BeBox is a PowerPC-based multiprocessor computer aimed at high-end application developers that features its own operating system, the Be OS. Flanked by a great deal of attention from the press, much of it skeptical, the company first started shipping the system in December of last year with dual PowerPC 603 processors.
Be, the company headed by former Apple executive Jean-Louis Gass?e, announced today that Metrowerks will be porting its Java virtual machine, just-in-time compiler, and development tools to the Be OS so that BeBox developers can run and create Java applets too.
The company is also planning the second major release of the Be system in September. The new version of the BeOS will feature a new object-oriented library for building interactive 3D graphics applications and based on the OpenGL 3D programming API licensed from Silicon Graphics Incorporated.
The new operating system will also feature integrated email, Web browser, and Telnet capabilities, as well as support for forms, tables, QuickTime, and MPEG movies.
The new version will use two 133-MHz 603e chips and run the first major upgrade of the Be OS. The BeBox Dual603-133 will have a built-in CD-ROM drive, two MIDI ports, stereo audio ports, three infrared control ports, and two joystick ports. A fully configured BeBox will cost $2,995, with a customized version priced at $1,995.
The existing BeBox with two 66-MHz processors will still be available priced at $2,195 for a fully configured version or $1,195 for a customized version.
