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BeDope clarifies iToaster issue
Sebbo writes "The latest article at BeDope has coverage of the iToaster confusion. It includes a nice photo of Be's VP of Developer Relations, Tim Self, demoing BeOS R4.5's new Death Ray app on the president of Microworkz. " Ya know, it's just good to have this whole thing cleared up. For record, AOL might buy Microworkz, and Microworkz does not run a BeOS/Linux hybrid, but an OS based on the ideas found therein.
1) the iToaster runs BeOS. Period
2) BeOS is not based on linux or the "_idea_" of linux. Yes is partialy POSIX compliant, and yes it does have some unix style aspects (the shell) and it does ship with gcc. But its not *nix, its not inspired by or based on unix or linux.
3) According to the info filed in connection with Be's upcomming IPO, they plan to provide BeOS for little or no cost to OEMs such as microworkz to gain market share, exposure and hardware support.
$200 products such as the iToaster obviously would not be possible if M$ style lisceneing costs were involved.
Opera isn't fully CSS1/DOM1 compliant, nor does it support Java (at least, it didn't when I tried it.) Also, it lacks in the customisation of UI field, at which Mozilla excels because of XUL. If Microworkz are using the BeOS backend with a new UI, Mozilla and its customisable UI could fit in very well with that scheme.
So, Mozilla could get a huge number of users in a future incarnation of the iToaster (if it takes off) in fairly short order. A good opportunity, I say.
Out of curiousity, how much does BeOS usually cost?
It seems that unless BeOS is pretty cheap, it would be worth paying the extra $100 or so to get a (admittedly cheap) PC on top of it! I wonder if you can take Be off it, install it on a more robust machine, and stick Linux on the iToaster to use as a firewall or gateway machine...
It's a good thing the government didn't take away their "freedom to innovate" in that regard.
Your right to not believe: Americans United for Separation of Church and
I think part of it is simply to gain more exposure. BeOS is caught in the wake of Linux (at least with regards to being an alternative operating system to Microsoft's Windows), but doesn't have the catchy buzzphrase of Open Source (I'm not disparaging it; it's simply a fact of the current media that many journalists trump Open Source without actually understanding a single iota of it).
Be's trying to gain some market share for their operating system, and in order to do it will license their OS for free, or approximations thereof. How this plays into their business plan, I'm not sure. Perhaps the licensing is based on volume, or future upgrades will cost money while the initial license is free, or... fill in the blank. As far as I know, no mention of the licensing issues has been brought up, and I don't think the Microwerkz deal falls under the "free licenses to OEMs!" offer that JLG made (IIRC, that was about preloading BOTH Windows and BeOS on the same machine with equal ability to choose between them).
So... I don't think this cleared up the matter, but maybe shed a bit more light on it.
Finally, some clarity. I e-mailed the CEO, Rick Latman and received a nice response. The hybrid OS stuff being reported is, as we suspected, incorrect. He said that they had originally planned on adding a "Linux panel", but those plans were cancelled.
"iToaster is a BeOS backend with a customized gui."
With regard to third party development opportunities, he said they will exist. He did warn me that "this is not BeOS as you know it. It is a very specialized version." Hmm.
Interesting tidbit to those of you looking for a BeOS programming job - he said "we are hiring Be programmers as fast as we can find them."
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I run BeOS. The rules don't apply.
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I run BeOS. The rules don't apply.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm as pro-choice as the next guy when it comes to putting an OS on your machine (running RH5.1 at home, m'self). But a question - who exactly is the audience for this thing? No external drive, so you can't buy software off the shelf. And this thing comes with a 56k modem....meaning I have to tell my dad that if he wants WordPerfect, he needs to download it, please come back in 6 hours? And how clearly does their advertising explain that there's no monitor on the thing? Not to mention it's a sealed box. I mean, my dad might not be the biggest computer user in the world, but he knows enough to ask me how to help him upgrade his memory and his disk capacity. If I told him he can get a machine for $199 that he can't ever upgrade, he'd tell me to forget it. Just trying to figure out the point of this machine, and I hope it's not to dupe a whole bunch of paranoid customers into offering the cheapest machine they can get away with. This seems to be the antithesis to the Gateway leasing argument of "If you're afraid the machine will become obsolete, you can join this program and we'll upgrade it for you." The Microworkz spin seems to be "The machine will get obsolete fast, but you didn't pay much for it, so just throw it away and get a new one." Duane P.S. - I love that "I don't care what Microsoft thinks" line. Where was this guy 3 years ago when MS was buildings its monopoly in the first place?
www.HearMySoulSpeak.com
The last paragraph of the article mentions that Microsoft is now no longer the only OS maker with a death ray. Further explanation of that remark can be found in the second article here.
No... YOU ask them. I'm afraid to.
:)
(Maybe we could call it the GNU Public Laser)
Save the whales. Feed the hungry. Free the mallocs.
Is it just me, or did any one else think of professor John Frink presenting his death ray to Grampa Simpson here:
Oh, I never thought of that ... the death ray has only evil uses...
Back to the real world ... Heavens to marketroid! it just goes to show that people who report on IT should have a freakin' clue about what they're talking about. Those original reports about a "hybrid" OS should never have been filed because the dopes that wrote them should have called whoever made the announcement on it. Not that the death ray shouldn't have been used on the guy who made the announcement too. But reporters have really got to learn to ask the right questions, it's their job, d*&&^% it.
Uhh, Linux not Windows ... this OS not Windows ... this OS must be Linux, right?
"Oh, I hope he doesn't give us halyatchkies," said Heinrich.
Be had a nifty booth at PC Expo, with the iToaster and a Microworkz rep tucked away in a corner. After asking a few questions about why they're not porting BeOS on to the G3 (official answer: "Because Apple won't play nice."), the giddy rep pointed me to the new iToaster. It's about the size of a VCR circa '86, and about as heavy. It does allow for printers/scanners/etc via serial and USB ports, and comes with word processing software.
As for that whole "Linux/BeOS" shenanigan.. After the Be rep checked my entrance badge to make sure I wasn't a part of the press, I was told that the mentioning of Linux was to raise the level of interest, a PR move devised supposedly by the Prez of Be.
I think that it's an excellent box for those who can't afford a real computer, but that may change as the price of a box & monitor drop. But at the moment, with the price being almost as low as my Playstation (and with an equally low intimidation factor), Be should stand a very good chance of gaining market share, especially with the release date timed well enough for the holidays. (October or November, if I remember correctly) They also intend to make a "kids iToaster", which from what I understood, consisted mostly of changing the icons available on the startup screen.
Now if only the people Linux Pavilion at PC Expo had been as friendly... but that's another story.
ai
"...and the stains on my boots say my life is going well." -Ruby
So how long before we can get a Linux port of the DeathRay App?
Doesn't anyone remember back in February when Jean-Louis Gassee dared OEMS to preload Be and Linux in defiance of Microsoft??? He said he would give BeOS FREE to OEMs willing to preload it. Check: http://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/stories/news/0,4153,10 13959,00.html