The BeOS Bible (1999)

Direct link to PDF, https://ia801707.us.archive.org/5/items/the-beos-bible/BeOS%...

Because we hates the page flipping reader.

I have one of these sitting on my shelf! I still get it down and flip through it every so often.

I used BeOS around 2002 and 2003, and it was so cool. One of my favorite things was when I figured out how to use file system metadata to essentially turn files and folders into a database. Having emails essentially be plain text files, but with all the OS searchable metadata of subject, from, time sent, etc. that could be viewable in a Tracker window was awesome. And at the time, it was one of the few systems I could get to work with my dual processor system.

Unfortunately at that time I was struggling with things that I needed to use via Windows that I couldn't do in BeOS. Even though I didn't use it a ton, I love it and I always wished it had taken off better. Every so often I load up Haiku for that hit of nostalgia, but it feels like a lot of modern software is missing from it. Even just being able to run a modern Firefox on it would be enough to keep it on my home computer for most things.

Thanks to Matt Sephton for archiving this gem!

[1] https://blog.gingerbeardman.com/2020/11/11/the-beos-bible/

I dual booted BeOS back in college. I know, that period where you "experiment".

It was pretty good as a daily driver, and I even purchased a few games for it. Some Korean company took a risk and made a couple, the one I played the most being a top-down hack 'n slash RPG, which was OK. I cannot remember the names, but I can tell you they are not on this list:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:BeOS_games

Ah ha! The RPG was Corum 3:

https://www.mobygames.com/platform/beos/

I know, and agree with, many of the assessments about how BeOS had major technological deficiencies as compared to other systems. In every thread talking about the Apple that could have been, you'll find these.

But what BeOS had going for it was that it was genuinely fun. It surprised just about everyone who played with it with everything it could do. It defied what computing enthusiasts of the time believed a computer could do.

Somehow even the wacky typography and layout of The BeOS Bible scream "it's 1999 and the future is bright!" Thanks for the nostalgic trip.

The original black and white screenshots in the book do not do justice to how jaw droppingly beautiful BeOS was at the time. It was like a work of art. Hanselman had a project where he crowd sourced people re-writing an old basic games book into modern python or somesuch. I wish there was a way to re-take all these old screenshot of a VM running the original BeOS from back then. That's the part of BeOS that I really have nostalgia for. The technical underpinnings were great, no doubt. The source code was almost as beautiful, and I don't even write C. But the GUI...

...and then there is HaikuOS with the new Falcon browser.

By "Scot Hacker" :)

Ah man the nostalgia. I still read through mine sometimes.

Scot Hacker is still around... https://zirk.us/@shacker

Still have that book ;)