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BeOS

From Alfawiki
Be Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustrySoftware, Operating systems
Founded1990s; 35 years ago (1990s)
FounderJean-Louis Gassée
Defunct2001 (2001)
FateAcquired by Palm
Headquarters
United States
ProductsBeOS, BeIA

BeOS was an operating system developed by Be Inc. specifically for personal computers, which has since been discontinued. Originally engineered for the company's proprietary BeBox hardware debuting in 1995, BeOS emphasized capabilities such as multitasking, multithreading, and a sophisticated graphical user interface. Subsequently, it was marketed to OEMs, retail outlets, and end-users, with its last iteration distributed as freeware.

The initial releases focused on PowerPC architecture, before being adapted for Macintosh systems and later for the x86 platform. Despite its advanced technical features, BeOS struggled to achieve widespread adoption and was eventually acquired by Palm in 2001. Since then, dedicated communities have created successors like Haiku, which maintain compatibility with BeOS 5.

Development

The inception of BeOS stemmed from former Apple executive Jean-Louis Gassée’s concept of a "media OS" tailored for digital media processing and multiprocessor environments. Development commenced in the early 1990s, initially targeting AT&T Hobbit processors before transitioning to PowerPC CPUs—first on Be’s own BeBox and later on Apple hardware—anticipating that Apple might license or acquire BeOS as a successor to the classic Mac OS.

The debut version of BeOS was launched alongside the BeBox in October 1995, offering support for analog and digital audio, MIDI integration, multiple video inputs, and 3D graphics processing. The first official release was Developer Release 6 (DR6).

Developer Release 7 (DR7), released in April 1996, introduced full 32-bit color support, virtual desktops called "workspaces," as well as integrated FTP and web servers. This was followed by DR8 in September 1996, which incorporated a new web browser capable of handling MPEG and QuickTime formats, OpenGL graphics acceleration, remote access features, and compatibility with Power Macintosh systems.

During 1996, Apple CEO Gil Amelio engaged in acquisition discussions with Be Inc., but negotiations collapsed due to disagreements over valuation; Apple ultimately opted to purchase NeXT instead.

The final developer release added a 64-bit file system. The first public Preview Release (PR1), issued mid-1997, included AppleTalk networking, PostScript printing capabilities, and Unicode support. PR2 enhanced the system further by adding Macintosh HFS file system compatibility, expanding RAM support up to 512MB, and refining the user interface.

Release 3 (R3), arriving in March 1998, marked the first commercially available edition and introduced an Intel x86 port alongside PowerPC support. This strategic shift partially responded to Apple's termination of the Mac clone market and growing financial challenges faced by Be.

Release 4 delivered up to a 30% performance boost, realigned keyboard shortcuts to resemble those found in Windows environments, incorporated drivers for widely used SCSI controllers on x86 machines, and replaced LILO with Be’s proprietary bootloader. Nevertheless, Novell NetWare support remained unavailable.

In 2000, Release 5 (R5) was launched in two variants: a professional edition and a free Personal Edition (PE). The PE version could operate within Windows or Linux environments and targeted both developers and general users. Additionally, Be open-sourced portions of the graphical user interface. CEO Gassée indicated willingness to fully open-source BeOS; however, this plan never materialized.

Although R5 garnered increased attention among users, commercial viability remained out of reach. Development halted as Be redirected efforts toward Internet appliances through its streamlined BeIA operating system. Following Palm’s acquisition of Be Inc. in 2001, R5 stood as the final official release. An incomplete R5.1 "Dano" build featuring the BeOS Networking Environment (BONE) surfaced unofficially after the takeover.

Version history table

Release Date Hardware
Developer Release 4 Prototype AT&T Hobbit
Developer Release 5 October 1995 PowerPC
Developer Release 6 January 1996
Developer Release 7 April 1996
Developer Release 8 September 1996
Developer Release 9

(Advanced Access Preview Release)

May 1997
Preview Release 1 June 1997
Preview Release 2 October 1997
Release 3 March 1998 PowerPC and Intel x86
R3.1 June 1998
R3.2 July 1998
Release 4 November 4, 1998
R4.5 ("Genki") June 1999
Release 5 ("Maui")

Personal Edition/Pro Edition

March 28, 2000
May 26, 2000 (5.0.3)
R5.1 ("Dano") Leaked Intel x86

Hardware support and licensees

After the BeBox was discontinued in January 1997, Power Computing distributed BeOS (via CD-ROM) with its PowerPC-based Macintosh clone systems, allowing users to dual boot between Classic Mac OS and BeOS. Additionally, Motorola included BeOS alongside MacOS on its StarMax Macintosh clones. DayStar Digital was another company licensed to distribute the OS.

While BeOS was compatible with numerous Macintosh models, it did not support the PowerBook. With the introduction of Release 3 on the x86 platform, BeOS broadened its hardware compatibility to encompass a wide range of Windows PCs. In Japan, Hitachi became the first prominent x86 original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to ship BeOS pre-installed on its Flora Prius computers; meanwhile, Fujitsu marketed Silverline systems in Germany and Nordic regions.

Despite these collaborations, Be encountered difficulties attracting further hardware partners due to restrictive agreements imposed by Microsoft. Following Be's shutdown in 2002, the company filed a lawsuit against Microsoft, accusing it of interference that dissuaded Hitachi from continuing to offer BeOS-based PCs. The case concluded with an out-of-court settlement of $23.25 million, with no admission of wrongdoing from Microsoft.

