To settle a bet, I've been trying to track down some information on BIAB's history, and finding surprisingly little on the web. WikiPedia says BIAB was introduced in 1990, running on the ATARI ST. I guess I knew that already, but my immediate question is: was there ever a version for Commodore (either the Amiga, based on the same processor as the Atari, or earlier machines)? I had bet there was, but I could be wrong about that.

That question got me wondering about some others. For example, PG's web site says the company was founded in 1988. So...

- What was PG and Peter doing in the two years before BIAB was introduced in '90 (other programs? Did BIAB take two years to write?)

- When were the BIAB Mac and Windows versions introduced, and which came first?

- How many styles were originally offered in the Amiga, Mac and Windows versions -- just the built ins, or more?

- How much did the program originally cost?

- Was there ever a version of BIAB for the Apple II (they were still being sold as late as 1993, five years after PG's founding).

- When did PG stop shipping BIAB on floppy disks, and go with CDs?

- Did PG have any real product flops (programs other than BIAB that, like New Coke, are best forgotten)?

- Are there any discontinued BIAB or PG products that might be available somewhere, and still useful? (I seem to recall a certain "fakebook" that shipped with BIAB, maybe back in the floppy days, that I didn't see in later releases, and missed).

- What's the most commercially successful recording (if any) to use tracks or other material generated via BIAB (assuming the artists would admit it)?


Anybody have the answer to any of these?