Be Developer Services

Free Resources

BeIA FAQ

BeIA Evaluation

Partner Program

Join

Partner Area

Issue 1    May 3, 2000 Be In The News May 1, 2000 The Case For BeOS On Internet Appliances , BYTE.com May 1, 2000 MS Breakup: Boo. No. Hooray! , Wired News return to top The Internet Appliance Market by Brennan Spies As you know, Be Inc. has made a strategic decision to focus its efforts on the emerging Internet appliance (IA) market. In this article I'll focus on forecasts of this nascent market's growth and the reasons why some analysts and members of the press have begun to refer to this decade as the beginning of the "post-PC" era. The Growth of the Internet The major driver of Internet appliance forecasts is, of course, the growth in Internet use. The Internet is currently in a state of explosive growth, with more than 319 million people worldwide predicted to be accessing it by the year 2002 (source: IDC), up from approximately 100 million in 1998. According to Netwatch, only 25% of the U.S. population is currently online, followed by 15% of the U.K. population, 14% of Germany's population, and 11% of France's population. As use of the Internet grows, so will the demand for convenience and ease of access qualities not generally attributed to today's PC. A new paradigm is needed, one in which accessing the Internet becomes as easy as turning on a stereo or a TV. This is where the Internet appliance comes in. Internet Appliance Forecasts IDC predicts that the annual value of all Internet appliances -- from smartphones to web terminals and tablets-worldwide will be $17.8 billion in 2004, representing a 2000-2004 compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 39.1%. The installed base of IAs will be well over 300 million units by this date. According to Strategic Analytics, 73% of U.S. households will have some type of IA by 2005. Furthermore, IDC predicts that consumer shipments of IAs will surpass those of consumer PCs in the U.S. by 2002. For total PC shipments, unit growth will begin to plateau as IA growth surges to well over 30% per year. The End of the PC? Does this mean the PC is going away? Definitely not. Total PC shipments will continue to be much greater than Internet appliance shipments for the near future. But there will definitely be a shift, an inflection point where the usefulness of the PC as a general-purpose Internet access device gives way to more specialized devices. The "post-PC" era will not be sans PC, per se. Rather, it will bring consumers multiple points of access to the Internet. return to top Manufacturing Consent by Jean-Louis Gassée Perhaps I should call this column "Manufacturing Public Opinion," rather than "Manufacturing Consent." The idea for it occurred to me as I read the opinion "polls" taken right after last Friday's announcement of the DOJ's proposed remedies in the MS anti-trust trial. The pollsters found that the majority (more than 60%) of the American public is opposed to the remedies proposed by Joel Klein's team at the DOJ, working with the attorneys general of 19 states. With more than 20% undecided, that leaves relatively few people supporting the DOJ's position. Vox populi, vox dei? Is the DOJ, which is supposed to fight for the people, out of touch with the public good? That's what the pollster-geist behind the probe would like us to believe. Far from me to suggest that this poll is unscientific. Au contraire. It represents the real science of manufacturing opinion, preferably by creating an avalanche effect. If most people are against breaking up Microsoft, it must be bad; therefore, I must join them, and the next poll might show even stronger disagreement with the DOJ. What's bad for Microsoft is bad for America. Let's go back to December 1982. You poll consumers for what they want in a personal computers. What do you hear? I want a better, faster, cheaper Apple II, or ///, or PC, or CPM system (yes, these were still around at that time). A month later, you give public demonstrations of the Lisa. The same people now tell you that's what they want. B-b-b-b-but, you stutter, that's not what you said last month. Yes, no, I didn't know this existed. In other words, the consumer had no words, no concept, to deal with what was unthinkable at the time but which suddenly became describable-and attractive-once seen and touched: a mouse, overlapping windows, a bitmapped screen, pull-down menus. I can only think and discuss what I have reference points for and, in general, I tend to describe the future in today's vocabulary. In this case, most PC users have only been exposed to Microsoft's lineage of operating systems. As a result, there are few reference points for thinking of life with more than one breed of operating system and applications. Microsoft made sure that an alternative OS such as Be's, Linux, or FreeBSD couldn't be loaded next to Windows by PC OEMs. As a result, people have no data other than the Microsoft experience. They're told that some of the remedies would make the Windows system riskier and that applications might not work as well. We have something that works, the jack-booted thugs at the Justice Department want to make it less than what it is today, so why should I be in favor of breaking