compiler
BeagleDrawRobert A. Hearn and Jeff G. Erickson1989Apple IIGS graphic application, formerly TopDraw
Beagle GraphicsMark Simonsen Graphics editor in 16-color double hi-res
Beagle ScreensFred & Sara Crone, Matt Reimer, Bert Kersey and Robert Renstrom 1986Full-screen captionable clip art
BeagleWorks 1992Later renamed WordPerfect Works, then PerfectWorks
BeagleWrite, BeagleWrite GS ProDOS-based GUI word processor, acquired from Styleware where it had been named MultiScribe
BeagleWrite Desk Accessories Adds a clock, calendar and calculator
BeagleWrite Picture Manager Allows import of Print Shop (8-bit) and Newsroom images
Big URandy Brandt1986ProDOS utilities including CRT.WRITER, FILE.MOVER and KEYCAT.80
D CodeAlan Bird AppleSoft program optimizer and debugger
DiskQuikHarry Bruce and Gene Hite Creates a virtual disk in RAM
DOS BossBert Kersey and Jack Cassidy DOS 3.3 enhancer and command editor
Double-TakeMark Simonsen Various small utilities including two-way text scrolling
Extra KAlan Bird and Mark Simonsen1985An extended memory utility allowing AppleSoft to use a second 64K bank of memory in an upgraded IIe or IIc
FatCatAlan Bird Disk library cataloguer
FlashJoe Holt1989Tool to copy files over AppleTalk, integrated into the Finder. Beagle's first Macintosh program
Flex TypeMark Simonsen1982Variable-width hi-res text utility
Font MechanicMark & Jon Simonsen1985Thirty fonts for use with Shape Mechanic
Frame-UpTom Weishaar1982Apple presentation program
GPLENeil Konzen1983Global Program Line Editor for AppleSoft BASIC programs. Originally published by Synergistic Software, 1982.
GS Font Editor Font editor for AppleWorks
I.O. SilverBrad Wilhelmsen1984Popular strategy/action game
MacroWorksRandy Brandt1986Macros (keyboard shortcuts)for AppleWorks 1.3
Master Find Master Mind-style game
MinipixFred & Sara Crone A three-disk series of clipart collections
OutlinerRandy Brandt1990AppleWorks 3.0 Word Processor outlining
Platinum PaintMatt Reimer Apple IIGS paint program
Point-to-PointGary Little Telecommunications program
Power PrintRobert Renstrom Dot matrix printer utility
Pro-Byter 1985Disk editor and ProDOS utilities
Program WriterAlan Bird1987AppleSoft program editor
ProntoDOSTom Weishaar Accelerated version of DOS 3.3 with other additional features
Resource Disk Sample file disk for SuperFonts Activity Guide
Shape MechanicBert Kersey and Mark Simonsen Shape animation and screen fonts
Silicon SaladBert Kersey and Mark Simonsen Various tips, tricks and utilities from Beagle Bros Tip Books 5, 6 and 7
Super MacroWorksRandy Brandt1986Macros (keyboard shortcuts) for AppleWorks 2.0
TimeOut series Various add-ons for AppleWorks 2.0 and newer built on the TimeOut core technology created by Alan Bird. Includes products detailed below, plus MacroEase, MacroTools, Paint, TeleComm and Utilities
TimeOut DeskToolsHoward Bangerter, Alan Bird, Glenn Clawson, Mark de Jong & Dan Verkade1987Calculator, Calendar, Case Converter, Clock, Data Converter, Dialer, Envelope Addresser, File Encrypter, Note Pad, Page Preview, Puzzle, Word Count
TimeOut DeskTools IIDan Verkade, Glenn Clawson & Randy Brandt1988Area Codes, Calculator+, Clipboard Viewer, DirecTree, Disk Tester, File Search, Measurements, Printer Manager, Screen Out, Screen Printer, Stop Watches
TimeOut FileMasterRandy Brandt1987File and disk utilities
TimeOut GrammarDan VerkadeGrammar checking for the AppleWorks Word Processor
TimeOut GraphRobert Renstrom1987Graphing for the AppleWorks Spreadsheet
TimeOut MacroEaseRandy Brandt & Mark Munz1990Macro-related Timeout apps and sample macros
TimeOut MacroToolsRandy Brandt1988Macro-related Timeout apps and sample macros
TimeOut MacroTools IIRandy Brandt1988Macro-related Timeout apps and sample macros
TimeOut PowerPackRandy Brandt1988ASCII Values, AWP to TXT, Category Search, Desktop Sorter, File Librarian, Help Screens, Line Sorter, Program Selector, Triple Clipboard, Triple Desktop
TimeOut QuickSpellAlan Bird1987Spell checking for the AppleWorks Word Processor
TimeOut ReportWriterDan Verkade1989Relational reports for the Data Base and Spreadsheet
TimeOut SpreadToolsAlan Bird, Randy Brandt and Dan Verkade1988CelLink, Block Copy, Error Analyzer, Bird's Eye View, AutoZoom, Data Converter, Cross Reference, Formula/Value Switcher, Quick Widths, Row Column Converter
TimeOut SideSpreadMark Simonsen1987Wide paper printing for the AppleWorks Spreadsheet
TimeOut SuperFontsMark Simonsen1987Graphical fonts for the AppleWorks Word Processor
TimeOut SuperFormsDan VerkadeForm generation
TimeOut TextToolsMark Munz, Randy Brandt and Howard Bangerterassorted tools
TimeOut ThesaurusAlan BirdSynonyms in the AppleWorks Word Processor
TimeOut UltraMacrosRandy Brandt1987Keystroke recorder and macro programming language
Tip Disk#1Bert Kersey One hundred tips from the Beagle Bros Tip Books
Triple-DumpMark Simonsen and Robert Renstrom "Print anything" utility for dot matrix printers
Utility CityBert Kersey1982Twenty-one separate Apple utilities
Zoom Graphix Sends hi-res images to any graphics-compatible printer

References

External links

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