Berkeley Macintosh Users Group
Encyclopedia
Berkeley Macintosh Users Group (BMUG) is a users' group
, founded in September 1984 by U.C. Berkeley students including Reese Jones, Raines Cohen and Bernt Wahl
to share knowledge on graphical computing, primarily the Apple Macintosh
.
The group had more than 13,000 members at its peak in 1993, with BBS
s in Boston
, and Tokyo
, and was the largest users' group at the time.
BMUG was famous for lively meetings, "We are in the business of giving away information" motto, "BMUG Awards", its great MacWorld Expo get-togethers, CD and book publishing, and a thick "newsletter
" akin to the Whole Earth Catalog
, and one of the largest shareware
collections for Macintosh Public domain software
.
BMUG hosted a lively Thursday night meeting with questions and answers, and software demonstrations by vendors. Followed at the end by a raffle. Notable speakers include: Steve Jobs
, Guy Kawasaki
, Ted Nelson
, Heidi Roizen
, Andy Hertzfeld
, Bill Atkinson
, Jean-Louis Gassée
, Marc Benioff
, Melinda Ann French
(Gates) and Bill Gates
.
It also held Special Interest Group
s (SIGs) on graphics, video, music, database
s, the Internet, and mathematics. Some notable members include: John Draper
(Captain Crunch), Hassanal Bolkiah
(Sultan of Brunei), and Eric Brewer (Inktomi
founder).
A few of the group met after the meetings at a Chinese restaurant in Berkeley, where they still meet on Thursdays to this day.
BMUG declared bankruptcy in 2000. A group of its committed members formed PlanetMUG, and purchased its online presence, the Planet BMUG BBS. BMUG Boston split off and formed the BostonBBS.
The Refurbishing project was reformed into Access2Technology and incorporated into a non-profit.
Users' group
A users' group is a type of club focused on the use of a particular technology, usually computer-related....
, founded in September 1984 by U.C. Berkeley students including Reese Jones, Raines Cohen and Bernt Wahl
Bernt Wahl
Bernt Rainer Wahl is a mathematician, entrepreneur and author. He served as CEO Factle Corporation, CEO Datahunt, CEO Dynamic Software, and is part of the UC Berkeley Faculty. He teaches Engineering, where he serves as an Industry Fellow at the Center of Entrepreneurship and Technology...
to share knowledge on graphical computing, primarily the Apple Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
.
The group had more than 13,000 members at its peak in 1993, with BBS
Bulletin board system
A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
s in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, and Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, and was the largest users' group at the time.
BMUG was famous for lively meetings, "We are in the business of giving away information" motto, "BMUG Awards", its great MacWorld Expo get-togethers, CD and book publishing, and a thick "newsletter
Newsletter
A newsletter is a regularly distributed publication generally about one main topic that is of interest to its subscribers. Newspapers and leaflets are types of newsletters. Additionally, newsletters delivered electronically via email have gained rapid acceptance for the same reasons email in...
" akin to the Whole Earth Catalog
Whole Earth Catalog
The Whole Earth Catalog was an American counterculture catalog published by Stewart Brand between 1968 and 1972, and occasionally thereafter, until 1998...
, and one of the largest shareware
Shareware
The term shareware is a proprietary software that is provided to users without payment on a trial basis and is often limited by any combination of functionality, availability, or convenience. Shareware is often offered as a download from an Internet website or as a compact disc included with a...
collections for Macintosh Public domain software
Public domain software
Public domain software is software that has been placed in the public domain, in other words there is absolutely no ownership of the intellectual property that the software represents....
.
BMUG hosted a lively Thursday night meeting with questions and answers, and software demonstrations by vendors. Followed at the end by a raffle. Notable speakers include: Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs was an American businessman and inventor widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc...
, Guy Kawasaki
Guy Kawasaki
Guy Kawasaki is a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, bestselling author, and Apple Fellow. He was one of the Apple employees originally responsible for marketing the Macintosh in 1984. He is currently a Managing Director of Garage Technology Ventures, and has been involved in the rumor reporting...
, Ted Nelson
Ted Nelson
Theodor Holm Nelson is an American sociologist, philosopher, and pioneer of information technology. He coined the terms "hypertext" and "hypermedia" in 1963 and published it in 1965...
, Heidi Roizen
Heidi Roizen
Heidi Roizen is a Silicon Valley executive, venture capitalist, and entrepreneur.She graduated from Stanford University in 1980 with a bachelor's degree in English and earned her MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business three years later.From 1983 to 1996, Roizen was co-founder...
, Andy Hertzfeld
Andy Hertzfeld
Andy Hertzfeld is a computer scientist who was a member of the original Apple Macintosh development team during the 1980s. After buying an Apple II in January 1978, he went to work for Apple Computer from August 1979 until March 1984, where he was a designer for the Macintosh system software...
, Bill Atkinson
Bill Atkinson
Bill Atkinson is an American computer engineer and photographer. Atkinson worked at Apple Computer from 1978 to 1990. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, San Diego, where Apple Macintosh developer Jef Raskin was one of his professors...
, Jean-Louis Gassée
Jean-Louis Gassée
Jean-Louis Gassée is a former executive at Apple Computer, where he worked from 1981 to 1990. He is most famous for founding Be Inc., creators of the BeOS computer operating system. After leaving Be, he became Chairman of PalmSource, Inc. in November, 2004.-1980s: Apple Computer:Gassée worked for...
, Marc Benioff
Marc Benioff
Marc Russell Benioff is Chairman & CEO of salesforce.com, a cloud computing company.Benioff started salesforce.com in March 1999 in a rented San Francisco apartment and defined its mission as The End of Software...
, Melinda Ann French
Melinda Gates
Melinda Ann French , later known as Melinda French Gates, is an American businesswoman and philanthropist. She is the wife of Bill Gates...
(Gates) and Bill Gates
Bill Gates
William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
.
It also held Special Interest Group
Special Interest Group
A Special Interest Group is a community with an interest in advancing a specific area of knowledge, learning or technology where members cooperate to effect or to produce solutions within their particular field, and may communicate, meet, and organize conferences...
s (SIGs) on graphics, video, music, database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
s, the Internet, and mathematics. Some notable members include: John Draper
John Draper
John Thomas Draper , also known as Captain Crunch, Crunch or Crunchman , is an American computer programmer and former phone phreak. He is a legendary figure within the computer programming world.- Background :Draper is the son of a U.S...
(Captain Crunch), Hassanal Bolkiah
Hassanal Bolkiah
General Haji Sir Hassan al-Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah GCB GCMG is the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, the 29th Sultan of Brunei and the first Prime Minister of Brunei Darussalam...
(Sultan of Brunei), and Eric Brewer (Inktomi
Inktomi
Inktomi Corporation was a California company that provided software for Internet service providers. It was founded in 1996 by UC Berkeley professor Eric Brewer and graduate student Paul Gauthier. The company was initially founded based on the real-world success of the search engine they developed...
founder).
A few of the group met after the meetings at a Chinese restaurant in Berkeley, where they still meet on Thursdays to this day.
BMUG declared bankruptcy in 2000. A group of its committed members formed PlanetMUG, and purchased its online presence, the Planet BMUG BBS. BMUG Boston split off and formed the BostonBBS.
The Refurbishing project was reformed into Access2Technology and incorporated into a non-profit.