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BeOS Bible, The
A guide to a new operating system, for digital content creators working with hi-res video, graphics, and audio files who need the features of this high-performance multithreading graphics system explained in detail. Coverage encompasses everything from the secrets of the Terminal to application short cuts, advanced graphics, sound applications, and database capabilities. Interviews with Be engineers and collaborators provide background and insight into the future of this operating system. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
- GenresComputersProgramming
916 pages, Paperback
First published April 22, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 15, 2018
This is a great book for several reasons: not only is it a fascinating look back at tech history (BeOS was *almost* the new Apple Mac OS, until Apple decided to develop OS X on its own), but it's also still relevant due to the amazing open source Haiku OS → http://haiku-os.org/
There's quite a lot I didn't know about BeOS. For instance, I had no idea that it was POSIX-compliant. I didn't know that it started on PowerPC/RISC. I didn't know that even early versions of BeOS had terminal emulators, Python, and other conventions that are now almost a given on a sufficiently modern, respectable OS.
It's interesting, too, to hear about the well-known features of BeOS (multi-processor awareness, threading, object oriented foundation), and see how it influenced the OS's we use today. Indeed, the more I read this book, the more I realised that OS X is but a pale imitation.
And as a Linux user, I took note of other aspects, like the concept of clearly-defined "kits" for development. You want to do something with a file system? install the Storage Kit. Want to do something with multimedia? Install the multimedia kit. And so on. It seems like a powerful method of making sure your users know what's available to them (although, to be fair, I can already see myself dissatisfied with pre-defined kits, and adding a bunch of stuff to them anyway).
It's worth mentioning that this book, along with several historically significant tech articles about BeOS, are available from the author: http://birdhouse.org/beos/byte/
Very interesting read, and highly recommended to anyone curious about the continued struggle to get away from the idea that there are only two OSes to choose from.
There's quite a lot I didn't know about BeOS. For instance, I had no idea that it was POSIX-compliant. I didn't know that it started on PowerPC/RISC. I didn't know that even early versions of BeOS had terminal emulators, Python, and other conventions that are now almost a given on a sufficiently modern, respectable OS.
It's interesting, too, to hear about the well-known features of BeOS (multi-processor awareness, threading, object oriented foundation), and see how it influenced the OS's we use today. Indeed, the more I read this book, the more I realised that OS X is but a pale imitation.
And as a Linux user, I took note of other aspects, like the concept of clearly-defined "kits" for development. You want to do something with a file system? install the Storage Kit. Want to do something with multimedia? Install the multimedia kit. And so on. It seems like a powerful method of making sure your users know what's available to them (although, to be fair, I can already see myself dissatisfied with pre-defined kits, and adding a bunch of stuff to them anyway).
It's worth mentioning that this book, along with several historically significant tech articles about BeOS, are available from the author: http://birdhouse.org/beos/byte/
Very interesting read, and highly recommended to anyone curious about the continued struggle to get away from the idea that there are only two OSes to choose from.
November 12, 2020
Nice try, yet books seem to be perishables, just like many other items. A system that doesn't exist.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews