BeBox History
Why the PowerPC?
Many people have questioned why Be chose first the AT&T Hobbit processor,
and then PowerPC processors instead of taking an Intel route. One major reason
was cost: at the time the cost of each of the 5 AT&T chips was about $35 a
piece, compared to 386s and later 486s which sold for $300-$400 each.
Steve Horowitz explains, in Be Newsletter #3, some of the reasons behind Be's
decision to use the PowerPC chips for its second incarnation of the Be Machine.
(The full text of Steve Horowitz's article can be read here.)
In issue 4 of the Be Newsletter, Jean Louis also noted that:
Two factors drew us to it [the PowerPC processor]. One was the raw power its
architecture delivered, especially for us, free from emulation requirements.
The other attraction was its ability to perform high-speed signal-processing
tasks, thanks to a clever implementation of specific floating-point
instructions.
Scot Hacker, in his book, The BeOS
Bible, tells the story with a different bent, and suggests that
"The story of how Be made the decision to use PowerPC over Pentium [after the
Hobbit was discontinued] is a difficult one to nail down. One can only imagine
that it was rather an emotional time for the Be team; everyone tells the tale
with a slightly different spin. Legend has it that not everyone agreed with the
decision, although no one actually claims to be among the ones who disagreed."
Regardless, once the decision to go with PowerPC chips was made, there was
still an issue of which exact model to choose. Jean-Louise Gassée explains how
the 603 was chosen, and what some of the issues surrounding the choice were in
his article in Be
Newsletter 52.
Of course, in 2000 it is now the Intel platform which is the focus for BeOS.
Part of the reason for this is based around Apple's reluctance to aid Be in
supporting their later G3 and G4 based Power Macintosh machines.
When Be ceased BeBox production in 1997, they promised developers
(in an amended announcment) that support for the PowerPC based BeBoxen would
continue at least until the end of 1999. Beyond this, they made only a "best
effort" committment to continue actively supporting the BeBoxen. Many viewed
this as the deadline for PowerPC support in general.
Around September 1999, however, IBM released information about their PPC
hardware to the public. Many saw this as an opportunity for Be to revive their
PowerPC support. Jean Louis Gassée did not. His article in the
BeNewsletter at the time quashed most hopes of a PowerPC revival for the BeOS.
At the beginning of 2000, Be contacted BeNews following questions regarding the
status of BeOS and PowerPC support after the promised deadline for support
had passed. Their response
was posted to BeNews by Scot Hacker, and promised PPC support for BeOS R6.
Beyond the next major release, PowerPC support would depend on "sufficient
market demand". As fate would have it, BeOS R6 never eventuated.
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