Here we can see, “What Was BeOS, and Why Did People Love It?”
In the mid-1990s, Be Inc. dared to make a brand-new pc OS from scratch. It gained critical approval for its ahead-of-its-time features but did not capture significant market share. It’s still a cult favourite 25 years later, and here’s why.
The BeOS Secret? A Fresh Start and Unique Feel
BeOS may be a now-defunct multimedia OS first introduced in October 1995 for Be Inc.’s BeBox computer. The driving forces behind Be were Jean-Louis Gassée, Apple’s former vice chairman of development, and Steve Sakoman, creator of the Apple Newton. With these tech credentials, Be had the industry’s ear right from the beginning.
BeOS was unique among the pc operating systems of the ’90s thanks to its lack of legacy code. By the mid-’90s, Windows, Mac OS, OS/2, Solaris, Linux, and even NeXTSTEP, were evolutionary operating systems with a minimum of a decade of history. With BeOS, though, Be dared to make a completely new OS from scratch to satisfy the era’s requirements: multimedia and internet support.
Be developed BeOS in conjunction with a custom dual-processor, PowerPC-based hardware platform called BeBox. First released on Oct. 3, 1995, it had been equipped to handle digital audio and video more adeptly than the contemporary Macs and PCs.
The BeBox was an odd but desirable machine. It originally retailed for around $1,600 ($2,700 in today’s money) and was intended to be used as more of a development platform than a general consumer device.
It also served as necessary proof that Be’s multimedia-centric vision of desktop computing could work.
What Made BeOS Special?
Soon after BeOS’s launch, the press was sceptical about the project but, generally, praised its clean and uncluttered interface. BeOS’s button use is minimal and prudent. Rather than bars at the highest of each window, BeOS had window tabs. Its icons were also cute and uncomplicated.
BeOS’s Deskbar menu system (roughly like the Windows Start menu and macOS’s Dock) allowed for a compact yet robust interface for managing applications and preferences. Beos release 5 (R5) could even be stretched across rock bottom of the screen, sort of a Start menu.
Unlike other operating systems, BeOS supported multi-threaded applications and included support for multiprocessor machines from the beginning. After an upgrade, it also included a multi-threaded, 64-bit journaling filing system called BFS. This had a built-in database designed to support digital multimedia recording and playback, which was novel within the mid-’90s.
The goal was to make the OS feel lightweight and quick (reportedly, booting on the BeBox took as little as 10 seconds) while still being robust enough to play several digital video files simultaneously. This was quite a breathtaking achievement for 1995.
BeOS also shipped with an internet browser and had UNIX-like elements, including support for a Bash command-line interface, even though it wasn’t Unix-based. It also supported virtual desktops for productivity, a feature that isn’t implemented at BeOS levels in the latest operating systems.
Why Did BeOS Fail?
BeOS is nearly a textbook case of painful tech what-if scenarios with its highly-praised tech and shut run-ins successfully. Most famously, in 1996, Apple suggested getting Be and its property to create BeOS, the core of a replacement Macintosh OS. Be’s executives baulked at the worth offered (reportedly, around $120 million), and negotiations soon stalled.
When Steve Jobs acknowledged the potential BeOS deal, he offered up NeXT and its OS, ultimately winning. Thus, Apple’s Mac OS X was born, but its impetus could even as quickly have BeOS had Be accepted Apple’s initial offer.
Without the sale to Apple, Be was left to travel it alone. After selling only around 1,800 units of BeBox over two years (and with no acquisition forthcoming), Be decided to develop versions of BeOS that might run on Macs and commodity Windows PC hardware. There was even a private Edition that would run inside Windows.
Unfortunately for Be, the private computer OS space was intensely competitive at that point. Apple, Microsoft, IBM, NeXT, and desktop Linux were all vying for dominance. Like OS/2, BeOS lacked ample third-party application support because developers targeted OS platforms with larger install bases first.
Still, Be made some promising deals. It negotiated with several PC manufacturers to incorporate BeOS during a dual-boot configuration with Windows. Within the end, the sole PC hardware (other than BeBox) to ship with BeOS was the Hitachi FLORA Prius 330J line in Japan.
Unfortunately, thanks to monopolistic pressure from Microsoft, its BeOS installation remained hidden unless it had been unlocked via a cumbersome process. Be sued Microsoft over this practice in 2002, and the suit was later settled out of court.
Ultimately, Be decided to shift gears and support internet appliances. Palm, Inc. purchased Be for $11 million in 2001 and discontinued support for the desktop version of BeOS. Until around 2006, BeOS lived only as an embedded OS in some recording and video-editing products from Roland and Tascam.
BeOS Lives on in Haiku OS
Today, you’ll download and use a functional modern descendant of the desktop BeOS called Haiku. This free, open-source project remains in beta, but it’s compatible with legacy (and new) BeOS applications. It’s a joy to experiment with, on either a virtual machine or as an immediate install on Windows-compatible hardware.
Haiku’s lightweight and the efficient interface seems like a breath of fresh air compared to Windows. It also includes a contemporary browser supported WebKit, so you’ll still get tons through with it, albeit BeOS and Haiku application support is usually lacking. Check it bent get a taste of the longer term that would are.
Happy Birthday, BeOS!
Conclusion
I hope you found this helpful guide. If you’ve got any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to use the shape below.
User Questions:
- Is BeOS still used?
BeOS may be a now-defunct multimedia OS first introduced in October 1995 for Be Inc.’s BeBox computer. The driving forces behind Be were Jean-Louis Gassée, Apple’s former vice chairman of development, and Steve Sakoman, creator of the Apple Newton.
- What is the BeOS test?
Brain Electrical Oscillation Signature Profiling (BEOSP or BEOS) is an EEG technique by which a suspect’s participation during a crime is detected by eliciting electrophysiological impulses.
- What is BOE in business?
A Basis of Estimate (BOE) is an analyzed and punctiliously calculated number used for proposals, bidding on government contracts, and executing a project with a calculated budget.
- Has anyone heard of Zeta (BeOS based OS)?
Has anyone heard of Zeta (BeOS based OS)? from vintagecomputing
- What is a stimulating, lesser-known OS on behalf of me to study?
What is an interesting, lesser known OS for me to study? from compsci