up Microsoft? Setting aside the caricature, the point remains: Microsoft's monopoly practices are the very reason why we haven't experienced what a truly competitive situation might be like. This is why the poll is so revealing of a certain kind of science in manipulating the political situation around the suit. Next week, we'll try to look a little closer at the proposed remedies and the time frame in which they might become applicable, if they survive the appeals process. return to top Why BeIA? by Lamar Potts On behalf of the sales and marketing team, welcome to The BMessage. We hope to provide an overview of our current sales and marketing strategy that will shed some valuable light on our decision to move into the Internet appliance space, and also keep you informed about our distribution efforts for BeOS. Read on to learn more about our current thinking.   Emergence of the Internet Appliance Manufacturers who recognize that cost and ease-of-use are the principal barriers that PC OEMs and ISPs face in enlarging the base of Internet-connected users are seeking alternatives to traditional PCs. The growth of the Internet has created a demand for new types of consumer devices to access online services and content. Industry analysts define these devices, known as Internet appliances, as consumer-focused, low-cost, and easy-to-use products that deliver the benefits of basic Internet services, like Web browsing and e-mail. The range of Internet appliances includes set-top boxes, Internet screen phones, Internet gaming consoles, Internet-smart hand held devices, and Web and e-mail terminals.   Key Requirements of Internet Appliances Internet appliances will vary in form and function, but we believe that certain basic elements are necessary for any type of appliance to succeed. Appliances should provide users with robust and stable performance at an affordable cost. To lower overall system costs, device providers are seeking streamlined alternatives to traditional PCs and a customizable software platform that meets their needs and shortens their time to market.   Limitations of Traditional Operating Systems for the Internet Appliance Market Traditional general-purpose operating systems, such Windows, UNIX, Linux, and Mac OS, are designed to support a wide array of applications. They need significant processor power, memory, and storage to operate effectively, requirements that are often incompatible with the Internet appliance business model. The majority of these systems cannot be modified or customized to the requirements of a device provider or application. Some, such as UNIX derivatives and Linux, exist in multiple versions from many vendors. This forces device providers to do their own customization, integration, and support, adding to the cost and complexity of system maintenance. Developers and manufacturers of Internet appliances and service providers often lack adequate resources or time to deliver devices based on these operating systems.   Limitations of Embedded Operating Systems for the Internet Appliance Market Embedded operating systems such as QNX, Wind River's VxWorks, Palm OS and, to some extent, Microsoft's Windows CE, offer lighter-weight, more responsive environments than traditional operating systems. However, because they were built for specific applications, they are not as scalable for larger applications. They lack the modern development environments and access to key PC technologies that highly functional devices need, as well as the benefits of desktop operating systems, such as full-featured Web browsing, that users have come to expect. As a result, device providers must add features. Even then, they may still end up with an incomplete software platform for their appliances.   The Be Solution Be offers software platforms designed specifically for Internet appliances and digital media applications. BeIA is a turnkey integrated software platform and development tools, that enables the creation of customized Internet appliances. It combines an efficient customizable operating system with a small memory footprint, designed for fast and reliable performance, making BeIA the ideal platform for Internet appliances. For personal computers, we offer BeOS, an operating system that delivers the most satisfying desktop experience available.   BeIA The BeIA platform interacts seamlessly with hardware and applications to provide high-level responsiveness and stability. BeIA's modular nature allows device providers–PC OEMs, consumer electronic companies, system integrators, and other device and hardware manufacturers (ODMs) -- to choose only the features needed for a particular device, to deliver specific content, and to meet cost targets. In addition, BeIA offers device providers and Internet service providers the ability to customize the device's UI, to create the appropriate experience for their target customer. BeIA maintains system stability, media quality, and processor performance and allows users to operate multiple audio, video, image processing, and Internet-based software applications simultaneously. BeIA has a full-featured Web browser and supports popular streaming audio and video standards.   