323 lines
22 KiB
HTML
323 lines
22 KiB
HTML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
|
||
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
|
||
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /><title>Be Newsletters - Volume 5: 2000</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="be_newsletter.css" type="text/css" media="all" /><link rel="shortcut icon" type="image/vnd.microsoft.icon" href="./images/favicon.ico" /><!--[if IE]>
|
||
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="be_newsletter_ie.css" />
|
||
<![endif]--><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.73.2" /><link rel="start" href="index.html" title="Be Newsletters" /><link rel="up" href="volume5.html" title="Volume 5: 2000" /><link rel="prev" href="Issue5-16.html" title="Issue 5-16, April 19, 2000" /></head><body><div id="header"><div id="headerT"><div id="headerTL"><a accesskey="p" href="Issue5-16.html" title="Issue 5-16, April 19, 2000"><img src="./images/navigation/prev.png" alt="Prev" /></a> <a accesskey="u" href="volume5.html" title="Volume 5: 2000"><img src="./images/navigation/up.png" alt="Up" /></a> </div><div id="headerTR"><div id="navigpeople"><a href="http://www.haiku-os.org"><img src="./images/People_24.png" alt="haiku-os.org" title="Visit The Haiku Website" /></a></div><div class="navighome" title="Home"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html"><img src="./images/navigation/home.png" alt="Home" /></a></div><div class="navigboxed" id="naviglang" title="English">en</div></div><div id="headerTC">Be Newsletters - Volume 5: 2000</div></div><div id="headerB">Prev: <a href="Issue5-16.html">Issue 5-16, April 19, 2000</a> Up: <a href="volume5.html">Volume 5: 2000</a> </div><hr /></div><div class="article"><div xmlns="" xmlns:d="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook" class="titlepage"><div><div xmlns:d="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook"><h2 xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="title"><a id="Issue5-17"></a>Issue 5-17, April 26, 2000</h2></div></div></div><div class="sect1"><div xmlns="" xmlns:d="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook" class="titlepage"><div><div xmlns:d="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook"><h2 xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="title"><a id="Support5-17"></a>Revamped Developer Services</h2></div></div></div><p>
|
||
Because we know that our success grows directly from your success, we
|
||
want to support your efforts to develop for BeOS and BeIA, and we're
|
||
constantly thinking about and working toward ways to improve this
|
||
support. The past few months have given us all an opportunity to think
|
||
hard about what we're doing and how to serve the customers we want to
|
||
attract, while the computing market continues to evolve around us.
|
||
</p><p>
|
||
To keep pace with the exciting changes in our business and increase the
|
||
number and kind of our development partners, Be has made some changes in
|
||
our developer services that should make it easier for all Be developers
|
||
to market successful products. We'd like to tell you about our new
|
||
support options (which include better access to materials at no charge)
|
||
and help you understand how you may be able to capitalize on changes in
|
||
the computing market and develop for either BeOS or BeIA, or both, in the
|
||
new millennium.
|
||
</p><p>
|
||
Just in the past few months Be has announced strategic Internet appliance
|
||
relationships with partners such as Compaq, National Semiconductor, Intel
|
||
Corporation, First International Computer, Inc. and Proxim, Inc. With our
|
||
partner list growing this fast, you can imagine the higher level of
|
||
support that Be must provide. Added to the exciting Internet appliance
|
||
challenge is the popularity of BeOS 5 Personal Edition (over 870,000
|
||
downloads as of last week) and a large number of new BeOS developers
|
||
downloading the tools and becoming involved. Thanks to all our developers
|
||
for being so patient during this exciting growth.
|
||
</p><p>
|
||
We are happy to announce that on Wednesday, April 26, Be Inc. is
|
||
launching an improved Developer Services section of our web site:
|
||
http://www.be.com/developers/. This announcement describes the new
|
||
structure of Developer Services, changes to the costs of services, and
|
||
what resources are available to all developers at various levels. These
|
||
changes were made in order to better serve the Be Developer Community. Be
|
||
Inc. and the Be User and Developer Communities value your involvement now
|
||
more than ever.
