Quarterdeck Office Systems
Encyclopedia
Quarterdeck Office Systems, later Quarterdeck Corporation (NASDAQ
: QDEK), was an American computer software
company. It was founded by Therese Myers and Gary Pope in 1981
and incorporated in 1982. Their offices were initially located at 150 Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica
, California
and later at 13160 Mindanao Way in Marina Del Rey, California
, as well as a sales and technical support unit located in Clearwater, Florida
. In the 1990s they had a European office in Dublin, Ireland. Their most famous products were the Quarterdeck Expanded Memory Manager
, DESQview
, CleanSweep
, DESQview/X, Quarterdeck Mosaic, and Manifest.
On April 18, 1989, Quarterdeck was awarded a US software patent that allowed multiple windowed PC applications under MS-DOS.
Quarterdeck undertook a number of acquisitions in the 1990s, leading ultimately to its failure in 1998 due to the collapse of the market for MS-DOS based utilities. In 1995 the company acquired of Landmark Research International Corp. for 3.5 million shares of Quarterdeck (acquiring MagnaRAM and WinProbe) and then Inset Systems, Inc. of Brookfield, Connecticut
in September of that year for 933,000 shares of Quarterdeck (acquiring HiJaak
graphics software in the deal).
Quarterdeck in 1997 then acquired Datastorm Technologies, Inc.
, publishers of PROCOMM and PROCOMM PLUS, and relocated its technical support and development operations from California and Florida, to Datastorm's Columbia, Missouri
headquarters.
In 1998, with DOS utilities market all but collapsed, Quarterdeck was acquired by Symantec
(the Norton Utilities
company) who discontinued support of certain Quarterdeck products, e.g., Mosaic, or integrated them into larger offerings, e.g., CleanSweep, which became part of Norton SystemWorks
.
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
: QDEK), was an American computer software
Computer software
Computer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it....
company. It was founded by Therese Myers and Gary Pope in 1981
and incorporated in 1982. Their offices were initially located at 150 Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica
Santa Mônica
Santa Mônica is a town and municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil.-References:...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and later at 13160 Mindanao Way in Marina Del Rey, California
Marina del Rey, California
-Demographics:-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Marina del Rey had a population of 8,866. The population density was 6,094.6 people per square mile...
, as well as a sales and technical support unit located in Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, US, nearly due west of Tampa and northwest of St. Petersburg. In the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and in the east lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 108,787. It is the county seat of...
. In the 1990s they had a European office in Dublin, Ireland. Their most famous products were the Quarterdeck Expanded Memory Manager
QEMM
Quarterdeck Expanded Memory Manager , was a memory manager produced by Quarterdeck Office Systems in the late 1980s through late 1990s. It was the most popular memory manager for the MS-DOS and other DOS operating systems.-QEMM product ranges:QRAM: A memory manager for 286 or higher CPU. It...
, DESQview
DESQview
DESQview was a text mode multitasking program developed by Quarterdeck Office Systems which enjoyed modest popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
, CleanSweep
Quarterdeck Cleansweep
Norton CleanSweep, designed by Quarterdeck was designed to aid in the removal of installed programs.CleanSweep was acquired by Symantec, and sold as a standalone product for a period of time...
, DESQview/X, Quarterdeck Mosaic, and Manifest.
On April 18, 1989, Quarterdeck was awarded a US software patent that allowed multiple windowed PC applications under MS-DOS.
Quarterdeck undertook a number of acquisitions in the 1990s, leading ultimately to its failure in 1998 due to the collapse of the market for MS-DOS based utilities. In 1995 the company acquired of Landmark Research International Corp. for 3.5 million shares of Quarterdeck (acquiring MagnaRAM and WinProbe) and then Inset Systems, Inc. of Brookfield, Connecticut
Brookfield, Connecticut
Brookfield is a town located in northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 16,452 at the 2010 census. First settled in 1710 by John Muirwood and several other colonial founders who bartered for the land From the Wyantenuck Nation Under the Sachem Waramaugs who lived...
in September of that year for 933,000 shares of Quarterdeck (acquiring HiJaak
HiJaak
HiJaak is an image manager, graphics converter and screen capture computer program from IMSI/Design. It can also be used for batch editing.HiJaak began as a DOS-based screen capture and graphics file format converter program for the IBM Personal Computer from Inset Systems, Inc. of Brookfield,...
graphics software in the deal).
Quarterdeck in 1997 then acquired Datastorm Technologies, Inc.
Datastorm Technologies, Inc.
