Be Ships BeOS PowerMac Development Kit and Confirms Q1 Date for Public Release; Public BeOS Preview Release will ship on or before March 31.

MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 7, 1997--Be, Inc. has announced that it has begun shipment to developers of the version of the Be Operating System (BeOS(TM)) designed to run on PowerMacintosh-based hardware systems. Shipment of the development kit began just before Christmas.

In addition, the company confirmed today that it will ship the "BeOS Preview Release", the first publicly available release of the BeOS, on schedule on or before March 31, 1997.

The BeOS DR8 Development kit became available on December 23. The release is similar in functionality to the DR8 release for the dual-processor BeBox systems, with a few additional enhancements that have been developed since the DR8 version's September release. The major areas of difference between the PowerMac and BeBox versions of the software involve drivers at the hardware abstraction layer level in order to address differences in hardware configuration. For example, the PowerMac uses ADB-based keyboards and mice while BeBox uses PC-standard peripherals.

But these differences are transparent to application software designers. Software developed for any PowerPC version of the BeOS - whether BeBox, PowerMac or future PowerPC designs - are binary compatible. Developers and users can install software on either hardware platform, or even copy between systems, without any change. There are currently three ways for developers to get copies of the BeOS development kit, and the company is looking into additional methods of distribution to developers in the coming months. Today, developers can obtain the kit through these methods:

- CodeWarrior for BeOS Development Package

Be and Metrowerks have put together a single package which contains the full CodeWarrior native BeOS environment - a must for any serious developer - and the BeOS for PowerMac CD. In addition, developers who obtain this package will receive the next two updates to CodeWarrior, and the Q1 release of the BeOS, automatically. The development package is available at an introductory price of $149 (compared to $299 after the next release, and $399 for other major OS platforms.) The Development package is available directly from Be or from Metrowerks (http://www.be.com and http://www.metrowerks.com, respectively) and will be available on the floor of the Macworld Expo in San Francisco, January 7-10, and at the Be Developer Conference in San Francisco, January 11.

- Current BeBox System Owners

All current owners of BeBox personal systems will get the BeOS for PowerMac CD sent to them automatically. This CD contains the CodeWarrior Lite version of the development system, which also ships with BeBox systems. These CDs should be reaching owners right after January 1. BeBox owners who have moved are encouraged to update their developer records via the Be web site to ensure delivery.

- MacTech Magazine Bundle

The January issue of MacTech magazine includes the BeOS for PowerMac CD. This developer-oriented publication will include the CD with all subscription copies as well as copies which will hit newsstands in early January. In addition, MacTech intends to distribute thousands of copies of this issue at the Macworld Expo.

In addition, the BeOS for PowerMac CDs will be available, free of charge, to all developers who attend the Be Developer Conference on Saturday, January 11. The conference is being held at the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero in San Francisco. Conference attendance is limited to software developers, though you need not be a registered Be developer to attend. There is no fee for this conference. Developers should RSVP by e-mail [e-mail].

Developers who wish to learn more about the BeOS, or who have technical or business questions, are encouraged to visit Be's Web Site at http://www.be.com . The site holds detailed information about the system, including browsable and downloadable copies of the BeOS application programing interface (API), as well as information about how to contact Be directly.

---------------------------------------------------------------- About Be, Inc.

Be, Inc. was founded by Jean-Louis Gassie in 1990 to overcome the limitations of existing computer architectures. With a team of industry-leading engineers and business executives in the United States and Europe, the company has positioned itself to become a key player in fast-growing application markets. Be, Inc. is headquartered in Menlo Park, California.

Corporate Offices: Be, Inc. 800 El Camino Real, Suite 300 Menlo Park, California 94025 Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] Internet: http://www.be.com e-mail: [e-mail] FTP site: ftp://ftp.be.com

European Offices: Be, Inc. Suite 336, Immeuble Olivetti Rue de l'ancien marchi 92800 Puteaux France Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] Internet: http://www.beeurope.com e-mail: [e-mail]

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NOTE TO EDITORS: Copyright 1997 Be, Inc. Be is a registered trademark, and the Be logo, the BeOS logo, BeBox, BeOS, BWare and GeekPort are trademarks of Be, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned belong to their respective owners.

CONTACT: Be, Inc.

Mark Gonzales, 415/462-4100 (North America & Pacific)

[e-mail]

or

Jean Calmon, (33) 1 49 06 73 75 (Europe)

[e-mail]