Date: 2008-11-02 11:52:02 Created: null
BeOS was a fresh start among operating systems. BeOS didn't have to be backward compatible with anything. The so called "personal edition" is a fifty megabyte download that installs just like any Windows program, and expands into a 250 megabyte file inside which BeOS lives and runs very happily (of course, you can give it its own partition as well to make it, and yourself, even happier). BeOS starts and runs at lightning speed compared to any other modern OS, and just seeing it and browsing the menus makes you feel good inside in a way that Windows never can do.
Yep, the personal edition is a fifty megabyte download. A completely free fifty megabyte download. Which is even more reason to give it a try. You can find it by clicking the link to BeBits in the externals menu.
So, naturally it died way too fast. Not before gaining a quite devoted following though. Actually, the following has been so devoted that at least two free versions of BeOS are in the works, BlueOS and Open BeOS (with reservation for name changes). I wish them all the best luck, and keep BeOS on a partition on my hard drive, ready to boot whenever I need to be cheered up.
The main thing against BeOS was the lack of applications. If you thought Macs sometimes lacked software you ain't seen nothing yet! However, if you're mostly a general web browser like me you needn't really worry. Opera may have ceased development long ago, and IE can't even be considered of course, but Mozilla is actively developed and ported to BeOS pretty soon after a new version is released. Actually, I think that it would be a great thing to make my own "internet appliance" with an old computer, BeOS and Mozilla.
So, you might think, if you really want an alternative OS, why not use Linux? Well, I do use Linux, and actually more than BeOS as well. However BeOS has some definitive advantages. It's natively graphical, it's very quick to start up, doesn't give any worrying text messages or require any manual setup before using and just looks better and friendlier in general. People say it feels a bit Mac-like, and I have to agree if you by that mean user friendly and inviting.
So, it's very unfortunate BeOS and Be inc. is dead. Everyone I know who has tried it loves it, so get a hold of the still available Personal Edition at BeBits and give it a try!
Update on June 15, 2002
For a while I've been trying on and off to get my webcam to work with BeOS, all without much success. After doing some more serious research (previous stuff was very sporadic :-) it seems I may have to give up the whole idea. The reason is the complete and unbendable lack of USB webcam drivers for BeOS. Such a pity, especially after the hopes raised by finding a webcam application ready and waiting by default in the apps menu ...
Update on August 4, 2002
Oh no, I've rediscovered my old nemesis of BeOS problems, being unable to find the @ on the keyboard! Currently I've resorted to copying Martin's email address, pasting it and erasing the other bits, but it feels like a kind of temporary and not quite satisfying solution. I know I've experienced this before, and I'm pretty sure I got rid of it somehow. The question is how the heck I did it ...
Problem solved, Martin mailed me a Swedish keymap that did the trick. At least it did in Terminal, doesn't seem to have taken effect in Mozilla yet ... But I assume that's just a matter of time.