|
||
</p><p>
|
||
Developer Services is dedicated to fulfilling the needs of developers who
|
||
build BeIA information and entertainment appliances as well as those who
|
||
develop commercially viable BeOS software. Three levels of participation
|
||
are available:
|
||
</p><ul class="itemizedlist"><li><p>
|
||
a Free Developer Resources level
|
||
</p></li><li><p>
|
||
a BeIA Evaluation Service level, and
|
||
</p></li><li><p>
|
||
a Partner Program level
|
||
</p></li></ul><p>
|
||
Via the Developer Area of our web site, BeIA and BeOS developers will
|
||
have access to excellent online resources at no charge. These resources
|
||
include Be Developer Community discussion lists; BMessage, a Newsletter
|
||
for Be developers; BeOS 5 Personal Edition; BeOS development tools; BeOS
|
||
sample code written by Be engineers; and Bug Report and Feature Request
|
||
submission form access. Our hope and plan is that it will be possible for
|
||
a wide range of BeOS developers to create quality BeOS desktop software
|
||
using these free online resources. No program membership is required, so
|
||
there is no hassle of remembering an ID and password. However, we do
|
||
encourage all BeOS developers to complete an online survey so we can
|
||
track who is developing BeOS software products. BeIA projects all require
|
||
BeIA Developer Kits, and will almost certainly require Developer
|
||
Technical Support and other benefits available only to Partner Program
|
||
Members, so all BeIA developers are encouraged to try the BeIA Evaluation
|
||
Service or apply for the Partner Program.
|
||
</p><p>
|
||
Developers who would like to investigate BeIA software before applying
|
||
for the Be Partner Program are encouraged to purchase the BeIA Evaluation
|
||
Service for $95. This service includes one downloadable version of BeIA
|
||
Eval and all updates for one year. This BeIA software can be easily
|
||
installed in Windows and includes cached web pages that illustrate how an
|
||
Information Appliance running BeIA might work. Targeted collateral and
|
||
documentation are included which provide pertinent information for
|
||
potential BeIA developers. BeIA Evaluation Service customers are welcome
|
||
to ask our technical support staff about installation issues, but no
|
||
other questions will be answered until the company is accepted into the
|
||
Partner Program.
|
||
</p><p>
|
||
Companies who have funding to develop a BeIA or BeOS project are
|
||
encouraged to apply for Be's Partner Program so they can take advantage
|
||
of additional services. Be will enthusiastically review applications for
|
||
the Partner Program with an eye toward providing the best service to
|
||
partners that need it to complete viable, trend-setting products. The
|
||
person who completes Be's Qualification Form becomes the main contact for
|
||
the company accepted into the Partner Program. Each main contact will
|
||
have to sign a Partner Program Agreement as part of the final acceptance
|
||
procedure. The main contact may distribute their company's membership ID
|
||
and password to 5 employees in their company so they can take advantage
|
||
of the services provided in the Partner Area of our web site. The main
|
||
contact will be informed when the annual review process begins for their
|
||
membership.
|
||
</p><p>
|
||
Partners receive a high level of support from Be. As part of their
|
||
membership benefits, partners have access to targeted BeIA Developer Kits
|
||
with appropriate Be software, build tools, sample code, and collateral.
|
||
Bugs and feature requests submitted by Partners receive priority
|
||
attention. In addition, Partners may purchase BeIA Development Machines
|
||
that come with development tools pre-installed. Also, partners may
|
||
purchase additional services at a support rate (currently $200 per hour).
|
||
For instance, Partners can: have Be test the compatibility of a product
|
||
with our software; get Developer Technical Support via an online query
|
||
form; ask an engineer for one-on-one help; receive UI design
|
||
consultation; have a specific driver or a custom application developed;
|
||
and more.
|
||
</p><div class="sect2"><div xmlns="" xmlns:d="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook" class="titlepage"><div><div xmlns:d="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook"><h3 xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="title"><a id="id435320"></a>Developer Services Q&A</h3></div></div></div><div class="qandaset"><table border="0" summary="Q and A Set"><col align="left" width="1%" /><tbody><tr class="question"><td><a id="id435329"></a><a id="id435332"></a>Q:</td><td><p>
|
||
What is the difference between BeOS and BeIA?
|
||
</p></td></tr><tr class="answer"><td align="left" valign="top">A:</td><td align="left" valign="top"><p>
|
||
BeOS is an operating system for personal computers. There is a free
|
||
and an enhanced version available. For Information and Entertainment
|
||
Appliances we offer BeIA, the most compelling software solution designed
|
||
for the creation of appliances that deliver information and entertainment
|
||
over the web. Incorporating technology from BeOS, BeIA is fully
|
||
customizable, offers a comprehensive browser and supports popular
|
||
streaming audio and video standards.
|
||
</p></td></tr><tr class="question"><td><a id="id435350"></a><a id="id435353"></a>Q:</td><td><p>
|
||
How is developing for BeOS and BeIA different?
