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July Meeting Review

The Geek Who Spoke Too Much

Tech talk drives me cuckoo!

By Wally David

 

BeOS Logo.WHEN the presentation started at the June meeting of the Danbury Area Computer Society, I was really glad I wasn't doing meeting reviews anymore. John Brajkovic, who is the president of the CT BeOS user group, came to show DACS what BeOS was all about.

BeOS, from Be, Inc, is a commercially available alternative operating system. It joins the ranks of alternative operating systems, like Linux and OS2, that try to give users something other than Windows or MAC to use to run their computers.

I must say up front, that I am, in no way, knowledgeable about alternative operating systems. And it isn't because I love Windows, Microsoft, and Bill Gates. In fact, I'd love to find something to switch to. Unfortunately, there is no OS I know of that can run the applications I need to use on a daily basis. If there were, I'd be using it in a heartbeat.

Which brings us to that fateful June evening when John Brajkovic launched into his lurching, herky-jerky presentation of BeOS. Now don't get me wrong. John was a nice guy. Being an officer of a user group myself, I had some sympathy for him. However, he was in no way a professional or even an amateur presenter. He was a--and I hesitate to say it--computer geek who liked to hear himself chatter over a PA system. I can't tell you how many times he mumbled something indecipherable and then finished with cheery "Yea." I'm still not sure what he was happy about.

It was at just this time that I was thanking my lucky stars I wouldn't have to write a review on BeOS. I even had some fun scribbling down some headlines that could be used in dacs.doc if Frances had as bad a sense of humor as I had that night. I won't subject you to them here. Just then, Allan Ostergren came up to me and quietly mentioned that Jack, our usual reviewer, was not available. So, with a big grin, Allan asked me to write the review. Ugh!

If you are reading this article, hoping to learn how you can ditch your current OS, read no further. You can't! Well, not unless you don't need to use any application you use right now. If you want to create music or graphics files, you may want to look into BeOS. Oh, but don't expect to be able to use Adobe PhotoShop or Picture Publisher, or whatever you are used to using.

BeOS Screen Shot.John told us there were applications out there for BeOS, but really didn't seem the least bit interested in letting us know what they were. He spent the whole time telling and showing us how easy it was to open up a window--or process, as he called it. And then he showed us how easy it was to close a process that had crashed. In my book, that isn't something I'd be to keen on showing an audience. If he had shown us how well BeOS handles crashed applications written by other companies, that would be one thing. But why show us the OS crashing on its own. Go figure.

During the presentation, I tried to pry out of him what exactly BeOS could offer the typical DACS member. I explained to him that most DACS members were business users or home users who ran Windows or MAC with commercially available applications. He started to respond, with something about how the system could handle very large files with great stability. However, he was quickly distracted, as another window froze.

Here is a quote from Be, Inc's Website:

"Based on an entirely new idea in computing, BeOS was designed to satisfy the higher processing and memory requirements of today's digital media on standard PC hardware, without slowing down or freezing up. Work with audio, video, image, and Internet-based applications, and edit files of millions of gigabytes in size, simultaneously, in real-time."

OK. Sure. But not from what we saw that night.

At the Pig SIG, the "meeting after the meeting" at Chili's in Danbury, we discussed BeOS with John a bit more. I summed up the frustration that I sensed from many people in the audience that night. I think many people were watching the presentation, just as I was, wondering how BeOS could fit into their lives. How could it possibly replace Windows and do what they need it to do every day when their current applications won't even run on it and when there don't seem to be many applications written for BeOS. John responded that it could not replace Windows and was not intended to. I explained to him that had he clearly and concisely told us that up front, people could have relaxed and appreciated BeOS for what it was.

I think that John really loves using BeOS. And I'm sure there are others who do too. After all, Connecticut even has its own user group dedicated to IS. But despite this devotion, I think it will be a long time before BeOS or any other alternative OS supplants Windows or MAC as an everyday OS for the masses.

If you want to learn more about BeOS, please visit their Website at www.be.com. You also might want to contact Don Pearson about the Advanced Operating System SIG. Look for details in dacs.doc about the SIG.



Wally David is Chairman of DACS' board of directors and leads the Surfin' Safari segment at the General Meeting.


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