Be's new focus
While SuSE is angling for the PC and Mac market, the Be wants to move beyond the box. Jean Calmon, Be vice president for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, said his company's future is in the new Internet-appliance market. He also predicted the end of the line for Be's Mac support.
During the Systems Expo, the former Apple rival, introduced a MP3 Jukebox using the Be operating system. Asked if Be has new plans to support Apple's latest hardware, Calmon said, "I don't think so. The Intel world is dominant."
Indeed, Calmon said he doubted there is a future for the PowerPC platform on the desktop: "Although I like the counterculture of the Mac world, Apple will have to switch to the Intel platform in order to survive."
According to Calmon, the Internet appliance market is ripe for Be: "There are no dominant players in this market yet. We can just take a simple PC board and use it with our operating system. The result: you will get, for example, a jukebox that can store more than 1,000 CDs" worth of content. Calmon said Be also plans to introduce wireless devices. |
