1991
In 1991, with Be now employing some software and hardware engineers, things
really began to take shape.
With the arrival of Bob Herold, work began on device drivers and low-level
software work like serial port interfaces. His initial role was to work on
debugging Steve Sakoman's prototype hardware and helping to get software
written for it. Interestingly, according to Herold, "it wasn't our intent to
write an operating system. Our first intent was actually to go and buy one".
Unfortunately (or fortunately for future BeOS users), none of the available
embedded operating systems seemed to quite fit the bill. Chorus Microsystems
had perhaps the closest to what was needed with their Chorus
OS, a portable, modular operating system with real-time functionality.
Unfortunately, it was very expensive, and after discussions between Be and
Chorus, it "just turned out to not be in either company's best interest to do
business with the other".
Chorus Microsystems went on to be acquired by Sun Microsystems, and their
ChorusOS product formed the basis of the JavaOS for Consumers. Chorus OS has
now been discontinued as a commercial product by Sun, and the Chorus OS source
code has been released under Sun Public License Lite.
1991 is also notable in the history of Be Inc for a completely different,
totally non-technical reason. In June, Jean Louis Gassée decided that
the hard working Be team needed a break. In The BeOS Bible, Henry Bortman recorded the
following account of Be's first off-site team building excursion:
Be's cashflow situation, however, didn't allow for a lavish affair;
Gassée chose instead to take his compatriots on a forced march to the
sea. The Hike to the Sea took place on the summer solstice, June 21 1991. It
began on the crest of the hills west of Saratoga, California, and ended some 12
hours later on the shore of the Pacific Ocean. Estimates of the length of the
now-legendary Hike vary. Some say it was a mere 26 miles, others complain that
it was at least 30. Reports of what time the Hike began also vary: Some report
getting up at 3am, others at the more sensible hour of 5. But everyone who
participated agrees on one thing: It was painful.
Gassée recalls having prepared his troops for the adventure with some
cautionary advice: Don't train, don't buy new shoes, and bring some Band-Aids
and ibuprofen. The suggestion not to train was unnecessary; everyone was too
busy working to have time for it. And there was no shortage of medical
supplies.
But several people either never heard or chose not to heed Gassée's
admonition against acquiring new footware. Cyril Meurillon, who had joined Be
to work on the BeOS kernel, was among those who purchased new hiking boots for
the occasion. His feet were bloody by the end of the day. Bob Herold also
sprung for a pair of stiff new shoes. He was fortunate enough to have stashed
some sneakers in his backpack for the end of the hike. Within the first mile,
his new shoes were jettisoned in favor of the oder, more confortable ones.
Fortune shined less brightly on Erich Raingewald. He also bought new shoes, but
didn't carry a spare pair. Still, it isn't blisters from the new shoes that
Ringewald remembers most vividly; he credits the Hike to the Sea with
permanently ruining his knees. "At about 20 miles, my knees were in such pain.
But I kept going and I know I just continued to do more and more damage to
them. Now I can't even sit cross-legged on the floor for a half hour. My knees
just freeze up."
Despite their injuries, everyone finished the hike.
The final thing that happened around 1991 or 1992 was the naming of the
company. JLG wanted to call it "United Technoids", but his colleagues
apparently told him that he was "a retarded sophomore". JLG recounts the actual
naming of Be as:
So one of them said "I'm going to look though the dictionary tonight." They
started looking through the dictionary. So the next morning I asked them,
"well, how was it?" They said, "well, we didn't get very far. We stopped at
be." I thought he meant the letter B. But he said, no "be, as in 'to be.'" I
said ok, that's a good company name. We didn't spend any money at a name lab. I
like it because it's a very resonant name and people usually like that name.
So that is how Be Inc got its name. Reportedly, JLG actually designed the
original Be Inc logo using MacDraw. The
'Be' was written using the 'Times' font. Later, on the advice of a graphic
designer, the bar below the 'Be' was added.
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