Architecture

BeOS was engineered as a fully original system featuring a custom-designed kernel, supporting symmetric multiprocessing, preemptive multitasking, and extensive multithreading. It operates in a protected memory environment and provides a C++ application framework built on shared libraries and modular components. Initially, software development was supported through CodeWarrior, later supplemented by the addition of EGCS.

The system's API is designed around Object-oriented programming, with the user interface heavily utilizing multithreading—each window runs within its own thread and communicates via message passing; these principles are central to the API's design.

BeOS takes advantage of contemporary hardware capabilities such as modular I/O bandwidth management, a multithreaded graphics subsystem incorporating OpenGL, and a 64-bit journaling file system called BFS, which can handle files up to one terabyte in size. The OS offers partial compliance with POSIX standards and includes a command-line shell based on Bash, although it is not derived from Unix. Numerous Unix applications have been ported to run on BeOS.

Unicode serves as the default character encoding for the graphical user interface; however, support for input methods like bidirectional text entry was never implemented.

Applications

BeOS was distributed with several distinctive applications such as the NetPositive web browser, the BeMail email client, and the PoorMan web server. It supported software acquisition through BeDepot, a marketplace for buying and downloading programs, alongside BeWare, which served as a catalog of available platform applications. Among prominent third-party software were the Gobe Productive office suite, the Mozilla project, and multimedia applications like Cinema 4D. Official versions of Quake and Quake II were launched, with SimCity 3000 in active development.

Reception

Although Be did not publicly share its user statistics, estimates placed BeOS installations between 50,000 and 100,000 machines by 1999, with Release 5 reportedly surpassing one million downloads. The system was briefly considered a contender against Mac OS and Windows but was rapidly eclipsed by Linux by 1998.

The operating system earned favorable evaluations for its genuine multitasking capabilities and support for multiple processors. Despite limited market adoption, BeOS carved out a specialized multimedia following and gained recognition within the audio production community, often referred to as a "media OS" due to its robust audio and video functionality. It garnered notable interest in Japan and attracted Amiga developers looking for a contemporary platform.

BeOS and its variants were utilized in media devices such as Roland Corporation’s Edirol DV-7 video editors, which run on an adapted version of BeOS. The Tunetracker Radio Automation software operated on BeOS and was later bundled with Haiku OS in 2015. Furthermore, the Zeta operating system was marketed as a "Station-in-a-Box," integrating BeOS technology tailored for broadcast environments.

Legacy

The Tascam SX-1 digital audio recorder employs a significantly modified BeOS version that boots directly into the recording interface. The RADAR 24, RADAR V, and RADAR 6, professional 24-track audio recorders developed by iZ Technology Corporation, were built upon BeOS 5. Magicbox utilizes BeOS to power its Aavelin line of signage and broadcast display products. Final Scratch, a vinyl timecode-controlled DJ hardware and software system, originated on BeOS; its "ProFS" iteration was distributed to select DJs before migrating to a Linux virtual partition.

Spiritual successors

Following the discontinuation of BeOS, Palm developed PalmSource, integrating elements of BeOS's multimedia architecture into its ill-fated Palm OS Cobalt platform. When PalmSource was acquired by Access Co., ownership rights to BeOS transferred accordingly. However, Palm declined community requests to license BeOS, prompting open-source initiatives aimed at replicating or extending the operating system.

BeUnited, a community centered on BeOS development, transformed into a nonprofit organization in August 2001 with the mission to "define and promote open specifications for the Open Standards BeOS-compatible Operating System (OSBOS)" initiative.

ZETA

Following Palm's acquisition of Be, the German firm yellowTAB created Zeta, commercially releasing it based on the BeOS R5.1 source code. Distribution was later managed by magnussoft. During its development phase, yellowTAB faced criticism from the BeOS user community for failing to clarify its legal authority over the BeOS codebase. After acquiring intellectual property rights from PalmSource, Access Co. declared yellowTAB unauthorized to distribute modified versions of BeOS, leading magnussoft to halt sales in 2007.

Haiku (OpenBeOS)

Haiku is an open source project that re-creates the BeOS environment, initially launched as OpenBeOS in 2002. In contrast to Cosmoe and BlueEyedOS, it offers full compatibility with existing BeOS software. As of 2024, Haiku stands as the sole BeOS clone under active development. Its fifth beta version was released in September 2024, continuing to support BeOS 5 applications on 32-bit x86 systems while also enhancing compatibility with contemporary drivers and GTK-based programs.

Others

BlueEyedOS was developed with the goal of delivering a BeOS-compatible platform licensed under the LGPL, utilizing the Linux kernel alongside an X server. The project began as BlueOS in 2001, producing a demonstration CD in 2003 before ceasing development in 2005.

Cosmoe,[1] created by Bill Hayden, blended a BeOS-inspired user interface with an open source operating system built on AtheOS and OpenBeOS components, but running atop the Linux kernel. After Cosmoe was discontinued, ZevenOS attempted to carry on its vision. In mid-2024, the original developer relaunched Cosmoe with an updated codebase that integrates Haiku technologies.

BeFree started its development journey in 2003 targeting FreeBSD before shifting focus to the Linux platform.

See also

Further reading

External links

  1. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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