BeBox

{{Infobox information appliance

| name = BeBox

| title =

| aka =

| logo =

| image = Samsung SyncMaster 191T and BeBox 20081114.jpg

| caption = This BeBox has an aftermarket monitor.

| developer =

| manufacturer = Be Inc.

| family =

| type = Workstation

| generation =

| releasedate = BeBox Dual603-66: {{Start date and age|1995|10|03}}{{cite press release |url=http://www-classic.be.com/aboutbe/pressreleases/95-10-03_Intro.html |title=Jean-Louis Gassée Unveils the BeBox |date=October 3, 1995|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000128072331/http://www-classic.be.com/aboutbe/pressreleases/95-10-03_Intro.html |archive-date=2000-01-28 }} for the original BeBox Dual603-66.
BeBox Dual603e-133: {{Start date and age|1996|08|05}}{{cite press release |url=http://www-classic.be.com/aboutbe/pressreleases/96-08-05_BeBox133.html |title=Be Announces the BeBox Dual603-133 |date=August 5, 1996|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000128162559/http://www-classic.be.com/aboutbe/pressreleases/96-08-05_BeBox133.html |archive-date=2000-01-28 }}

| lifespan =

| price = BeBox Dual603-66 {{USD|1600|1995|round=-1}}
BeBox Dual603e-133 {{USD|2995|1996|round=-1}}

| discontinued = {{End date and age|1997|01}}

| unitssold = 1000 – BeBox Dual603-66
800 – BeBox Dual603e-133[http://testou.free.fr/www.beatjapan.org/mirror/www.be.com/support/qandas/faqs/faq-0261.html The BeBox, General, FAQ, How many BeBoxes were sold before they were discontinued?] Be, Inc.

| unitsshipped =

| media =

| os = BeOS

| power = 100–240 volt AC single-phase

| soc =

| cpu = 2× PowerPC 603 @ 66 MHz, or
2× PowerPC 603e @ 133 MHz[http://testou.free.fr/www.beatjapan.org/mirror/www.be.com/products/bebox/dual603ds.html Be Product Datasheet], The BeBox Dual603, BeBox Dual603-66, BeBox Dual603-133

| memory = Up to 256 MB (Up to eight 72-pin SIMMs)

| storage =

| memory card =

| display =

| graphics =

| sound =

| input =

| controllers =

| camera =

| touchpad =

| connectivity =

| platform =

| service =

| dimensions = 15.68 in × 8.28 in × 18.15 in
39.8 cm × 21.0 cm × 46.1 cm

| weight =

| topgame =

| compatibility =

| predecessor =

| successor =

| related =

| website = {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/19961020193020/http://www.be.com/}}

}}

The BeBox is a discontinued personal computer from Be Inc., running the company's operating system, later named BeOS.{{Cite web |title=About Be |url=https://www.gbnet.net/public/be/acrobat/AboutBe.pdf |website=www.gbnet.net}} It has two PowerPC CPUs, its I/O board has a custom "GeekPort", and the front bezel has "Blinkenlights".

The BeBox debuted in October 1995 with dual PowerPC 603 at 66 MHz.{{cite magazine

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=lp7gd8Y8RL4C&pg=PP45

| magazine = Computerworld

| title = Video Be-in

| first = Lisa

| last = Picarille

| date = 16 October 1995

| page = 45

| volume = 29

| issue = 42

}} The processors were upgraded to 133 MHz in August 1996 (BeBox Dual603e-133). Production was halted in January 1997,{{cite web|url=http://www.bebox.nu/history.php?s=history/1997|title=BeBox History, 1997|work=The BeBox Zone|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204152621/http://bebox.nu/history.php?s=history%2F1997|archive-date=4 February 2012|url-status=dead}}{{cite magazine

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=aToEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA3

| magazine = InfoWorld

| title = Briefly Noted

| date = 3 February 1997

| page = 3

| volume = 19

| issue = 5

}} following the port of BeOS to the Macintosh, for the company to concentrate on software. Be sold around 1,000 66 MHz BeBoxes and 800 133 MHz BeBoxes.

CPU configuration

File:BeBox.Le dos (cropped).jpg

Production models use two 66 MHz PowerPC 603 processors or two 133 MHz PowerPC 603e processors to power the BeBox. Prototypes having dual 200 MHz CPUs or four CPUs exist, but were never publicly available.{{cite web|url=http://www.bebox.nu/news.php?lookat=65|title=Interview with Joseph Palmer|date=2 December 2005|work=Be Informed, The BeBox Zone|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080224230323/http://www.bebox.nu/news.php?lookat=65|archive-date=24 February 2008}}

Main board

The main board is in a standard AT format commonly found on PC. It used standard PC components to make it as inexpensive as possible.{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/eu_MacTech-1997-01_OCR/page/n53/mode/2up |page=52-56 |title=The Wizards of Be, Inc. |first=Dave |last=Mark |date=January 1997 |magazine=MacTech |volume=13 |issue=1}}

Two PowerPC 603/66 MHz or 603e/133 MHz processors
Eight 72-pin SIMM sockets
128 KB Flash ROM
Three PCI slots
Five ISA slots
Internal SCSI connector
Internal IDE connector
Internal floppy connector
External SCSI-2 connector
Parallel port
Keyboard port, AT-style
Three GeekPort fuses
I/O Board connector
Front panel connector
Power connector

