Forté Internet Software
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software |
| Predecessor | Forte Advanced Management Systems |
| Founded | 1980s |
| Fate | Acquired by Genesys Telecommunications (1997); Consumer Software Group divested to Charles Dazler Knuff (2000) |
Key people | Charles Dazler Knuff (owner of Consumer Software Group since 2000) |
| Products | Forté Agent, Adante |
| Website | www |
Forté Agent is a Microsoft Windows client designed for both email and Usenet news client functionalities. Created in 1994 by Mark Sidell and Forté Internet Software, it was initially intended to utilize the Windows GUI as a hybrid online/offline newsreader. By the following year, it had expanded into a comprehensive email client and continues to be a widely used solution for combining news and email on Windows platforms. While Agent supports POP email, it does not offer IMAP compatibility.
Regarding its Usenet features, Agent provides access to numerous news servers, facilitates the import and export of NZB files, supports threaded conversations, and offers a highly customizable user interface—though some users find it somewhat intricate. It handles yEnc along with other encoding formats and can reassemble incomplete binary attachments, which helps with error correction.
Forté previously distributed a free edition called Free Agent, which either omitted certain premium features or locked them until registration. The final version available for free was 3.3.
Forté Internet Software
Initially known as Forte Advanced Management Systems, Forté Internet Software specialized in enterprise-grade network optimization and workstation management tools throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with licensing agreements including Nortel Networks. In 1996, the company introduced Adante, software aimed at managing large-scale corporate inbound email flows.
Genesys Telecommunications acquired Forté in late 1997 to incorporate Adante into its suite of products; Genesys itself was later acquired by Alcatel. In 2000, Alcatel divested Forté’s Consumer Software Group to Charles Dazler Knuff. Operating under the name Forté Internet Software, this division continues to develop Agent while exploring innovations in social software, email solutions, and wireless communication technologies based on trust networks.
In 2003, Forté established Forté Internet Services to offer Agent Premium Newsgroups (APN), a Usenet service characterized by high speed and extended retention periods.