Eagle Berns
Encyclopedia
Eagle Berns worked for over thirty-five years in the computer software industry at Apple Computer
, Oracle Corporation
, and Software Publishing Corporation
(SPC). During his tenure at those companies he established a reputation for forming strong R&D teams, and focusing their energies on producing high quality software products in a timely fashion.
After obtaining his BS and MS in computer Science at Washington University in St. Louis
, he was a systems programmer at Stanford University
for sixteen years
In the early 1980s Eagle co-wrote the Apple II
computers games Pie Man and The Coveted Mirror
and published them through Penguin Software
. With both, his accomplished goal was to create games that were both entertaining and non-violent. Later Eagle also co-wrote the Macintosh
version of the Graphics Magician for creating animation.
From late 1984 until 1989 Mr. Berns was at Apple. He started as manager of the group responsible for the software for the Apple IIgs
machine. The Apple IIgs shipped on time, with what was recognized at the time as some of the best software and GUI interface to appear on the market. Eagle then transferred to the Macintosh
Development organization, and after a short time as manager of languages for the development systems group (DSG), replaced his boss and remained at Apple as manager of DSG for the rest of his time at Apple. During this period, he was responsible for products which included MPW (the Macintosh Programmers Workshop), HyperCard
, ResEdit
, and AppleScript
. Here also, he was able to produce quality products in a timely manner by focusing his energies on the organization structure made up of developers, QA personnel, and documentation people. Many of his management skills evolved from extensive management training courses provided by Apple.
Mr. Berns also served as Senior Vice President of Intellicorp Inc. of Palo Alto.
Eagle was director of the Oracle Toolkit organization which was responsible for the software layer that allowed all Oracle products to run cross-platform on all the operating systems Oracle ran on. During his three and a half years there, he evolved the organization into sub-groups with specific platform agendas, and built a QA and documentation group into the process with optimal efficiency and consistent documentation capabilities.
Mr. Berns served as senior vice-president of research and development at SPC (the makers of Harvard Graphics
). His assignment was to bring new products to market, and reduce the length of the product cycle for Harvard Graphics. In less than two years, under his leadership the company produced four new products (Harvard ChartXL, Harvard Spotlight, OnFile, and Harvard Montage), plus two new releases of their flagship product, Harvard Graphics.
Afterwards, Eagle first contracted at Silicon Gaming, and was then offered a position as Vice President of Software, and held that position until just before he left.
Mr. Berns then turned his attention to teaching software engineering at a few of the community colleges on the San Francisco Peninsula until his death from heart complications at the age of 63.
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
, Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
, and Software Publishing Corporation
Software Publishing Corporation
Software Publishing Corporation was a Mountain View, California-based manufacturer of business software, best known for its pioneering Harvard Graphics presentation package....
(SPC). During his tenure at those companies he established a reputation for forming strong R&D teams, and focusing their energies on producing high quality software products in a timely fashion.
After obtaining his BS and MS in computer Science at Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...
, he was a systems programmer at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
for sixteen years
In the early 1980s Eagle co-wrote the Apple II
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
computers games Pie Man and The Coveted Mirror
The Coveted Mirror
The Coveted Mirror was a graphical text-based adventure game published for the Apple II. It was created by Eagle Berns and Holly Thomason and released by Penguin Software in 1983. -Plot:The land of Starbury was taken over by Voar the evil...
and published them through Penguin Software
Penguin Software
Penguin Software was a video game publisher from Geneva, Illinois that produced graphics software and games for the Apple II, Macintosh, IBM, Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari 8-bit, and Atari ST computers...
. With both, his accomplished goal was to create games that were both entertaining and non-violent. Later Eagle also co-wrote the 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...
version of the Graphics Magician for creating animation.
From late 1984 until 1989 Mr. Berns was at Apple. He started as manager of the group responsible for the software for the Apple IIgs
Apple IIGS
The Apple , the fifth and most powerful model in the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Computer. The "GS" in the name stands for Graphics and Sound, referring to its enhanced graphics and sound capabilities, both of which greatly surpassed previous models of the line...
machine. The Apple IIgs shipped on time, with what was recognized at the time as some of the best software and GUI interface to appear on the market. Eagle then transferred to the 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...
Development organization, and after a short time as manager of languages for the development systems group (DSG), replaced his boss and remained at Apple as manager of DSG for the rest of his time at Apple. During this period, he was responsible for products which included MPW (the Macintosh Programmers Workshop), HyperCard
HyperCard
HyperCard is an application program created by Bill Atkinson for Apple Computer, Inc. that was among the first successful hypermedia systems before the World Wide Web. It combines database capabilities with a graphical, flexible, user-modifiable interface. HyperCard also features HyperTalk, written...
, ResEdit
ResEdit
ResEdit was a developer tool application for the Apple Macintosh, used to create and edit resources directly in the Mac's resource fork architecture. It was an alternative to tools such as REdit, and the resource compiler Rez. For the average user, ResEdit was generally easier to use, because it...
, and AppleScript
AppleScript
AppleScript is a scripting language created by Apple Inc. and built into Macintosh operating systems since System 7. The term "AppleScript" may refer to the scripting system itself, or to particular scripts that are written in the AppleScript language....
. Here also, he was able to produce quality products in a timely manner by focusing his energies on the organization structure made up of developers, QA personnel, and documentation people. Many of his management skills evolved from extensive management training courses provided by Apple.
Mr. Berns also served as Senior Vice President of Intellicorp Inc. of Palo Alto.
Eagle was director of the Oracle Toolkit organization which was responsible for the software layer that allowed all Oracle products to run cross-platform on all the operating systems Oracle ran on. During his three and a half years there, he evolved the organization into sub-groups with specific platform agendas, and built a QA and documentation group into the process with optimal efficiency and consistent documentation capabilities.
Mr. Berns served as senior vice-president of research and development at SPC (the makers of Harvard Graphics
Harvard Graphics
Harvard Graphics was a pioneering presentation program developed for DOS and Microsoft Windows by Software Publishing Corporation . Harvard Graphics, Inc...
). His assignment was to bring new products to market, and reduce the length of the product cycle for Harvard Graphics. In less than two years, under his leadership the company produced four new products (Harvard ChartXL, Harvard Spotlight, OnFile, and Harvard Montage), plus two new releases of their flagship product, Harvard Graphics.
Afterwards, Eagle first contracted at Silicon Gaming, and was then offered a position as Vice President of Software, and held that position until just before he left.
Mr. Berns then turned his attention to teaching software engineering at a few of the community colleges on the San Francisco Peninsula until his death from heart complications at the age of 63.