BeIA, or BeOS for Internet Appliances, was a minimized version of

Be Inc. Be Inc. was an American computer company founded in 1990. It is best known for the development and release of BeOS, and the BeBox personal computer. Be was founded by former Apple Computer executive Jean-Louis Gassée with capital from Seymour Cra ...

BeOS BeOS is an operating system for personal computers first developed by Be Inc. in 1990. It was first written to run on BeBox hardware. BeOS was positioned as a multimedia platform that could be used by a substantial population of desktop users a ...

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...

for

embedded system An embedded system is a computer system—a combination of a computer processor, computer memory, and input/output peripheral devices—that has a dedicated function within a larger mechanical or electronic system. It is ''embedded'' as ...

s. The BeIA system presents a browser-based interface to the user. The browser was based on the

Opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

4.0 code base, but most of times it featured built-in dashboard (like Sony eVilla), and was named Wagner. Unlike the BeOS, which runs the Tracker and Deskbar at boot-up, the BeIA OS boots straight into the Opera browser interface (only on Compaq IA-1, similar to the later Google ChromeOS does with the

Google Chrome Google Chrome is a cross-platform web browser developed by Google. It was first released in 2008 for Microsoft Windows, built with free software components from Apple WebKit and Mozilla Firefox. Versions were later released for Linux, macOS ...

browser). While it is possible to boot BeIA into an interface similar to the standard BeOS, doing so involves special knowledge.

BeIA compression techniques

The BeIA operating system employs a number of techniques to minimise the system footprint. These involve a number of pre processes which yield an installable file system image.BeIA compression patent
United States Patent: 6883087
/ref> The CFS Filesystem was used to reduce the file system size. CFS (Compressed File System) was a file system created in house at Be Inc that aimed to compress the files within itself to save space. The filesystem had a similar set of properties to the native BeOS file system BFS, but some of the more advanced features (live queries and attributes) were either broken or non-functional in many of the Beta releases of the software. The BeOS uses

ELF An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...

format executable files, much as many other operating systems. BeIA uses an extended version of ELF, the name of which is unknown but which has come to be known as CELF, from the ''CEL'' magic word within the executable header and the fact that it is derived from ELF format executables through a compression process. The CELF (Compressed ELF) files use a patented technique to compress the op codes within the executable and reduce the overall footprint of each executable file. The file was compressed by creating a set of dictionaries that contain the op codes and are read by the kernel at start up and mapped into the executable in memory at run time. This makes the file fast loading, but has an extreme disadvantage, in that the dictionary is not extendible by the user and adding extra executable was not possible when using CELF compression techniques unless the executable symbols existed within the dictionary already present. The creation of CELF executables is generally done in batch. The entire system will be compressed and a file system image created from the crushed files. Crushing was the term coined for the compression of the system using CELF format. BeIA can run either as CELF or ELF based. However, it can only use one or the other file formats.

Versions

The following BeIA versions were released to developers at stages of the development of the system. * Pre 1.0 build - reports to be 4.5.2, this is likely a hang over from the BeOS version. Pre numbering of BeIA. * 1.0 beta 9 (uncrushed binaries are compatible with Release Candidate) * 1.0 Release Candidate (circa the clipper) * 1.0 * 2.0

History

BeIA is believed by many to be partially responsible for the death of Be, Inc., as sales were never anywhere near as high as anticipated. During 2001, a

Zanussi Zanussi () is an Italian producer of home appliances that was bought by Electrolux in 1984. Zanussi has been exporting products from Italy since 1946. History The Zanussi Company began as the small workshop of Antonio Zanussi in 1916. The 26 ...

"internet fridge" toured the US with a BeIA powered DT-300 webpad docked in its door.

List of BeIA devices

* Sony eVilla - sold as a home web terminal with BeIA preloaded *

Compaq Compaq Computer Corporation (sometimes abbreviated to CQ prior to a 2007 rebranding) was an American information technology company founded in 1982 that developed, sold, and supported computers and related products and services. Compaq produced ...

IA-1 - sold with either BeIA or

MSN Companion The MSN Companion was a small-scale personal computer terminal that was designed for easy access to MSN services on the Internet, such as Hotmail, while still being cheap and easy to use. They were intended for use by people with little knowledge o ...

. *

HARP The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

- not a computer, but a standard for audio streaming terminals, used by

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

in some of their stores *

Proview Proview International Holdings Ltd (; ) is a Hong Kong-based manufacturer of computer monitors and other media devices. The company markets its products under its own and other brand name through its extensive distribution network over the world. ...

iPAD (PI-520B)
DT Research
DT-300 (NB. DT-325 was used with later 2.0 betas)
Hardware known to run BeIA (official and unofficial)

References

External links