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In 1990, former Apple executive Jean-Louis Gassée co-founded a new venture with the aim of shaking up Silicon Valley.
Be Incorporated, or as it came to be known, ‘Be’, left a lasting impact on the global technology sector, despite eventually slipping into relative obscurity. The goal? To create a new operating system using C++ complete with complementary hardware.
Joining forces with Steve Sakoman, a fellow Apple executive, the duo reportedly began developing a prototype desktop computer just one day after Gassée left the tech giant.
Be’s two-pronged approach to achieving Silicon Valley dominance centered around the BeOS operating system and the BeBox computer.
The former was released in 1995, and was surprisingly ahead of its time, being built primarily as a “media OS”, aimed at being able to contend with the expected onslaught of digital media in years to come.
This included support for analog and digital audio, with later versions offering users full 32-bit color graphics, virtual desktops (known as ‘workspaces’) and later on with browser support.
Initially, the operating system was designed to run on PowerPC-based processors, but naturally later shipped with the BeBox device.
Under the hood of the BeBox
Released in 1995, the BeBox PC was the company’s flagship product running on BeOS. The short-lived workstation boasted two PowerPC CPUs, as well as a custom “GeekPort” I/O board.
When first released, the dual PowerPC CPUs clocked in at a whopping 66 MHz, but were later upgraded to 133 MHz.
Safe to say, the BeBox didn’t exactly blow competition out of the water. Exact details on sales volumes are scarce, but are believed to have been limited. Around 1,000 66 MHz BeBoxes are thought to have been sold, with the later, more powerful models, recording around 800 sales.
Be scrapped production of the device in early 1997.
BeOS continued until after the turn of the millennium, albeit with a limited user base compared to others on the market. While the company didn’t disclose the number of users on the OS, it’s believed to have been running on up to 100,000 devices globally in 1999.
The OS was, for some, viewed as a leading alternative to the Windows and Mac operating systems.
Crossing paths
Notably, the launch of Be and its efforts to shake up the hardware industry came around the same time Steve Jobs was on his hiatus from Apple. Indeed, the company’s fate rested on Jobs’ success with his own venture, NeXT.
Shortly after the release of BeOS, Apple scrapped its infamous Copland project, aimed at modernizing the Macintosh operating system.
Naturally, BeOS was in the crosshairs and in 1996 the tech giant made a formal bid of $120 million, which was initially rejected. A later bit of $200 million was also rebuffed, with Gassée intent on holding firm for a $275 million offer.
As a result, Apple turned its attention elsewhere, finding the perfect answer to its OS woes in the form of the NeXTSTEP operating system.
Financial struggles at the company resulted in mass layoffs in 2001, and the company was acquired by Palm for a fee of $11 million. Gassée stayed put during the transition, but left in early 2002, ending his involvement in the company.