Be demonstrates BeOS for Intel

Little Be Inc., makers of the PowerPC-based BeOS, demonstrated a versionof its object-oriented, multithreaded, multitasking, protected memoryoperating system running on Intel hardware this week. The demonstration,occurring this week at Software Development 98 in San Francisco, also promises a final release version of the OS in late March.

Be became famous in late 1996 when it was widely thought that Apple Computer would buy the company and use its OS as the next-generation MacOS.Those plans were dashed by Steve Jobs, who convinced Apple to buy his own NeXT Software instead, for more than twice as much money. Since then, CEOand chairman Jean-Louis Gassee has pushed Be to produce a version of itsOS for Intel computers. Gassee has no misconceptions about the market,however: he realizes that the Be OS will never displace Windows. Rather, hesees the BeOS being useful working in conjunction with Windows.

The main focuses of the BeOS are simplicity, stability, and the ability toeffectively use more than one CPU. Gassee would like to see the BeOS becomethe leading development platform for multimedia, such as audio and video.Be calls people who work in this field "digital designers," many of whomare former Amiga users. The reception to the BeOS in strong Amiga marketssuch as Europe has been tremendous, he says.

Be will make the first version of its BeOS for Intel available to customersduring a Be developers conference on March 19. Pricing has yet to bedetermined, though it is expected to be similar in price to the PowerPCversion, which costs $49.95. For more information about Be and the BeOS,please visit the Be Web site