This document answers questions regarding the BeOS for IntelArchitecture. It is early yet in the development cycle of theBeOS for Intel, and so many of the specific technical questions,and even questions regarding availability, pricing, etc., aredifficult or impossible to answer at this time.
Other questions about the BeOS, which are not specific toIntel hardware, can be found in the other FAQ pages we havecreated. Do check those out, too.
If after reading this collection of frequently asked questionsyou still find your question(s) unanswered, send us a messageletting us know what questions and answers you'd like to seeadded to the page. Direct these questions to webmaster@be.com.And then keep checking back!
Finally, you can sign up to receive news via e-mail regarding the BeOS for Intel release. We won't notify you of every FAQ update, but instead will send you mail when we have announcements to make, or other significant news.
General
Q: Is Be developing the BeOS for Intel Architecture?A: Yes. See the press release on our web site for details:
http://www.be.com/aboutbe/pressreleases/97-08-04_intel.html
Q: Why is Be developing the BeOS for Intel Architecture?A: We commissioned a study from some top industry analysts, and they came back and told us there were a lot of Intel Architecture PCs out there...
Seriously, our motivations are simple: to provide the maximum number of BeOS "seats" to which our developers can sell their BeOS applications. Quoting from the press release:
"Our goal is to meet the needs of customers doing digital content design -- no matter what hardware platform they may be using.", said Jean-Louis Gassée, president and CEO of Be, Inc. "BeOS for Intel opens the door for an even broader customer audience to take advantage of our technology. At the same time, we will expand the market -- the business foundation -- for BeOS software developers. BeOS for Intel represents an acceleration of our company's strategy, and we're looking forward to the opportunities the move represents."
Q: Now that Be is doing the BeOS on Intel, does this mean that Be is no longer supporting the BeOS on PowerPC?A: No, we're still committed to developing the BeOS for PowerPC systems (BeBox and Power Mac).
You might want to read the words of our CEO on this issue, written for the Be Newsletter shortly after the Intel announcement:
http://www.be.com/aboutbe/benewsletter/Issue85.html#Gassee
Q: When will the BeOS for Intel Architecture be available?A: The short answer is, "when it's ready."
The version of the BeOS for Intel Architecture which was demonstrated at our Boston Be Developers' Conference was an early version of the port. We still have a lot of work to do. We are tentatively planning an early 1998 release (the press release says January), but you (and we) know the realities of software development.
When we know more, we'll make a more definitive announcement.
Q: When will the BeOS for Intel Architecture be available for BeOS developers, or beta testers?A: The version of the BeOS for Intel Architecture shown at the August BeOS Developers Conference was not ready even for developers, and frankly, there's a lot of work to do before it will be. We're not ready to give a timeframe for developer or beta release.
We are confident that within the next 2-4 weeks we will have a better sense of the engineering challenges and schedules, and will update this information when we can.
Q: How much will the BeOS for Intel Architecture cost?A: We do not have an answer to this question at this time. Since the BeOS for Intel Architecture will be released as part of the next major release of the BeOS, simultaneous with the release for PowerPC, the pricing may change from the current price of $49.95 for the release plus two updates.
However, our goal continues to be to proliferate the BeOS onto as many "seats" as possible, and you can expect the pricing to be in-line with that goal.
Q: If I buy the BeOS for PowerPC today, will I get the BeOS for Intel?A: We have not yet determined the answer to this question. Stay tuned as we get closer to the Intel release; as soon as we know the answer, we'll post it here.
Q: Can I be a beta tester for the BeOS for Intel Architecture?A: At the present time, we aren't in need of additional beta testers. We generally seed our developers first, then open it up to a wider distribution. However, when and if this changes, we will certainly post an announcement on our web site, so keep checking back every few weeks.
Hardware Requirements
Q: What hardware will the BeOS for Intel Architecture run on?A: We're fairly confident about our support for the components in the basic PC AT standard: logic board, 2 serial ports, 1 parallel port, a PCI graphics card, and an IDE interface for the hard drive.
