Menlo Park, Calif.–April 5, 2000–Be Incorporated (Nasdaq: BEOS) today announced that in the week since its release on March 28th, over 550,000 copies of BeOS 5 Personal Edition have been downloaded worldwide. This number includes all downloads from Be’s web site, and 18 reporting download partners. Be estimates there are at least 39 other download sites that have not yet reported. BeOS 5 Personal Edition is the latest release of Be’s acclaimed digital media operating system and is available at no charge via the web at http://free.be.com. Additionally, Be news-related web sites, including BeNews.com and BeBits.com, have experienced a significant increase in site traffic, many registering five to ten times their normal amount of user visits in the last week.
“The demand for BeOS 5 Personal Edition has been inspiring,” stated Jean-Louis Gasse, chairman and CEO of Be. “It is a testament to the public’s desire for a powerful, flexible and robust operating system that is easy to install and use. We believe the demand for BeOS 5 will continue to increase as more people have the opportunity to use the OS and fully realize its potential.”
BeOS 5 Personal Edition is ideal for first-time or casual users who want to experience the power of a digital media operating system. This version is stored as a file within users’ existing Windows-based operating systems, without repartitioning their hard drives. As a result, users will find the installation process no more difficult and no riskier than installing a typical Windows application. Launching BeOS 5 Personal Edition is as simple as double-clicking an icon on the desktop. BeOS 5 Personal Edition is compatible with Intel-based PCs and includes HTML-based documentation. Additionally, Be is offering a programmer’s development kit (BeIDE, or Be Integrated Development Environment) and a library of demonstration applications at no charge. These development tools aid software developers in bringing their products to market faster.
A fully-featured version of the operating system, BeOS 5 Pro Edition, will be available through third-party publishers, including Gobe Software in the Americas and Hitachi, Ltd. in Asia.
BeOS 5 Pro Edition will be bundled with additional applications and services for advanced functionality that truly take advantage of the power of BeOS, including features that make it ideal for individuals involved in audio and video production.
Availability and Pricing
BeOS 5 Personal Edition, the BeOS Developer Kit and demonstration application packages are available at no charge from http://free.be.com, as well as dozens of mirror sites throughout the world. BeOS 5 Pro Edition will be available in the Americas through Gobe Software, in Asia via Hitachi, and should be available in Europe through Apacabar and Koch. Each publisher will price BeOS 5 Pro Edition independently and based on other bundled components. Publishers are also responsible for setting the upgrade policy for existing BeOS users in their territories.
