What's Be?

In 1990, Jean-Louis Gassée, former president of Apple's product division, formed Be, Inc. to address the problems involved with older computer operating systems head-on -- to step beyond the evolutionary approach to personal computing architectures. To see what could be accomplished if you built a personal computer using new assumptions, based on cutting-edge software design concepts, and designed for the next decade's applications, rather than the last decade's. The result is a new level of price-performance and a dramatic reduction in the complexity of software development.

What is the BeOS?

The BeOS is, quite simply, an operating system. An operating system provides programmers with a means of performing input and output to and from the hardware of a computer. For instance, an operating system helps applications display information on the screen, and tells applications where the user clicked the mouse. Computers can often run several different operating systems; Intel-based PCs can run Windows 3.1, Windows 95, or Windows NT, for instance. Traditionally, a Power Mac could only run the Macintosh Operating System, but Power Mac users now have an additional choice: the BeOS. The BeOS is also particularly well-suited to digital media creation.

What are the main features of the BeOS?

For an in-depth look at the features of the BeOS, see the Products section of the Be web site. Here's a brief summary of the features:

• A True Multitasking, Heavily Multithreaded System. The BeOS is a heavily threaded system, and the application model is designed to divide an application into multiple threads even if the programmer doesn't explicitly do so. This increases the efficiency and performance of applications and of low-level OS operations, allowing developers to structure their applications for simplicity and performance without worrying about arbitrary architectural limits.
  
  
• Symmetric Multiprocessing. The most efficient way to take advantage of multiple processors is to allow threads to move from one processor to another depending on system load -- a process called symmetric multiprocessing. The result is significantly greater parallelism on multiprocessor systems, and significantly higher overall performance throughout.
  
  
• An Object-Oriented Design. The BeOS application programming interface (API) is object-oriented, rather than the procedural API common in other mainstream OS architectures. The result is faster time to market for new applications, and faster revisions to existing applications over time.
  
  
• A Design for Real-Time Media and Communications. The structure of the BeOS is optimized for dealing with real-time, high-bandwidth data types such as audio and video, and for handling a wide array of communications capabilities.
  
  
• Simplicity. Throughout the BeOS, there has been a heavy emphasis on delivering simple, elegant solutions to programming problems. The attention to simplicity within the BeOS stems from an underlying belief that software programmers are most effective and efficient when each one can understand the entire OS model.

What machines does the BeOS run on?

A variety of 603 and 604 PCI-based Power Mac machines, made by Power Computing, Motorola, Apple, and others. It also runs on the BeBox, Be's dual-processor computer (no longer sold).

Where can I get the BeOS?

The BeOS Release 3 was recently introduced, and it's heavily geared toward an advanced audience. This release incorporates many new features, bug fixes, and design enhancements. if you're interested in obtaining the BeOS Preview Release, see the BeOS Now! page for more information on how to get it.

Where can I learn more?

• About Be: This section contains information about Be Inc.'s overall goals and strategy, how to contact us, employment opportunities, information for the press, links to press articles about Be, and the complete back issues of the weekly Be Newsletter.

• Products: Detailed information about The BeOS, including specific features of the BeOS, new features added in the Preview Release, a tour of the BeOS in action (with screenshots), a white paper on why the BeOS is a true Media OS, and a chart of BeOS-compatible computers. Links to applications which can make your Mac look like it's running the BeOS are available here too.

• BeWare: BeOS-compatible software, organized into several categories. Links to downloading much of this software are available here. Several applications are also highlighted in BeWare; BeWare Highlights provide a more in-depth look at specific applications.

• Purchase: Here's where Be t-shirts, CodeWarrior for BeOS, and (this summer) the BeOS Preview Release can be purchased. Both secure and non-secure servers are available.

• Events: Be holds demonstrations of the BeOS all over the world; information about when and where these demos are held can be found in the Events section. Special demonstrations are also held every Friday at 3pm at Be's Menlo Park offices; information about signing up for them can be found here too.

• Developers: Programmers should head to the Developers section for more detailed information about the BeOS. The complete BeOS API (instructions for programming the BeOS) is available here for free. Sample C++ code can also be found here. Lists of recent additions to the Be FTP site are here, along with guidelines for uploading to the FTP site so that software developers can distribute preliminary versions of applications more widely. Bug reports can be submitted in the Developer section, and previously submitted bugs can also be reviewed on-line. Developers can sign up for the Be Developer Program on-line and can enter the Registered Developer Area once they're confirmed.

• Be User Groups: Be has dozens of user groups located all over the world, and information about them can be found here on the web site. Instructions on how to create a new Be User Group are also available here. Links to Be-related web sites can be found here too.

• Support: If you're having problems with the BeOS on your computer, the Support section is the place to go for help. We answer as many questions as we possibly can here, and have special documents for especially tricky issues. Updates to the current BeOS release can be found in the Support section too. Answers to other frequently asked questions are also in the Support section; it's the best place to go for miscellaneous bits of information about Be.

For more information about Be or the BeOS, we invite you to delve into our web site. If have specific questions about Be and can't find the answers in the general areas of the site, check the Support section -- it really does have answers to the vast majority of the questions we've received over the years. If the Support section doesn't have what you're looking for, please e-mail us; we'd be happy to answer your questions.