''BEEBUG'' was a magazine published for users of the

BBC Microcomputer The British Broadcasting Corporation Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers in the 1980s for the BBC Computer Literacy Project. Designed with an emphasi ...

between 1982 and 1994. It was the first subscription magazine for computers made by

Acorn Computers Acorn Computers Ltd. was a British computer company established in Cambridge, England, in 1978. The company produced a number of computers which were especially popular in the UK, including the Acorn Electron and the Acorn Archimedes. Acorn's ...

History

BBC Micro User Group

The group was formed in 1982 by Sheridan Williams and Lee Calcraft. Calcraft and Williams were contributors to ''

Personal Computer World ''Personal Computer World'' (''PCW'') (February 1978 - June 2009) was the first British computer magazine. Although for at least the last decade it contained a high proportion of Windows PC content (reflecting the state of the IT field), the mag ...

'' magazine (''PCW'') at the time. Calcraft was writing under pseudonyms in ''PCW'', ''

Acorn User ''Acorn User'' magazine was founded by Acorn Computers in 1982, contract-published by Addison-Wesley, to coincide with the launch of the BBC Micro. It covered the range of Acorn home computers, the BBC Micro and Atom at first and later the Elect ...

'' and ''

The Micro User ''The Micro User'' (titled ''BBC Micro User'' in the first three issues) was a British specialist magazine catering to users of the BBC Microcomputer series, Acorn Electron, Acorn Archimedes and, to a limited extent, the Cambridge Z88. It had a c ...

''. Williams was a founding contributor to ''PCW''. 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. Within 6 months membership reached 10,000 and by 1985 membership exceeded 30,000; in the final issue, the editors estimated 60,000 people had subscribed at one time or another during the magazine's lifetime. The company is still in existence and nowadays the core business involves providing computer networks in schools.

Magazine

The first issue of the ''Beebug Newsletter'' appeared in April 1982 and the last issue, volume 12 no 10, in April 1994. Newsagents sold the magazine at some point. It was the first subscription magazine for computers made by

. 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 mount Covermount (sometimes written cover mount) is the name given to storage media (containing software and or audiovisual media) or other products (ranging from toys to flip-flops) packaged as part of a magazine or newspaper. The name comes from the ...

ed tape cassettes containing programs, 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

The magazine and its younger

Acorn Archimedes Acorn Archimedes is a family of personal computers designed by Acorn Computers of Cambridge, England. The systems are based on Acorn's own ARM architecture processors and the proprietary operating systems Arthur and RISC OS. The first mode ...

companion '' RISC User'' were considered by ''

Archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

'' in 1990 as "friendly rival . The magazine was remembered in 1998 as being "an essential source of information and tips for BBC Micro and Master users". Professor Krisantha Weerasuriya of Sri Lanka's

University of Colombo (Buddhih Sarvatra Bhrajate) , mottoeng = ''Wisdom Enlightens'' , established = , endowment = LKR 1.461 billion

noted the user group and its magazine to be "very helpful" in a 1988 issue of the '' BMJ''.

Legacy

A review from a 1984 issue of the magazine was cited in

United States patent Under United States law, a patent is a right granted to the inventor of a (1) process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, (2) that is new, useful, and non-obvious. A patent is the right to exclude others, for a limited ...

in 1993. Some of the topics covered in the magazine listings included fractal trees, Lorenz attractors and modelling of 3D

function Function or functionality may refer to: Computing * Function key, a type of key on computer keyboards * Function model, a structured representation of processes in a system * Function object or functor or functionoid, a concept of object-oriente ...

s. Such basic principles have been included in the 2004 book ''

Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Barry Allen) ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Wally West, the first Kid F ...

Math Creativity'', with reference to the magazine's coverage of the topics. An enhanced version of one listing was included in the 1996 book ''An Introduction to Experimental Physics''.

References

External links

BEEBUG Magazine coversCambridge University library reference
{{Acorn computer magazines 1982 establishments in the United Kingdom 1994 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Defunct computer magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1982 Magazines disestablished in 1994 Ten times annually magazines