|
||
</p></td></tr><tr class="answer"><td align="left" valign="top">A:</td><td align="left" valign="top"><p>
|
||
BeIA builds are essentially pared down versions of BeOS designed for
|
||
dedicated devices. For instance, a particular Internet appliance might
|
||
not require printer drivers, so we would leave those out of the BeIA
|
||
build for that device in an effort to make it as compact as possible.
|
||
</p><p>
|
||
Our goal is to have one source tree for both BeOS and BeIA, so that we
|
||
can pull BeIA builds out of the BeOS source tree whenever necessary. This
|
||
way, as drivers and other improvements are added because of a particular
|
||
BeIA project, BeOS as a whole will improve.
|
||
</p><p>
|
||
Everything that applies to BeOS applies to BeIA. BeIA runs compiled C/C++
|
||
code using the Be APIs. You can start writing your BeIA program on BeOS.
|
||
The same code will apply to BeIA devices, although it will take some
|
||
extra massaging between compile time and run time. The main difference
|
||
will be that BeIA applications will have different interface needs. For
|
||
example, the device you are working on may not have a keyboard, so you'll
|
||
want to have large buttons that provide all application functionality.
|
||
The process for moving the code to a device before running is still being
|
||
designed, so keep an eye on the FAQs for more information as it is
|
||
available.
|
||
</p></td></tr><tr class="question"><td><a id="id435381"></a><a id="id435383"></a>Q:</td><td><p>
|
||
How do I sell my program on a BeIA device? Is there a way for me to
|
||
contact the device builders to include my program on their hardware?
|
||
</p></td></tr><tr class="answer"><td align="left" valign="top">A:</td><td align="left" valign="top"><p>
|
||
There will be; part of what it means to be a Partner in the new
|
||
program is that Be works with our Partners on complete solutions, so we
|
||
will serve as a resource for software and hardware partners to coordinate
|
||
on products. If you are a BeOS Developer who is not enrolled in the
|
||
Partner Program, please complete the Developer Survey in the Free
|
||
Resources section so we know what BeOS software is being worked on in
|
||
case we find a need for something in particular. We also encourage you to
|
||
contact the manufacturers directly. This system is evolving, so keep
|
||
watching the FAQs and the Developer Services area for further information.
|
||
</p></td></tr><tr class="question"><td><a id="id435396"></a><a id="id435398"></a>Q:</td><td><p>
|
||
What resources are available to Be Developers?
|
||
</p></td></tr><tr class="answer"><td align="left" valign="top">A:</td><td align="left" valign="top"><p>
|
||
Free Developer Online Resources for BeIA and BeOS
|
||
</p><p>
|
||
BeIA Development
|
||
</p><ul class="itemizedlist"><li><p>
|
||
FAQs
|
||
</p></li><li><p>
|
||
BeIATalk Mailing List
|
||
</p></li><li><p>
|
||
BMessage, The Be Developer Newsletter
|
||
</p></li></ul><p>
|
||
BeOS Development
|
||
</p><ul class="itemizedlist"><li><p>
|
||
FAQs
|
||
</p></li><li><p>
|
||
BeOSDevTalk and BeOSCodeTalk Mailing Lists
|
||
</p></li><li><p>
|
||
BMessage, The Be Developer Newsletter
|
||
</p></li><li><p>
|
||
BeBook
|
||
</p></li><li><p>
|
||
Sample Code
|
||
</p></li><li><p>
|
||
BeOS 5 Personal Edition and Developer Tools
|
||
</p></li><li><p>
|
||
Bug Reporting
|
||
</p></li></ul><p>
|
||
BeIA Evaluation Service
|
||
</p><ul class="itemizedlist"><li><p>
|
||
BeIA Evaluation Software ($95)
|
||
</p></li><li><p>
|
||
Documentation
|
||
</p></li><li><p>
|
||
Installation support
|
||
</p></li><li><p>
|
||
One year of free upgrades to BeIA Evaluation Software
|
||
</p></li></ul><p>
|
||
Partner Program
|
||
</p><ul class="itemizedlist"><li><p>
|
||
Qualification Form/Membership Record
|
||
</p></li><li><p>
|
||
BeOS Professional Edition (one per company)
|
||
</p></li><li><p>
|
||
BeIA Developer Kits (sample code, build tools, etc.)
|
||
</p><ul class="itemizedlist"><li><p>
|
||
BeIA for Entertainment Appliances
|
||
</p></li><li><p>
|
||
BeIA for Information Appliances
|
||
</p></li></ul></li><li><p>
|
||
Bug reporting (Higher Priority)
|
||
</p></li><li><p>
|
||
Hardware Compatibility Verification on BeOS ($200/hr.)