Strategy Our principal strategy is to establish BeIA as the premier software platform for appliances that deliver information and entertainment over the Internet. We intend to establish relationships with leading device manufacturers and service providers and to promote BeIA as the platform of choice for Internet appliances in the following ways: Leverage our technology and capabilities. We developed our core operating system technology over the course of nine years and have significant technical expertise in handling Internet applications and digital media. We'll continue to leverage this technology to deliver a stable, responsive software platform with rich media capabilities and a small footprint. We'll also continue to develop modular functionality and provide portability to new device platforms. Promote BeIA through relationships with device providers. We intend to focus our marketing and sales efforts on establishing relationships with partners, such as OEMs and consumer electronic manufacturers, that are capable of designing and delivering a large volume of products based on our software platform. We will work closely with ODMs that create reference designs for Internet appliances. Our goal is to ensure that products designed by device manufacturers will run on our platform and that products featuring our platform are ultimately adopted and marketed by device and service providers. Increase awareness of BeIA to service providers. We believe service providers will play a significant part in driving the development and adoption of Internet appliances by offering products specifically geared to their customer base. Our marketing efforts will increase the service providers' awareness of BeIA and its customizable user environment. In addition, we'll encourage partnerships between service providers and device providers that utilize our platform. Focus on strategic product development activities. Since the Internet appliance market is still emerging and is somewhat undefined, our success will depend on monitoring the trends and demands in the Internet appliances market and working closely with device and service providers to address demands and design compelling products that will be adopted by a large number of users. Our strategy for the BeOS desktop is to boost market acceptance of BeOS and third-party BeOS applications through new distribution models: Offer BeOS Personal Edition, our desktop operating system, for free, via download from the Web. Work with third-party publishers to market, sell, and support BeOS Pro Edition, a commercial version of BeOS with added functionality. Users and developers who experience BeOS will appreciate its advantages as an operating system and a platform for Internet appliances. This will facilitate wider adoption of BeOS as a modern operating system for digital media applications. Also, an increase in the number of BeOS users should stimulate third party development of software drivers, technologies, and applications for BeOS.   Marketing, Sales, and Customers Our sales and marketing group is dedicated to defining the most compelling software platform solutions and establishing relationships with industry-leading device and service providers to create Internet appliances based on our software platform. To ensure that BeIA and BeOS support popular industry-standard formats and technologies, we will establish strategic technology and licensing arrangements with technology providers to integrate their technologies with our products.   BeIA We market and sell BeIA by actively pursuing relationships with four broad classifications of customers and strategic partners: Original Device Manufacturers (ODMs), Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), service providers, and integrators. ODMs typically create reference designs for Internet appliances using standard computing industry components. Many create their own designs, while others work from contracts or ideas that originate from OEMs or service providers. To find ready-made solutions for their target customers, OEMs and service providers commonly shop for devices offered by ODMs. Since ODMs are the primary producers of key components and systems used in Internet appliances, it's important that BeIA run on their hardware and system designs. Similar to ODMs are reference platform designers, who do not, however, typically manufacture devices. Many components ODMs use are based on designs provided by reference platform designers, so it's also important for BeIA to run on or support their reference platforms and that products featuring BeIA are ultimately adopted and marketed by OEMs and service providers. Our relationship with ODMs and reference platform designers is symbiotic in nature, where we share common or parallel business goals. We often participate in joint sales and marketing activities without necessarily forming a contractual or customer relationship. Our existing relationships with ODMs and reference platform designers include the following: First International Computer, Inc. FIC is one of the leading PC motherboard and system vendors based in Taiwan, ROC. FIC recently extended its research, development, and manufacturing to include a new family of subsystems for Internet appliances. They are working closely with us