Datastorm was a computer software company that existed from 1986 until 1996. The company was founded by Bruce Barkelew and Thomas Smith.Datastorm and their software, ProComm, was prominent in a pre-TCP/IP world where computer-to-computer modem connections were common...
, publishers of PROCOMM and PROCOMM PLUS, and relocated its technical support and development operations from California and Florida, to Datastorm's Columbia, Missouri
Columbia, Missouri
Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...
headquarters.
In 1998, with DOS utilities market all but collapsed, Quarterdeck was acquired by Symantec
Symantec
Symantec Corporation is the largest maker of security software for computers. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and is a Fortune 500 company and a member of the S&P 500 stock market index.-History:...
(the Norton Utilities
Norton Utilities
Norton Utilities is a utility software suite designed to help analyze, configure, optimize and maintain the computer. The current version 15 of Norton Utilities Premier Edition for Windows XP/Vista/7 was released December 27, 2010....
company) who discontinued support of certain Quarterdeck products, e.g., Mosaic, or integrated them into larger offerings, e.g., CleanSweep, which became part of Norton SystemWorks
Norton SystemWorks
Norton SystemWorks is a discontinued system utility suite by Symantec. It expanded the tools found in Norton Utilities, and added other Symantec software titles, primarily anti-virus, and later backup software for the high-end versions.-Norton NT Tools:...
.
List of software products
- CleanSweepQuarterdeck CleansweepNorton CleanSweep, designed by Quarterdeck was designed to aid in the removal of installed programs.CleanSweep was acquired by Symantec, and sold as a standalone product for a period of time...
- DESQ, predecessor to DESQview
- DESQviewDESQviewDESQview was a text mode multitasking program developed by Quarterdeck Office Systems which enjoyed modest popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
(DESQ successor, with TopviewTopViewTopView is a text-mode PC DOS multitasking, object oriented windowing environment written by IBM and introduced in August of 1984 and made available in February of 1985. TopView was announced in order to provide an environment that users could run more than one application at the same time on a PC...
compatibility) - DESQview 386DESQviewDESQview was a text mode multitasking program developed by Quarterdeck Office Systems which enjoyed modest popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
(DESQview that shipped bundled with QEMM 386) - DESQview/XDESQviewDESQview was a text mode multitasking program developed by Quarterdeck Office Systems which enjoyed modest popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
(an XX Window SystemThe X window system is a computer software system and network protocol that provides a basis for graphical user interfaces and rich input device capability for networked computers...
based version of DESQview) - Manifest
- Quarterdeck MosaicMosaic (web browser)Mosaic is the web browser credited with popularizing the World Wide Web. It was also a client for earlier protocols such as FTP, NNTP, and gopher. Its clean, easily understood user interface, reliability, Windows port and simple installation all contributed to making it the application that opened...
- Quarterdeck Expanded Memory ManagerQEMMQuarterdeck Expanded Memory Manager , was a memory manager produced by Quarterdeck Office Systems in the late 1980s through late 1990s. It was the most popular memory manager for the MS-DOS and other DOS operating systems.-QEMM product ranges:QRAM: A memory manager for 286 or higher CPU. It...
, formerly QEMM 386 - QRAM, an Intel 80286Intel 80286The Intel 80286 , introduced on 1 February 1982, was a 16-bit x86 microprocessor with 134,000 transistors. Like its contemporary simpler cousin, the 80186, it could correctly execute most software written for the earlier Intel 8086 and 8088...
-based expanded memory manager - MagnaRAM
- GlobalStage IRC server (run on irc.scifi.com until 2003)
- GlobalChat IRC client
- HiJaakHiJaakHiJaak is an image manager, graphics converter and screen capture computer program from IMSI/Design. It can also be used for batch editing.HiJaak began as a DOS-based screen capture and graphics file format converter program for the IBM Personal Computer from Inset Systems, Inc. of Brookfield,...
Graphics Suite - GameRunner
- WebStarKerio WebSTARKerio WebSTAR is an HTTP web server for Mac OS X with older versions running on classic Mac OS....
(via StarNine) - TotalWeb
- WebTalk
- Quarterdeck Message Center
- ViruSweep
- WebCompass, an early metasearch tool
- Quarterdeck InternetSuite
- Partition-It!
External links
- Quarterdeck website from June 1997
- Merger announcement
- [news://comp.os.msdos.desqview Usenet group for DESQview]
- SEC 10-K form for 9/30/96
- Floor plan and Pictures of the Quarterdeck Building located in Columbia, Missouri that was purchased by the University of Missouri.