I/O board

The I/O board offers four serial ports (9-pin D-sub), a PS/2 mouse port, and two joystick ports (15-pin D-sub).{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Nicholas |title=The Crucial Role of Analog I/O Boards Across Industries |url=https://ds200tcqag1b.com/blog |access-date=2024-01-14 |website=ds200tcqag1b.com |language=en}}

There are four DIN MIDI ports (two in, two out), two stereo pairs of RCA connectors audio line-level input and output, and a pair of 3.5 mm stereo phone jacks for microphone input and headphone output. There are also internal audio connectors: 5-pin strip for the audio CD line-level playback, and two 4-pin strips for microphone input and headphone output. The audio is produced with a 16-bit DAC stereo sound system capable of 48 kHz and 44.1 kHz.

For the more unusual uses, there are three 4-pin mini-DIN infrared (IR) I/O ports.

=GeekPort=

An experimental-electronic-development oriented port, backed by three fuses on the mainboard, the 37-pin D-sub "GeekPort" provides digital and analog I/O and DC power{{cite web|url=http://pinouts.ru/Motherboard/GeekPort_pinout.shtml| title=Pinout for the GeekPort connector |access-date=18 August 2021}} on the ISA bus:

Two independent, bidirectional 8-bit ports
Four A/D pins routing to a 12-bit A/D converter
Four D/A pins connected to an independent 8-bit D/A converter
Two signal ground reference pins
Eleven power and ground pins: Two at +5 V, one at +12 V, one at -12 V, seven ground pins

"Blinkenlights"

File:Bebox CPU LEDs.jpg

Two yellow/green vertical LED arrays, dubbed the "blinkenlights", are built into the front bezel to illustrate the CPU load.{{cite news |last1=Pinheiro |first1=Eric |title=BeOS: The Alternate Universe's Mac OS X |url=https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/beos-the-alternate-universes-mac-os-x/ |access-date=10 March 2024 |work=Hackaday |date=9 January 2020}} The bottommost LED on the right side indicates hard disk activity.

Market

Be called the BeBox: "the first true real-time, portable, object-oriented system that features multiple PowerPC processors, true preemptive multitasking, an integrated database, fast I/O, and a wide range of expansion options — all at an extremely aggressive price that is well below that of any competitive offering."

BeBox creator Jean-Louis Gassée did not see the BeBox as a general consumer device, warning that "Before we let you use the BeBox, we believe you must have some aptitude toward programming{{snd}} the standard language is C++."{{cite magazine |date=September 1996 |title=New Amiga Prepares to Kill Mac/PC |url=https://archive.org/details/nextgen-issue-021/page/n21/mode/2up |magazine=Next Generation |publisher=Imagine Media |issue=21 |page=21}}

Prototype

As of 1993, prototypes (at the time called Be Machine) had two 25 MHz AT&T Hobbit processors and three AT&T 9308S DSPs.{{cite web |title=Introduction to the Be machine and the BeBus |url=https://www.hirlimann.net/Ludovic/beos/hobbitdoc/intro1.jpg |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221105754/https://www.hirlimann.net/Ludovic/beos/hobbitdoc/intro1.jpg |archive-date=21 February 2017 |format=JPEG}} In 2009, a rare prototype of the BeBox with Hobbit processors was sold at an auction.{{Cite web |title=Planets Align: Rare Hobbit BeBox Offered and Sold – OSnews |url=https://www.osnews.com/story/20869/planets-align-rare-hobbit-bebox-offered-and-sold/ |access-date=2023-11-24 |website=www.osnews.com}}

Linux

Craftworks Solutions developed Be_Linux for the BeBox. Craftworks and Be Inc. announced in 1996 that they would work together to bring Be_Linux to the BeBox.{{Cite web |date=1997-02-18 |title=Craftwork Solutions and Be Announce Alliance |url=http://www.be.com/aboutbe/pressreleases/96-11-18_Craftwork.html |access-date=2023-11-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970218230243/http://www.be.com/aboutbe/pressreleases/96-11-18_Craftwork.html |archive-date=1997-02-18 }}

References

External links

{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/eu_MacTech-1997-01_OCR/page/n53/mode/2up |page=52-56 |title=The Wizards of Be, Inc. |first=Dave |last=Mark |date=January 1997 |magazine=MacTech |volume=13 |issue=1}} {{snd}} An interview with Be Inc. CEO Jean-Louis Gassée and VP of Engineering Erich Ringewald.
{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/eu_MacTech-1996-01_OCR/page/n26/mode/2up |title=Opening the BeBox |page=25-45 |date=January 1996 |magazine=MacTech |volume=12 |issue=1 |first1=Peter |last1=Potrebic |first2=Steve |last2=Horowitz}}
{{cite web|url=http://www.bebox.nu/|title=The BeBox Zone|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130415074143/http://www.bebox.nu/|archive-date=15 April 2013}}
[http://www.josephpalmer.com/BeBox/BeBox.shtml BeBox Photo Gallery (Joseph Palmer: Be HW Engineer)]
{{US trademark|75054089}} (BeBox)

Category:Be Inc.

Category:Computer-related introductions in 1995

Category:Computer workstations

Category:Personal computers

Category:PowerPC computers