Left Behind: A Be, Inc. and BeOS Post-Mortem (2024)

Left Behind: A Be, Inc. and BeOS Post-Mortem (2024)

Author: Derek July 10, 2024 Duration: 51:39

A broader look at the circumstances surrounding the demise of BeOS.

Original text by me. Text version available.

No links here this time; they’re all inside the text version.


Derek hosts Mac Folklore Radio, a podcast that serves as a warm, nostalgic conversation about the machines that defined personal computing for a generation. This isn't a dry technical history, but rather a collection of stories, memories, and shared experiences centered on the Macintosh ecosystem from its early beige-box days through the colorful iMac era and beyond. Each episode feels like digging through a box of old software manuals and rediscovering the community, the quirks, and the sheer sense of possibility those computers inspired. You'll hear tales of first setups, beloved and baffling peripherals, the games that consumed hours, and the software that felt like magic. It's crafted specifically for those who lived through it-the users, tinkerers, and enthusiasts who remember the hum of a CRT and the distinct scent of a warm motherboard. Tune in for a dose of genuine, fond reminiscence that functions as comfort food for the Apple-centric soul, preserving the personal side of tech history one story at a time. This podcast is a love letter to the culture built around these machines, celebrating the folklore that official manuals never recorded.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Mac Folklore Radio
Podcast Episodes
Calling In Sick [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:32
MFR will be off its usual schedule while your host recovers from a brutal flu. Sound effect from MacPuke/MacBarfX.
Jean-Louis Gassée Interview (1998) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:00
A snapshot of Be’s direction in 1998 post-Apple merger talks and pre-bankruptcy. Original text by Henry Bortman. Selected Jean-Louis Gassée quotes: “Who could have put a date on not getting fired for using Linux?” “One o…
A Short Story About SCSI (1991) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:52
A short story about long cables. Original text by Steve Riggins. Macworld San Francisco 1999: Steve Jobs pokes fun at legacy parallel SCSI-1 versus FireWire.
Should Sun Microsystems Buy Apple? (1996) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:02
Original text from SunWorld, February 1996 by Michael McCarthy and Mark Cappel. This was such a bad idea that in the very same issue it was announced a potential Sun/Apple deal had fallen through. CHM Sun Microsystems Fo…
GlobalTalk Special - O Bolo Mio (1995) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:19
In Bolo’s world, players form alliances, pilot tanks and command little green men. Original text by Steve Silberman. GlobalTalk Overview, or how to run AppleTalk over TCP/IP around the world. Gursharan Sidhu quote at the…
The History of Be, Inc. (1998) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:23
Original text by Henry Bortman. Be’s roller coaster ride from 1990-1998: the 1995 O.J. Simpson trial, Commodore’s Irving Gould, a thirty-mile hike to the sea, headhunting disgruntled Apple employees, and what to do when…
Plan Be (1997) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:39
Original text by Henry Bortman and Jeff Pittelkau, MacUser, January 1997. How does BeOS measure up to System 7.5, and could it have become the next-generation Mac OS? The authors examine why Copland would not have been t…
The Wizards of Be, Inc. (1997) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:10
Original text by Dave Mark, MacTech, January 1997. Bryan Cantrill on interviewing at Be, Inc. (perhaps with Dominic Giampolo?) and inadvertently buying a VFS architecture at the Be bankruptcy auction. Apple wouldn’t have…
The Desktop Christmas '94 (1994) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:27
Original text by David Pogue, Macworld December 1994. Watch the CD3 compact disc storage and retrieval box in action. Photos of the salami-like CD3: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. The product lasted into the 2000s and the companion Disc…
Trouble In Finder City (1992)/The Hard Sell (1995) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:53
Simplicity, sophistication, oversimplification, and At Ease. I rant about the usability of modern Apple software, Steven Levy rants about the complexity of the Mac and the oversimplified environment provided by At Ease,…