The BeBox Moving beyond the limitations of today's computing architectures. The BeBox(TM) from Be, Inc. combines supercharged hardware, an innovative new operating system, and a host of powerful sound, graphics, and video capabilities -- all at an extremely affordable price. It's the first true real-time system that features multiple processors, preemptive multitasking, fast I/O, and a wide range of expansion options. The BeBox allows you to run multiple high-performance, graphics-intensive programs, synchronize music and sound, view and edit videos, and access the Internet -- all at the same time. It features a built-in database that's always accessible, so you can continually store, retrieve, and update key information from multiple sources. No other product on the market can equal its performance in its price range. It's a system that has already excited developers and is capturing the imagination of a wide spectrum of computer users. BeBox Hardware Hardware specifications for the introductory model of the BeBox: Microprocessors 2 PowerPC 603 CPUs, running at 66 Mhz Fixed-point unit Load store unit Floating-point unit 8 K data cache 8 K instruction cache Memory management unit Memory Supports up to 8, 72-pin SIMMs Can accommodate up to 256 MB with 32 MB SIMMs Disk Drives 1 PC-standard, 1.44 MB, 3.5" floppy disk drive On-board support for both IDE and SCSI devices Drive bays 2 internal 3.5" half-height drive bays 2 exposed 5.25" half-height drive bays for CD-ROM drives, Syquest drives, etc. (can be used as a single, full-height bay) Display Controllers Supports PCI SuperVGA controllers, such as the #9 GXE 64 Networking Supports industry-standard ISA Ethernet cards, such as the NE 2000, 3Com 3C503, or compatibles Serial modems on serial ports Interfaces 3 internal full-length PCI card slots @ 33 MHz 5 internal full-length ISA card slots PCI SCSI II controller for connection of up to 7 SCSI devices Internal 50-pin ribbon cable connector External 50-pin SCSI II connector IDE controller for PC-standard hard drives Standard PC keyboard connector PS/2 mouse connector Parallel port 2 MIDI ports: one in and one out per channel 4 RS-232 serial ports with 16550 UARTs high-resolution joystick ports 3 infrared controller ports "GeekPort," supporting general I/O with A/D & D/A 16-bit sound system RCA line-in jacks RCA line-out jacks 3.5 mm stereo microphone jack 3.5 mm stereo headphone jack Clock/Calendar Standard PC clock/calendar chip Electrical Requirements 100 to 240 V AC single phase line voltage 60 or 50 Hz frequency 110-220 switch 240 W max power (does not include external devices) Switched display power convenience outlet Size Height: 15.68 in. (39.8 cm) Width: 8.28 in. (21.0 cm) Depth: 18.15 in. (46.1 cm) Operating Environment Operating temperature: 50 to 105 degrees F (10 to 40 degrees C) Storage temperature: -40 to 116.6 degrees F (-40 to 47 C) Relative humidity: 5 to 95 percent, noncondensing Maximum altitude: 10,000 ft. (3,050 m) Be System Software Specifications Software specifications for the introductory model of the BeBox: Fast Microkernel Virtual memory Preemptive multitasking (multithreading) on multiple processors (up to 8 PowerPC CPUs in future BeBox models) Automatic allocation of threads to processors for the most efficient execution Protected address spaces Shared memory areas for efficient interapplication cooperation Loadable device drivers Integrated Database Extensible database coupled to the file system Data stored in system-defined or application-defined tables Query results updated as the data changes ("live" queries) Client-Server Architecture Servers simplify client applications by taking over low-level tasks Increased performance and reliability The Application Server handles user-interface work common to all applications The Storage Server makes the database available to every application Real-Time Architecture for Processing Audio and Video Data Transportation of media buffers through a pipeline of interested handlers Reliable real-time response High-level, object-oriented access to audio and video drivers Synchronization to an internal clock or to an external one (for example, MIDI or SMPTE) Prioritization to protect time-critical tasks MIDI support Graphical and Interactive User Interface (GUI) Ready-made windows provided by the Application Server Window-specific graphics environments A graphical browser for operating the machine and viewing the file system and database Off-the-shelf modules for many graphical components (like buttons, scroll bars, and editable text fields) Networking TCP/IP built in Direct and dial-up PPP FTP and TELNET protocols (ftp, ftpd, and telnet tools) Object-Oriented C++ Application Framework User Interface Kit, Multimedia Kit, MIDI Kit, Networking Kit, Database Kit, and others for developing a wide variety of applications Interapplication messaging Application architecture designed for multithreading (for example, every window has its own thread of execution) Development Environment Bundled Metrowerks(R) CodeWarrior(TM) development environment for the BeBox Libraries, header files, and developer documentation provided with every BeBox Dynamically linked ("shared") libraries Important: Product specifications are subject to change without notice. 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