ZOOM MEETING: Brian Dougherty, Founder of Berkeley Softworks, GEOS - April 18, 2024

[Marcio D.]

TPUG (Toronto PET Users Group) is pleased to reconnect you with one of the most intriguing entrepreneurs of the mid-1980’s home computing era.  Brian Dougherty was the founder of Berkeley Softworks, the company that developed GEOS (Graphic Environment Operating System) for the Commodore 64, C128, Plus/4, and the Apple II series of computers.

In addition to GEOS, the company also released complementary software and hardware such as geoPublish and geoRAM.  GEOS and its ecosystem of products granted 8-bit computers the type of functionality previously only seen on more powerful computers, an ambitious feat that continues to be admired by retrocomputing fans worldwide.


Brian Dougherty will be interviewed by Toronto-based UI Designer Lucas Gramajo.


Mark your calendars!  As usual, you can also watch the event later - just subscribe to TPUG's YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/@TorontoPETUsersGroup

Date:  Thursday, April 18, 2024.

Time:  7:30PM ET.  (Toronto, Canada).

Zoom details:  https://www.tpug.ca


Thanks for attending !

[sysop]

According to Wikipedia, “At its peak, GEOS was the third-most-popular microcomputer operating system in the world in terms of units shipped, trailing only MS-DOS and Mac OS (besides the original Commodore 64's KERNAL).”

It would be interesting to see some actual figures to confirm and support this claim.

I used GEOS while attending college.  Saved me the trouble of having to stand in line at the school's computer labs, waiting for a free computer to use to type up a paper; which most of my fellow students had to do.

[Marcio D.]

According to Wikipedia, “At its peak, GEOS was the third-most-popular microcomputer operating system in the world in terms of units shipped, trailing only MS-DOS and Mac OS (besides the original Commodore 64's KERNAL).”

It would be interesting to see some actual figures to confirm and support this claim.

I used GEOS while attending college.  Saved me the trouble of having to stand in line at the school's computer labs, waiting for a free computer to use to type up a paper; which most of my fellow students had to do.

It's not that hard to believe, considering GEOS was included free for those who bought the Commodore 64C.  If you believe the 64C sold like hotcakes, it's logical to conclude that millions of people received GEOS for that reason alone.

What percentage of those 64C buyers actually used GEOS is another matter.  That's why they say, "in terms of units shipped" rather than "user base".

[sysop]

Oh, it's not that I don't believe it.  I would just be interested to know the numbers (even ballpark numbers)

[gershman]

FWIW, I've heard GEOS is still quite usable on the Ultimate 64 if you bump the speed up to 20+Mhz.