to offer BeIA as the operating system software platform for these systems. National Semiconductor Corporation. We are developing a series of production-ready reference platforms for Internet appliances with National Semiconductor. This platform is based on National's Geode WebPad hardware running BeIA. DT Research, Inc. We are integrating BeIA with DT Research's family of Internet appliances, also based on National Semiconductor's Geode WebPad reference platform. Intel Corporation. We are working with Intel to optimize BeIA as a reference platform for manufacturers wishing to build low-cost, high-performance home audio devices based on Intel's Celeron processor. The audio appliances that emerge from this relationship will support audio encoding and playback features, play CDs and streamed audio, send streamed audio out to receivers located around the home, and support home networking products. Proxim, Inc. We recently announced a cooperative technology and marketing effort to integrate Proxim's HomeRF wireless networking technology with BeIA. The result should be seamless wireless extension of BeIA to enabling Web pads and other Internet appliances and dedicated devices to distribute media and share broadband Internet access wirelessly around the home. We are pursuing agreements with OEMs, companies that have reseller and/or direct selling relationships with service providers and consumers. OEMs work to deliver Internet appliance solutions that meet their target customer's requirements. OEM connections give us access to information about consumer needs that enables us to develop our platform to meet those needs. OEMs typically pay us per-unit royalties for each BeIA-based appliance delivered. The following are some of our OEM relationships: Compaq Computer Corporation. Compaq has a license to preinstall and distribute BeIA on its Internet appliances. Initially, Compaq is marketing these devices to telecom companies, Internet service providers, and Web content providers. We are also working with Compaq on joint marketing and development initiatives. Qubit Technology. Qubit has a license to use BeIA as the platform for its wireless Web Tablet. Qubit is working with financial and telecom companies to bring these devices to market. We are also engaged in collaborative sales, marketing and development efforts with Qubit. Fountain Technologies Inc. Fountain has a license to distribute BeIA with its Internet appliances. Service providers are companies that either have an infrastructure for providing access to the Web, own content, or have an established business model that can be fulfilled through delivering Internet appliances. They include ISPs, financial institutions, retailers, and telephone companies. They generally look to an Internet appliance to expand their reach or to help ensure that their existing consumer base remains loyal. Service providers will require a highly customizable user environment that promotes their brand and services. Direct consumer feedback from users of these services will provide valuable insights into the functionality of BeIA. Currently, our relationships with service providers are fostered through our OEM customers. Integrators are companies whose business is creating and delivering Internet appliances and accompanying functionality, services, and features to targeted groups of consumers. They provide an end-to-end solution matching devices, ISPs, necessary software platforms, content and back-end server applications. We expect the integrators to appreciate BeIA's scalability, its easily customizable user interface and advanced development environment, and our application and integration services. Integrators will also likely leverage our relationships with ODMs, OEMs, and service providers.   BeIA's Competition in the Internet Appliance Market There is increased competition in the Internet appliance market to offer non-PC devices that provide Web access and enable digital media content on the Internet. Companies such as Microsoft Corporation, QNX Software Systems Ltd., Wind River Systems, Inc., vendors of UNIX-based operating systems such as Linux, and vendors of embedded operating systems, all have platforms that are being used or may be used for Internet appliances. We also face competition from vendors of embedded browsers and manufacturers of set-top boxes and terminals such as WebTV, a subsidiary of Microsoft. Many of these companies have an established market presence. They have relationships with device and service providers who will develop and market Internet appliances, and have significantly greater financial, marketing, and technical resources than we do.   