BeOS or NeXT
Did Apple Make the Wrong Choice?
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Jonathan Ploudre
- 2001.04.16
It's hard to believe it has been four years. In early 1997,
Power Computing announced that they would ship the BeOS with their
clones. An upstart cloner shipping an upstart OS, if you will. This
was big news, since the BeOS fixed many of the problems that faced
System 7. The discussions from then sounds all too familiar
now.
BeOS offered preemptive multitasking that would improve the user
experience over the Mac's cooperative multitasking. BeOS had
protected memory for increased stability. BeOS could easily use
more than one processor at a time. BeOS had a dock. BeOS even had a
Posix compatibility layer so it could run Unix programs that were
recompiled for it. Whew.
But BeOS has more buzzwords that Mac OS X doesn't have.
For example, BeOS is pervasively multithreaded. Multithreading
is what allows the Finder in Mac OS 8 to copy a file while you open
a window and empty the Trash. BeOS automatically does the
multithreading for everything. Because it is built into the system,
any program for BeOS automatically makes multiple threads that can
be run on separate processors. That way all programs take advantage
of multiprocessing without any special programming techniques
required.
BeOS also had a journaling file system. With it's file system
(which is the equivalent of HFS+ on the Mac), BeOS keeps a
"journal" of all the reads and writes it plans to do to the drive
so it can recover if there is an error. By building this extra
level of security in, it virtually eliminates the need for programs
like Disk First Aid or Norton's Disk Doctor. The file system is
protected from corruption, and the multithreaded input/output even
protects the disk from fragmentation. Instead of building in a Disk
First Aid check, like Apple did with Mac OS 8.5, Be eliminated the
problem with their initial design.
Be's file system is also database-like. You could search and
sort files in BeOS just like you have FileMaker Pro built into the
operating system. One advantage was that over time, the properties
of files could allow you to do things that the Mac OS can't do
easily. For example, an MP3 collection could have your ID3
information like the artist or album name. Or your email could be
viewed with it's subject or sender. Sure, your programs do that but
in BeOS, the "Finder" can do that as well.
Because BeOS was written as a native operating system for the
PowerPC, it's amazingly fast. When I used BeOS 4.5 on my StarMax 3000/200, it was easily twice as
fast as the Mac OS on the same hardware. It boots up in 15 seconds.
Applications launch almost immediately. I could do four things at
once without slowing my computer down. It really made me appreciate
how great the PowerPC chip was and how much the Mac OS was holding
it back. The beauty of BeOS was that it was designed with a focus
on performance. It almost didn't matter what your hardware was,
because it would always be responsive and quick.
By designing the BeOS on a clean sheet of paper (Be never
worried about backwards compatibility), they were able to make an
Operating System that is technically as good as or better than Mac
OS X. But here's the catch: Be did that with a fraction of the
money and time that Apple invested in Mac OS X. If Apple had
bought Be instead of NeXT in December 1996, we would have already
had these modern features for a couple of years.
If you own a low end Power Mac with PCI, there's a good chance
that it's compatible with BeOS. You won't get Mac OS X's lickable
interface, but you'll get a modern architecture that will boost the
performance of your computer. You can find more detailed
information about BeOS at Be's website. The BeOS white paper is
persuasive today in describing how an OS ought to work.
You might want to wait until next week before trying to get a
copy of the BeOS. Next week I'll explain why I always returned to
the Mac OS after using the BeOS. 
Links
- BeOS or NeXT: The right
choice, David Puett, 2001.04.18. Another look at BeOS - and why
Apple did right to choose NeXT instead.
- BeOS and BFS, 2001.04.20. "BeOS does
things a bit differently than the Mac OS or some other OSes."
- User Interface: Mac vs. BeOS,
2001.04.23. Be had the opportunity to make a better interface than
Apple.
- Using BeOS on a Power Mac,
2001.04.30. BeOS is inexpensive and easy to install. Why you might
want to try it.
- NeXT: Apple's right choice,
2001.05.07. Why choosing NeXT instead of Be was the right move for
Apple.
- BeNews, all the BeOS news
fit to put on the Web.
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Memory To Go Special: New 2008 iMac 2GB $42 / iMac Intel Core2 DUO & MacBook Pro 2GB $36 - 1GB $20. MacPro 8 Core Memory 4GB kit $154 / 2GB kit $94 -- Free shipping available.
Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com
LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, Apple Batteries and Apple A/C Adapters. Also Great prices on Used Apple Computers. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here.
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Mac users can finally play Party Poker for Mac. Not only that, they can also learn how to play PokerStars for Mac.
Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.
Compare products like desktop computers, laptops, and LCD TVs side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for a new cell phone GPS products or MP3 players. The Ciao network makes searching products easy for you.
New MacPro Memory 800Mhz With Apple Spec Heat Sink 2GB $88 / 4GB $138 / 8GB $274 - Click to Maximize your Macs...
Jonathan Ploudre - 2001.04.16
It's hard to believe it has been four years. In early 1997, Power Computing announced that they would ship the BeOS with their clones. An upstart cloner shipping an upstart OS, if you will. This was big news, since the BeOS fixed many of the problems that faced System 7. The discussions from then sounds all too familiar now.
BeOS offered preemptive multitasking that would improve the user experience over the Mac's cooperative multitasking. BeOS had protected memory for increased stability. BeOS could easily use more than one processor at a time. BeOS had a dock. BeOS even had a Posix compatibility layer so it could run Unix programs that were recompiled for it. Whew.
But BeOS has more buzzwords that Mac OS X doesn't have.
For example, BeOS is pervasively multithreaded. Multithreading is what allows the Finder in Mac OS 8 to copy a file while you open a window and empty the Trash. BeOS automatically does the multithreading for everything. Because it is built into the system, any program for BeOS automatically makes multiple threads that can be run on separate processors. That way all programs take advantage of multiprocessing without any special programming techniques required.
BeOS also had a journaling file system. With it's file system (which is the equivalent of HFS+ on the Mac), BeOS keeps a "journal" of all the reads and writes it plans to do to the drive so it can recover if there is an error. By building this extra level of security in, it virtually eliminates the need for programs like Disk First Aid or Norton's Disk Doctor. The file system is protected from corruption, and the multithreaded input/output even protects the disk from fragmentation. Instead of building in a Disk First Aid check, like Apple did with Mac OS 8.5, Be eliminated the problem with their initial design.
Be's file system is also database-like. You could search and sort files in BeOS just like you have FileMaker Pro built into the operating system. One advantage was that over time, the properties of files could allow you to do things that the Mac OS can't do easily. For example, an MP3 collection could have your ID3 information like the artist or album name. Or your email could be viewed with it's subject or sender. Sure, your programs do that but in BeOS, the "Finder" can do that as well.
Because BeOS was written as a native operating system for the PowerPC, it's amazingly fast. When I used BeOS 4.5 on my StarMax 3000/200, it was easily twice as fast as the Mac OS on the same hardware. It boots up in 15 seconds. Applications launch almost immediately. I could do four things at once without slowing my computer down. It really made me appreciate how great the PowerPC chip was and how much the Mac OS was holding it back. The beauty of BeOS was that it was designed with a focus on performance. It almost didn't matter what your hardware was, because it would always be responsive and quick.
By designing the BeOS on a clean sheet of paper (Be never worried about backwards compatibility), they were able to make an Operating System that is technically as good as or better than Mac OS X. But here's the catch: Be did that with a fraction of the money and time that Apple invested in Mac OS X. If Apple had bought Be instead of NeXT in December 1996, we would have already had these modern features for a couple of years.
If you own a low end Power Mac with PCI, there's a good chance that it's compatible with BeOS. You won't get Mac OS X's lickable interface, but you'll get a modern architecture that will boost the performance of your computer. You can find more detailed information about BeOS at Be's website. The BeOS white paper is persuasive today in describing how an OS ought to work.
You might want to wait until next week before trying to get a
copy of the BeOS. Next week I'll explain why I always returned to
the Mac OS after using the BeOS.
Links
- BeOS or NeXT: The right choice, David Puett, 2001.04.18. Another look at BeOS - and why Apple did right to choose NeXT instead.
- BeOS and BFS, 2001.04.20. "BeOS does things a bit differently than the Mac OS or some other OSes."
- User Interface: Mac vs. BeOS, 2001.04.23. Be had the opportunity to make a better interface than Apple.
- Using BeOS on a Power Mac, 2001.04.30. BeOS is inexpensive and easy to install. Why you might want to try it.
- NeXT: Apple's right choice, 2001.05.07. Why choosing NeXT instead of Be was the right move for Apple.
- BeNews, all the BeOS news fit to put on the Web.
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