...is useless really isn't it? I got a copy from Be through my company which I've been trying to use, but theres no point - if I pick up my mail and do some surfing in BeOS, and then want to play some games online or something i have to reboot into Win98 again... There is not much use for it at the moment. No killer app. Apart from the fact that you can play 5 mp3's, 7 avis, a wav and rotate a teapot in realtime with no stutter. But is that useful? No. I admit it is very nice to see a competitor to windows but is one actually needed? Its a common platform that everyone uses, and supports just about every piece of hardware ever. End of rant. Please flame me.

The problem with Windows is that only Micro$oft makes money out of it... Micro$oft should allow other companies to make windows clones! ------------------ ----- Singa Team Sigma

*calls Eugenia* Sis,...someone is asking for your opinion at the lionhead board. King bastard..she'll tell ya the advantages. As far as I know...BeOS is kinda useless for internetting *S*...does that word exist?

Well the whole point of it is that its an internet OS, and is marketed as such... [This message has been edited by King B*stard (edited 06 October 1999).]

Hi... BeOS is not marketed as Internet or Server OS. You are wrong. BeOS is marketed as the perfect Media OS. Scan, burn a CD, browse a floppy/CD without losing frames on the videos you may playing or recording!! Its the technology behind it really... For example when Windows are accessing the swap file or you are burning a CD, you can't really playback a video or play a game! You will lose frames, or you will end up in the screen of death. There is no real multitasking. My point is that BeOS has the technology, but Windows has the applications! But this is like the chicked and the egg... Ppl don't use the alternative OSes because there are no apps for them, but developers don't develop for those OSes because there the userbase is small... So, its up to everybody to decide if they want to use an OS that doesn't have much apps, but its absolutely stable and lovely, or just stay with Windows and all its apps but they will have to re-install the whole damn thing every 4-5 months, or seeing it crashing twice a day! Its up to you! Eugenia.

A Media OS? That makes it sound like Mac OS for the PC. That's a scary thought. So only arty types will want to use it, and arty types who like to do lots at once? Guess it isn't for me, the only time I multitask is when running multiple browser windows or having the CD player in the background. Personally I don't like the idea of having two OS installed. Thats why I'm not converting from windows until another OS can support windows software fully and has native versions of my favourite things. Linux looks the most likely candidate [This message has been edited by Flea (edited 07 October 1999).]

Is Mac OS actually any for Media. For that matter is it any for anything? Please tell me.

Flea: I see that you are afraid even your shadow... There is NO WAY to directly create an emulation system that will run the Windows95/98 executables with much success. Windows are bloated. The only thing you can do is by using x86 emulators, like VMWare or Bochs etc.. But those emulators are exist on BeOS as well as Linux. Also, having two or three OSes in a PC is cool. I am waiting for my RedHat6.1 and my QNX Neutrino4 Beta to install side by side with Windows98 and BeOS R4.5. BeOS is made for Media stuff, yes, but this doesn't mean that you can't use it with something else! Games, CD ripping and burning, productivity etc etc. If you try BeOS, I am sure you are going to like the fact that its true multitasking does not stop your CD playing/ripping/burning when you access the floppy or the hard drive etc. And its bloody stable! Xrikcus: >Is Mac OS actually any for Media. For that matter is it any for >anything? Please tell me. MacOS is an old system. Its looking nice, it feels nice, its easy to use, but its architecture is old! And this is a fact that Apple knows it better than anyone. For not having protected memory, is making the OS very weak. For this reason, Mac is not the best platfrom for Media stuff... Linux is not either. Windows is trying to be, but with no success. BeOS has all the right elements. What it needs is a bit of pushing, apps and a userbase. Please refer to my post above with the chicken and the egg... Best Regards, Eugenia

King B*stard: For more apps for BeOS check here: UKBug BeBits BeWare Eugenia. [This message has been edited by Eugenia_ (edited 07 October 1999).]

Oohh... thats better... some programs... Has anyone heard about this new Win32 compatable os written by the australian team that wrote winsock?

Yes, of course I know PetrOS. Check it out here: http://www.trumpet.com.au/petros/ And also, there is another OS that does the same as PetrOS: ReactOS is here http://www.reactos.com/ BUT!!! If you read carefully, you will see that both those OSes are (merely) compatible with WindowsNT4, NOT Win98 or DirectX or 2000... My point is, that they can emulate/simulate WinNT because NT is more clean than Win98. So, don't expect to install those OSes and run games or DirectX! Again, this is where Linux and BeOS are coming as TRUE alternatives, not the OSes wannabes. And I have the suspision that PetrOS is using the PhotonGUI, which is nothing else than the GUI that QNX is selling... :P Nothing new on the GUI side then... BTW, QNX has *just* released the new version of the OS-in-a-disk. You can download the whole OS and the PPP in a floppy and run it from the floppy without installing anything on the hdd. Check it out here: http://www.demodisk.com/ (I can't wait for the QNX Neutrino4 though. Check a nice sshot here: http://www.qnx.com/amiga/media.jpg ) Eugenia. Ps. Did you find any programs for BeOS on the links I sent you, that can conveince you about the BeOS?

Damn, I got to Britain on my hols to find that I had 3 beos c.ds through the post. Then I went back back to Japan and managed to loose my entire C.D. case (and the latest beOS release) somewhere between either Heathrow, Hongkong and Japan. Balls. I don't really want to think about how much money that was worth. Tim.