|
||
</p></li><li><p>
|
||
Online Technical Support Query Form ($200/hr.)
|
||
</p></li><li><p>
|
||
Direct Engineer Support ($200/hr.)
|
||
</p></li><li><p>
|
||
UI Design consultation ($200/hr.)
|
||
</p></li><li><p>
|
||
Driver Development ($200/hr.)
|
||
</p></li><li><p>
|
||
Custom Application Development ($200/hr.)
|
||
</p></li></ul></td></tr><tr class="question"><td><a id="id453667"></a><a id="id453669"></a>Q:</td><td><p>
|
||
How do previous developers fit into the new Developer Services model?
|
||
</p></td></tr><tr class="answer"><td align="left" valign="top">A:</td><td align="left" valign="top"><p>
|
||
We value all of our experienced and new developers, and we've been
|
||
looking for ways to deliver more consistent, more effective service. The
|
||
new Developer Services will deliver this to developers at all levels.
|
||
Whether you were an Enthusiast, Small Commercial, or Corporate Developer,
|
||
please register via the Developer Survey or apply for a Partner Program
|
||
membership. Old membership IDs and passwords and the old Developer Area
|
||
are no longer necessary for anyone except paying members of the old Small
|
||
Commercial and Corporate Developer Program. Developers who paid for the
|
||
old program will receive instructions explaining how to access their
|
||
benefits.
|
||
</p></td></tr><tr class="question"><td><a id="id453681"></a><a id="id453684"></a>Q:</td><td><p>
|
||
How do I obtain developer technical support?
|
||
</p></td></tr><tr class="answer"><td align="left" valign="top">A:</td><td align="left" valign="top"><p>
|
||
All developers can take advantage of the free resources available on
|
||
our web site. The BeDevTalk, BeCodeTalk and BeIATalk mailing lists are
|
||
great community resources where you can often get responses quickly from
|
||
experienced Be Developers. There are also several web sites and news
|
||
groups devoted to Be Development: http://www.be.com/world/wwwlinks.html.
|
||
</p><p>
|
||
For to Partner Program Members, direct Developer Technical Support is
|
||
available at a rate of $200 per hour.
|
||
</p></td></tr><tr class="question"><td><a id="id453706"></a><a id="id453709"></a>Q:</td><td><p>
|
||
Where can I find answers to my BeIA related questions?
|
||
</p></td></tr><tr class="answer"><td align="left" valign="top">A:</td><td align="left" valign="top"><p>
|
||
BeIA FAQs: http://www.be.com/support/faqs/beia.html
|
||
</p></td></tr><tr class="question"><td><a id="id453721"></a><a id="id453724"></a>Q:</td><td><p>
|
||
Where can I find answers to my BeOS related questions?
|
||
</p></td></tr><tr class="answer"><td align="left" valign="top">A:</td><td align="left" valign="top"><p>
|
||
BeOS Development FAQs:
|
||
http://www.be.com/support/faqs/dev.html
|
||
</p></td></tr><tr class="question"><td><a id="id453736"></a><a id="id453739"></a>Q:</td><td><p>
|
||
Where do I email feedback and questions about Developer Services?
|
||
</p></td></tr><tr class="answer"><td align="left" valign="top">A:</td><td align="left" valign="top"><p>
|
||
After reading through this announcement and the new web site content,
|
||
feel free to email devservices@be.com.
|
||
</p></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div><hr class="pagebreak" /><div class="sect1"><div xmlns="" xmlns:d="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook" class="titlepage"><div><div xmlns:d="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook"><h2 xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="title"><a id="Gassee5-17"></a>Structure or Conduct?</h2></div><div xmlns:d="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook"><span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="author">By <span class="firstname">Jean-Louis</span> <span class="surname">Gassée</span></span></div></div></div><p>
|
||
So—this week's fashion is structure, as in structural remedies.
|
||
Breaking Microsoft in two: OS; and all the rest—applications,
|
||
contents, tools, web services, media, hardware. Structural remedies as
|
||
opposed to conduct remedies; that is, imposing new rules of behavior. The
|
||
problem with conduct remedies is that they amount to putting a cop behind
|
||
each Microsoft employee. So there's really no contest as to the choice of
|
||
remedies: structure wins every time.
