Customer Reviews

BeOS Bible, The

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Usually, you have to divide the readership of a computing book into beginners vs. experienced users. Somehow Scott Hacker provides a nice balance, not an easy thing to do. If you wanted a taste of why BeOS is interesting and truly unique, this book is a must--even the sections on applications written for BeOS have lots of helpful info. (Programmers looking for technical info should find this a good companion book, but the O'Reilly books on programming the BeOS are far more appropriate for hardcore developer info.)

BeOS was (is) fun to try out, and Scott's book makes it that much more so. A nearly perfect read.

(By the way, I saw some other person write about being offended by the word "bible" in the book title. While I understand that perspective, I hope s/he is aware that Peachpit Press, the publisher, has countless titles in this family, e.g., Windows 98 Bible. Don't hold the title against Scott or Be, or allow it to spoil a really informative and enjoyable read--in fact, it probably helps to register your displeasure with the publisher directly.)

I see where everyone is coming from in their reviews on this book. But.... I think the "ads" are a welcome change. There is not much out there, program wise for Be and I appreciated Hacker discussing whats available. I also didn't mind the trashing of Windows and MacOS. I've been putting up with Linux users who have been badmouthing Windows and MacOS for a few years now and I guess I have become desensitized to the bad publicity on theses 2 OS's (but were all still using them!!) Getting to the point of all of this: Its a good book!!! Even if you were expecting 800-900 pages on Be, your still getting 500-600 good quality pages about a great operating system. Not everyone is able to "figure it out on their own after a few days" and this book will especially help those people in addition to providing some usefull insight to computer veterans. I would definately recommend this book to anyone. It was money well spent for me.

I actually learned of BeOS when searching a bookstore for a Linux manual, and I first thought BeOS was somehow related to "BSD", the Unix based system (turns out it isn't). However, I picked the book up and began studying it, and became intrigued. I purchased it, downloaded BeOS and have been a fan ever since.
BeOS was a commercial operating system designed from a clean sheet of paper in the 1990's, originally running on its own hardware, then PPC, then Intel x86. Palm purchased the company's assets in 2000, but had no interest in offering the operating system. So, it has been available since then as a free download from various websites such as Bebits, which also offers hundreds of free applications to keep the system useful.
At the time of Palm's purchase, BeOS was up to version 5, and was working on version 6, which was never released. During the intervening years, a German company named Yellowtab has worked on completing version 6, and has recently released it as "Zeta".
I have both BeoS 5 (for the past couple of years) and Zeta (for the past couple of weeks) on my computer. Previously, I had tried various Linux distros, SuSe, Caldera, Red Hat, Ubuntu, and Mepis. While all ran, none were as fast as BeOS/Zeta, none were as easy to configure hardware, and none were as resilient. Because of its primitive directory structure, Linux is prone to problems with "dependencies", where applications depend on each other in a complex web, so a malfunction in a single file can render many applications useless, or even the entire OS unbootable. BeOS doesn't do this, applications tend to be self-contained, and even if one crashes, or is removed altogether, it doesn't affect anything anywhere else in the system.
It is true that some applications for BeOS/Zeta are not as "mature" as for Linux, or for that matter, for Windows, but they are useable and improving. I also appreciate that there are no virus currently which can do anything to the BeOS.
As mentioned by another reviewer, what works for BeOS also works for Zeta, so the BeOS Bible is useful regardless of which system you have installed. The author, Scot Hacker, has written many other articles about BeOS which were published on-line, as well as the O'Reilly MP3 manual.
I found the BeOS Bible to be well written, interesting, and much more fun to read than most similar "manuals".

Interesting, technically sound, a great intro to BeOS but goes deeper, too. The addition of interviews with Be inc. employees and other interesting bits (like the part about BeBox) are the cherry on top of this masterpiece. I think bundling The BeOS Bible with BeOS was a great idea.

I'm eagerly looking forward for any books on Be, written by Scot Hacker.

Coming from a Windows (95/98/NT), Macintosh and Linux background, I found BeOS extremely refreshing - a truly modern OS with best-of-breed technology.

This book is rightfully called the Bible. It deals very well with the all aspects of BeOS - technical as well as social. Starting from a history of the company and the operating system, it contains interviews with key people on the team.

Technically, I just couldn't find fault with it anywhere. Excellent peice on installation and configuration... In depth look at built-in as well as third-party applications... An overview of the BASH command shell and simple commands... what more could I want?

I just hope that the book is updated at the same pace that the OS is evolving. It would be a shame if it doean't keep up.

I started using Be about a month before this book was published... and I managed ok. Since reading the Be OS Bible, I now use Be for about 90% of my work, booting into Windows once a day to take care of some stuff for which Be "isn't quite there yet".

The Be OS Bible does a great job of going through the end-user aspects of the OS, from basic file management and including details on popular applications. A must-read for any Be user.

There may not be any other books (yet) on BeOS for users, but once you buy this you really won't care. This book is truly superb! Approachable for the novice, yet full of useful info and features for the more technically inclined - much like BeOS itself. Hacker's writing is clear, witty and never bores the reader. If you have *any* interest in BeOS you'll want this book!

If you're interested in getting into the Be operating system (BeOS), then get the BeOS Bible now! Myself, I was literally raised on Windows 3.1 and up, with limited experience with DOS and no exposure to alternative (= better) operating systems out there. With Mac's status on the market in perpetual flux; Unix's esoteric domination on the way out; OS/2's waning following; and Linux's daunting installation and heavy-handed command line, it seemed that Be was FINALLY the alternative OS for me. Two things going for it:

1) It's brand new and isn't here to compete with Gates, but to accompany it and others.

2) Its amazingly easy to install, use, and boot (under 10 seconds!)

Scot Hacker does a brilliant job of light-heartedly illustrating all the nitty gritties, as well as presenting a good background of computing architecture. A very good and important read. Get it now along with the operating system.

I have been following the BeOS since the early days (thanks to an interview with their CEO in the premiere issue of Boot magazine, now Maximum PC), and have hoped for the OSes success. Now, Scott Hacker has created a tome worthy of this great operating system. It is a well written computer book (which is rare for a computer book on any topic) that lets any level reader comprehend and appreciate the massive about of technology behind BeOS. It covers every aspect of the system while providing very useful tips and showing a sense of humor. The interviews with employees of Be, Inc. are a worthwhile bonus as they round out the story of Be, Inc. The website which serves as a companion to the book ensures that it will never go out date. An absolute must have.

This book is an excellent, well organized guide to BeOS. It is easy to read and includes many helpful examples when topics become complex. The interviews are a nice touch too. The only thing I would do to improve this book is to replace the "only of interest to programmers" comments with actual information (since I am a programmer). Otherwise is was superb - I was completely engrossed for over 700 pages.