It is, however, too early to answer this question in a definitive way. There is simply too much work to do before we'll be ready to commit ourselves to supporting specific hardware. What we can tell you, though, is what it runs on currently, in our offices.
Note: The following is not a commitment to ship the BeOS for these (or any other) configurations, and Be is not responsible for any purchasing decisions made on this information. Please re-read that sentence.
Be demonstrated the BeOS for Intel Architecture at the BeDC running on a dual-Pentium II 266 (one was a Tyan dual Pentium II (Tahoe) motherboard, and another was a SuperMicro P6DKF Dual Pentium II motherboard) system with a Matrox Millennium graphics card, 64 megs of RAM, and an IBM DAQA-33240 3.2 gig IDE hard drive.
We also demoed on a dual-Pentium Pro system (Intel Providence logic board), with similar add-ons.
We've also booted on other Pentium-based systems, and at least one Pentium clone-based system, here in the office.
Q: Will the BeOS for Intel Architecture run on my laptop?A: Again, it's much too early to commit to any specifics of hardware support, particularly specific models of laptops.
That being said, Be is very, very interested in having the BeOS run on Intel Architecture laptops, and it is certainly our intention to try to support them.
Be's own VP of Sales and Marketing is getting tired of carrying 275 pounds of demonstration equipment (and the requisite cases to protect it) through airports and subways, so you can be confident that we've got internal motivation to make this work. ;-)
Q: Will the BeOS for Intel Architecture run on my system based on the AMD "K6" processor? Or one based on the Cyrix 6x86mmx? Etc.?A: Be has run in-house the BeOS on Pentium-, Pentium MMX-, Pentium Pro-, and Pentium II-based systems, as well as some of the clones of those processors.
However, specific support for systems based on any processor is to be determined, since there are many variables to the problem. Of course if a processor is a perfect clone of one of Intel's current processors, there probably won't be a problem. In theory...
Q: Will the BeOS run on the "Merced" processor?A: Without a shipping version of the processor, it's simply not possible to answer this question. Intel's advanced Merced chips are not in any shipping products, and are not even available to developers so far as we know.
And while we would obviously love to run on the fastest processors available, it would be foolish for us to commit to something like the Merced processor at this time.
Q: Will I be able to use my XYZZY (that is, any random) ISA or PCI card?A: It is too early yet to give a definitive answer to this question. As our Chief Technology Officer has stated, our hardware support will initially be constrained by time-to-market considerations. So it is very possible that certain cards will not be supported in our initial release.
As we know more, we'll post information to our web site, so keep checking back.
Windows Compatibility
Q: Can the BeOS for Intel Architecture run Windows programs?A: The BeOS for Intel Architecture will run BeOS applications compiled for Intel processors. BeOS developers will simply re-compile their BeOS applications for Intel machines.
We do not currently have plans for the initial release of the BeOS for Intel Architecture to provide a Windows compatibility solution inside the BeOS. However, a number of third parties have expressed interest in such a solution, including suggesting specific technologies. We're continuing to investigate, and would be happy to work with third parties interested in developing such a product.
Be does intend that the BeOS for Intel Architecture will fully support booting multiple operating systems on the same machine (as many people do today with Windows 95, Windows NT, Linux, etc.). So, when you need your Windows applications, you will simply boot into Windows.
Q: Will the BeOS for Intel Architecture be able to mount FAT (DOS/Windows) or NTFS (Windows NT) file systems?A: It is too early yet to give a definitive answer to this question. However, we have found that users are very happy to have access to the data on their Macintosh HFS volumes, and expect that users of the BeOS for Intel Architecture would get similar utility out of similar functionality.
The BeOS file system supports plug-in file system access, and plug-in file systems have already been written (by Be and third parties) for Macintosh HFS, ISO 9660 (a CD-ROM standard), and FAT (DOS) file system access. So support for additional file systems, if not coming directly from Be, is likely to come from somewhere.
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