Be degood (BeOS 5.0)

Member Name: kr087mdx

Product:	BeOS 5.0
Date:	15/12/00 (72 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: An alternative to MS dominance !

Disadvantages: Not a great deal of common applications, but the number is growing

If you are looking for an alternative OS to Windows to slap on your X86 PC then why not give this one a try.

As with everything today, installation is easy. You simply put the disk into the machine, and it auto starts. If you already have Windows on the system, you are given the option to partition the drive. If you do so the PC will reboot and run a modified Partition Wizard, type of program, allowing you to create a BeOS partition.

If you don't want to go the whole hog, and just want a try, you can install the OS in a 500mb file on your Windows drive and run it that way, but a proper install is best.

Once installed, configuration may be a problem, especially if you are trying to install onto a laptop. With an average PC with common components, the drivers will be easily available, but on a Laptop, which are often made with custom or modified components drivers tend to be harder to find. But the web site has loads of useful links so with a bit of searching you should be able to get things sorted.

Now window 98 users may find things a bit difficult a t first, as the GUI is more similar to XWindows on Linux / Unix boxes or to MacOS, but given time you will all adjust.

BeOs has a load of great features, a fave of mine is the CPU performance monitor.

Regarding software, well it is great if you can find it. Saying that there are increasing applications related to Audio and graphical applications, which is where the OS really excels, making much more efficient use of computer resources than windows does.

As a free download of the trial personal edition from Beos.com, it is worth a look, even if only to see what else is available and to have a tinker with.

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