|
||
</p><p>
|
||
Let me quickly add that I'm aware conduct remedies are also being
|
||
considered, such as shedding light on Windows pricing. A good idea, and
|
||
the risk of being in contempt of a settlement would act as a credible
|
||
deterrent. But more needs to be done, or clarified. Windows licensing
|
||
contains abusive language; that is, abusive in that it conserves or
|
||
extends the MS monopoly. Forcing licensees, OEMs such as Compaq or Dell,
|
||
to use the Windows boot manager, itself only licensed to load MS
|
||
operating systems, effectively prevents factory installation of dual- or
|
||
triple-boot systems. As a result, you can buy a system with Windows or a
|
||
system with an alternative OS, but not a system with both.
|
||
</p><p>
|
||
Leaving aside our own BeOS for a (brief) moment, why can't you find a
|
||
Windows-Linux dual-boot system on the shelves of the grandees of our
|
||
industry? Because of Microsoft's legal tricks. Microsoft can say what
|
||
they want regarding their love of the freedom to innovate, but in the
|
||
dark recesses of their confidential licensing agreements lies clear
|
||
evidence that they want to protect their monopoly. It doesn't require a
|
||
cop behind every employee to breach this monopoly; it requires only
|
||
provisions and sanctions in a settlement.
|
||
</p><p>
|
||
Returning to structural remedies, separating the OS from applications
|
||
such as Office sounds good. It parallels decisions such as the one
|
||
(Carterfone if memory serves) that separates the telephone set from the
|
||
telephone line. The telephone network is the platform, the set is the
|
||
application. The problem with such a neat line of demarcation is that
|
||
software is just that—soft. How do you legally draw a line between the
|
||
OS and an application? It's not just a question of whether or not the
|
||
browser is in the OS or in the application category. Where do you put
|
||
Wordpad? Can you or can't you provide a text editor with the OS? It's
|
||
really needed to edit configuration files and the like, or just to make a
|
||
little note for oneself, Your Honor. And how do you limit the feature set
|
||
for this text editor?
|
||
</p><p>
|
||
This isn't necessarily a bad thing. You could end up with one company
|
||
feverishly adding—sorry, integrating—features into its OS, and
|
||
another looking at more than one platform for its applications, as long
|
||
as the DOJ looks into the unfair OS licensing agreement tricks played by
|
||
the "other" company. The Office platform could even buy Red Hat, or
|
||
Compaq—that would be fun.
|
||
</p><p>
|
||
Of course, there's an important topic we haven't discussed yet. Will
|
||
Microsoft, with its browser, manage to control the **ML dialect, the
|
||
media standards used on the Web? If the answer is yes, they will have
|
||
succeeded in extending their monopoly, broken up or not. I'm puzzled that
|
||
we don't hear much about this in public discussions.
|
||
</p><p>
|
||
One caveat, and one conclusion. As before, what we hear might bear little
|
||
relationship to what's actually taking place between teams of lawyers and
|
||
the judge. In addition, we haven't heard from the attorneys general for
|
||
the states that are also suing Microsoft. This antitrust suit has
|
||
provided more than a few surprises in the past 18 months, and the appeals
|
||
process might keep it alive for two years or more. In conclusion then,
|
||
while there isn't a beautifully clear solution, an uncomplicated
|
||
combination of enforceable conduct remedies and breaking up the behemoth
|
||
might restore competition and foster innovation in our industry. It might
|
||
even benefit Microsoft shareholders if the history of Standard Oil and
|
||
AT&T repeats itself.
|
||
</p></div></div><div id="footer"><hr /><div id="footerT">Prev: <a href="Issue5-16.html">Issue 5-16, April 19, 2000</a> Up: <a href="volume5.html">Volume 5: 2000</a> </div><div id="footerB"><div id="footerBL"><a href="Issue5-16.html" title="Issue 5-16, April 19, 2000"><img src="./images/navigation/prev.png" alt="Prev" /></a> <a href="volume5.html" title="Volume 5: 2000"><img src="./images/navigation/up.png" alt="Up" /></a> </div><div id="footerBR"><div><a href="http://www.haiku-os.org"><img src="./images/People_24.png" alt="haiku-os.org" title="Visit The Haiku Website" /></a></div><div class="navighome" title="Home"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html"><img src="./images/navigation/home.png" alt="Home" /></a></div></div><div id="footerBC"><a href="http://www.access-company.com/home.html" title="ACCESS Co."><img alt="Access Company" src="./images/access_logo.png" /></a></div></div></div><div id="licenseFooter"><div id="licenseFooterBL"><a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/" title="Creative Commons License"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="https://licensebuttons.net/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a></div><div id="licenseFooterBR"><a href="./LegalNotice.html">Legal Notice</a></div><div id="licenseFooterBC"><span id="licenseText">This work is licensed under a
|
||
<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative
|
||
Commons Attribution-Non commercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License</a>.</span></div></div></body></html>
|