BEEBUG was a magazine published for users of the BBC Micro between 1982 and 1994. It was the first subscription magazine for computers made by Acorn Computers.
The group was formed in 1982 by Sheridan Williams and Lee Calcraft. Calcraft and Williams were contributors to Personal Computer World magazine (PCW) at the time.[1] Calcraft was writing under pseudonyms in PCW, Acorn User and The Micro User.[1] Williams was a founding contributor to PCW.[2]
When Acorn announced that they had won the contract to provide the computer to support the BBC's Computer Literacy Project, BEEBUG was formed to provide a magazine and support group. It turned out that Acorn were unable to supply the BBC Micro for many months and customers who had ordered the computer were anxious to learn as much about it before its arrival.[3]
Within 6 months membership reached 10,000[4] and by 1985 membership exceeded 30,000;[5] in the final issue, the editors estimated 60,000 people had subscribed at one time or another during the magazine's lifetime.[6] The company is still in existence and nowadays the core business involves providing computer networks in schools.[7]
MagazineEdit
The first issue of the Beebug Newsletter appeared in April 1982 and the last issue, volume 12 no 10, in April 1994. Newsagents W H Smith sold the magazine at some point.[8] It was the first subscription magazine for computers made by Acorn Computers.[8]
At the start the cover was monochrome, but a colour printed cover was then introduced in March 1983 when membership was 16,000. At the beginning each issue had 28 pages, but it expanded to 50 pages by 1985 when membership exceeded 30,000. The content included hints, program listings, hardware and software reviews, brain teasers and competitions. Illustrations were rudimentary. The magazine sometimes included special members' offers for items such as operating system upgrades. Cover mounted tape cassettes containing programs,[9] binders and an advertising supplement were also published.
It was published 10 times a year in A5 format. It was published by BEEBUG Publications Ltd, based in St Albans, UK. In 1985 membership including a postal subscription in the UK cost £11-90 a year (10 issues).
ReceptionEdit
The magazine and its younger Acorn Archimedes companion RISC User were considered by Archive in 1990 as "friendly rival[s]".[10] The magazine was remembered in 1998 as being "an essential source of information and tips for BBC Micro and Master users".[9]
Professor Krisantha Weerasuriya of Sri Lanka's University of Colombo noted the user group and its magazine to be "very helpful" in a 1988 issue of the BMJ.[11]
Some of the topics covered in the magazine listings included fractal trees, Lorenz attractors and modelling of 3D functions. Such basic principles have been included in the 2004 book Flash Math Creativity, with reference to the magazine's coverage of the topics.[14] An enhanced version of one listing was included in the 1996 book An Introduction to Experimental Physics.[15]
^(PDF). TNMOC newsletter. No. 15. The National Museum of Computing. September 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 3, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
^"Membership Now Exceeds 10,000". Beebug. 1 (6): 1. October 1982.
^"Membership Exceeds 30,000". Beebug. 3 (10): 1. April 1985. The previous issue, volume 3 number 9, had said 25,000; the front cover continued to say 30,000 until volume 4 number 3 which stopped printing the figures.
^"A Last Farewell". Beebug. 12 (10): 4. April 1994.
^ abJennings, Peter. "A Good, Long Read (for 18 Years)". Foundation RISC User Online. RISCOS Ltd. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2012. even Internet Archive dropped it, due to robots.txt demands
^"Friendly rivalry". Archive. Vol. 3, no. 6. March 1990. p. 13. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
^Weerasuriya, Krisantha (12 March 1988). "Personal computers in the Third World". BMJ. 296 (6624): 787. doi:10.1136/bmj.296.6624.787-b. PMC2545388. PMID 3126973.