BeOS Desktop Operating System We have adopted a two-tiered approach for distributing our desktop operating system that will enable us to concentrate our resources on development and let other, well-focused third parties handle distribution and consumer marketing. BeOS Personal Edition. BeOS Personal Edition is a free, easy-to-install, fully functional version of BeOS. Anyone using Windows can download it in a single file directly from our Web site and install it on their Windows system. This version of BeOS does not include some third party royalty-bearing technologies. BeOS Pro Edition. BeOS Pro Edition is our enhanced, full-featured version of BeOS available on CD-ROM. It will be made available to PC OEMs, value-added software developers, and other software vendors, distributors, and end users through several third-party publishers worldwide. These publishers will package and license the product, and will handle all marketing, sales, and end-user support. These publishers may also choose to add additional software and services. return to top Java on BeOS by Nathan Schrenk There's been a lot of interest in the BeOS user and developer community since the announcement that Be would be working with Sun Microsystems to bring Java to BeOS. Specifically, we're working to bring PersonalJava and Java 2 Standard Edition (J2SE) to BeOS. We expect to release the reduced footprint PersonalJava on the BeIA platform and J2SE on BeOS for desktops. If you're wondering about the differences between PersonalJava and J2SE, the version of PersonalJava we'll make available with the initial release of BeIA is based on the PersonalJava Specification v1.1.1, which in turn is based on JDK 1.1. We'll update our implementation to meet the v1.1.3 specification in the future. For more on PersonalJava see http://java.sun.com /products/personaljava/. Our PersonalJava implementation is optimized to reduce its memory and persistent storage footprint dramatically, especially when compared to J2SE. Our entire PersonalJava environment fits into less than 1 megabyte on the BeIA compressed file system. The Java 2 platform has many more features than JDK 1.1, a list of which is available at http://java.sun.com/products /jdk/1.2/docs/relnotes /features.html. As you'd expect, those features have memory and storage costs, and the resulting footprint is too large for a device with extremely limited persistent storage. Much of the development work done by Be's Java team applies to both the PersonalJava and J2SE implementations. For example, most of the code for native file access, networking, threading, locking, and the AWT (Abstract Windowing Toolkit) peer support, is common to both products. Our J2SE and PersonalJava implementations, however, are based on different Java Virtual Machine source code, and there are some significant differences between the libraries that require considerable development specifically for PersonalJava or J2SE. As a result, PersonalJava for BeIA will be ready before J2SE for BeOS. The highest priority of Be's Java team right now is to iron out the few remaining issues in our PersonalJava implementation, and to certify that it passes the suite of tests in Sun's PersonalJava Compatibility Kit. Work is progressing nicely, and our PersonalJava implementation is running almost all the Java applications and applets we throw at it. Our J2SE implementation is advancing and can also run many Java programs, but it needs more work before it's ready for public consumption, even in beta form. As soon as our J2SE implementation is ready, we'll announce availability details. return to top Statements contained in this Newsletter that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" including without limitation statements regarding the demand for, future market penetration and market acceptance of BeIA and BeOS, the shipment dates of Be's products, and the future operating results of Be Incorporated. Actual events or results may differ materially as a result of risks facing Be Incorporated or actual results differing from the assumptions underlying such statements. Such risks and assumptions include, but are not limited to, risks related to competition, market acceptance and market penetration of Be's products, ability to establish and maintain strategic relationships, the benefit of Be's products to OEM and Internet appliance manufacturers. the continued availability of third party BeOS applications and drivers, and the ability to establish and maintain strategic publishing relationships. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by the "Risk Factors" and other cautionary statements included in Be Incorporated's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999, and other public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The BMessage Copyright (c) 2001 by Be, Inc. All rights reserved. Be, Inc. 800 El Camino Real, Suite 400 Menlo Park, CA 94025 Tel: (650) 462-4100 Fax: (650) 462-4129 Web: http://www.be.com/ Be, BeOS and BeIA are trademarks or registered trademarks of Be Incorporated in the United States and other countries. Other brand product names are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders. All rights reserved. The BMessage is sent to subscribers of one or more of the Be mailing lists. For more information about subscribing/unsubscribing, see the Be web site: http://www.be.com/world/mailinglists.html. The Be web site also offers a complete set of current and back issues of Be Newsletters: If you have any comments about The BMessage, please e-mail them to:newsletter@be.com.

About Be, Inc. | Be Products | World of Be | BeOS Support | Jobs | Developers | Press | Partners | Investors

Copyright © 2001 by Be, Inc. All rights reserved. (Legal Info)
Comments, questions, or confessions about our site? Please write the Webmaster!