^Khan, Rashid N.; Auvinen, Stuart; Funkai, Liu (14 December 1993), United States patent number 5,271,098, retrieved 2 November 2012
^Kip Parker; Brandon Williams; Jared Tarbell; Manny Tan; Glen Rhodes; Keith Peters; Jamie McDonald; Ty Lettau; Paul Prudence; JD Hooge; David Hirmes; Ken Jokol; Pavel Kaluzhny; Gabriel Mulzer (16 December 2004). Flash Math Creativity. Apress. p. 6. ISBN978-1-59059-429-2. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
^Colin Cooke (1 May 1996). An Introduction to Experimental Physics. Psychology Press. p. 89. ISBN978-1-85728-579-6. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
External linksEdit
BEEBUG Magazine covers
Cambridge University library reference
Digitized BeeBug Magazines at 8 bit software
October 20, 2023
beebug, magazine, published, users, micro, between, 1982, 1994, first, subscription, magazine, computers, made, acorn, computers, first, issue, covercategoriescomputingfoundersheridan, williamslee, calcraftfounded1981first, issueapril, 1982final, issueapril, 1. BEEBUG was a magazine published for users of the BBC Micro between 1982 and 1994 It was the first subscription magazine for computers made by Acorn Computers BEEBUGFirst issue coverCategoriesComputingFounderSheridan WilliamsLee CalcraftFounded1981First issueApril 1982Final issueApril 1994CompanyBeebugCountryUnited KingdomBased inSt Albans HertsLanguageEnglishISSN0263 7561OCLC220052713 Contents 1 History 1 1 BBC Micro User Group 1 2 Magazine 2 Reception 3 Legacy 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksHistory EditBBC Micro User Group Edit The group was formed in 1982 by Sheridan Williams and Lee Calcraft Calcraft and Williams were contributors to Personal Computer World magazine PCW at the time 1 Calcraft was writing under pseudonyms in PCW Acorn User and The Micro User 1 Williams was a founding contributor to PCW 2 When Acorn announced that they had won the contract to provide the computer to support the BBC s Computer Literacy Project BEEBUG was formed to provide a magazine and support group It turned out that Acorn were unable to supply the BBC Micro for many months and customers who had ordered the computer were anxious to learn as much about it before its arrival 3 Within 6 months membership reached 10 000 4 and by 1985 membership exceeded 30 000 5 in the final issue the editors estimated 60 000 people had subscribed at one time or another during the magazine s lifetime 6 The company is still in existence and nowadays the core business involves providing computer networks in schools 7 Magazine Edit The first issue of the Beebug Newsletter appeared in April 1982 and the last issue volume 12 no 10 in April 1994 Newsagents W H Smith sold the magazine at some point 8 It was the first subscription magazine for computers made by Acorn Computers 8 At the start the cover was monochrome but a colour printed cover was then introduced in March 1983 when membership was 16 000 At the beginning each issue had 28 pages but it expanded to 50 pages by 1985 when membership exceeded 30 000 The content included hints program listings hardware and software reviews brain teasers and competitions Illustrations were rudimentary The magazine sometimes included special members offers for items such as operating system upgrades Cover mounted tape cassettes containing programs 9 binders and an advertising supplement were also published It was published 10 times a year in A5 format It was published by BEEBUG Publications Ltd based in St Albans UK In 1985 membership including a postal subscription in the UK cost 11 90 a year 10 issues Reception EditThe magazine and its younger Acorn Archimedes companion RISC User were considered by Archive in 1990 as friendly rival s 10 The magazine was remembered in 1998 as being an essential source of information and tips for BBC Micro and Master users 9 Professor Krisantha Weerasuriya of Sri Lanka s University of Colombo noted the user group and its magazine to be very helpful in a 1988 issue of the BMJ 11 Legacy EditA review from a 1984 issue of the magazine was cited in United States patent no 5 271 098 in 1993 12 13 Some of the topics covered in the magazine listings included fractal trees Lorenz attractors and modelling of 3D functions Such basic principles have been included in the 2004 book Flash Math Creativity with reference to the magazine s coverage of the topics 14 An enhanced version of one listing was included in the 1996 book An Introduction to Experimental Physics 15 See also EditAcorn User The Micro User Acorn Computing Archive magazine Electron UserReferences Edit a b Nostalgia World RISC World 1 3 Sheridan Williams rocket scientist to tour guide PDF TNMOC newsletter No 15 The National Museum of Computing September 2010 Archived from the original PDF on July 3 2012 Retrieved November 9 2012 Editorial Beebug 1 1 3 April 1982 Membership Now Exceeds 10 000 Beebug 1 6 1 October 1982 Membership Exceeds 30 000 Beebug 3 10 1 April 1985 The previous issue volume 3 number 9 had said 25 000 the front cover continued to say 30 000 until volume 4 number 3 which stopped printing the figures A Last Farewell Beebug 12 10 4 April 1994 Beebug website a b Jennings Peter A Good Long Read for 18 Years Foundation RISC User Online RISCOS Ltd Archived from the original on 20 March 2012 Retrieved 1 November 2012 even Internet Archive dropped it due to robots txt demands a b Matthewman David Regan Jill April 1998 Success Stories Acorn User No 193 pp 44 46 Friendly rivalry Archive Vol 3 no 6 March 1990 p 13 Retrieved 2 November 2012 Weerasuriya Krisantha 12 March 1988 Personal computers in the Third World BMJ 296 6624 787 doi 10 1136 bmj 296 6624 787 b PMC 2545388 PMID 3126973 Khan Rashid N Auvinen Stuart Funkai Liu 14 December 1993 United States patent number 5 271 098 retrieved 2 November 2012 Bains Geoff December 1984 External ROM Sockets Beebug 3 7 23 25 Kip Parker Brandon Williams Jared Tarbell Manny Tan Glen Rhodes Keith Peters Jamie McDonald Ty Lettau Paul Prudence JD Hooge David Hirmes Ken Jokol Pavel Kaluzhny Gabriel Mulzer 16 December 2004 Flash Math Creativity Apress p 6 ISBN 978 1 59059 429 2 Retrieved 1 November 2012 Colin Cooke 1 May 1996 An Introduction to Experimental Physics Psychology Press p 89 ISBN 978 1 85728 579 6 Retrieved 1 November 2012 External links EditBEEBUG Magazine covers Cambridge University library reference Digitized BeeBug Magazines at 8 bit software Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title BEEBUG amp oldid 1178157489, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
