GeekPort
A BeBox, with aftermarket monitor
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| Manufacturer | Be Inc. |
|---|---|
| Type | Workstation |
| Release date | BeBox Dual603-66 : October 3, 1995 BeBox Dual603e-133 : August 5, 1996 |
| Introductory price | BeBox Dual603-66 US$1,600 BeBox Dual603-133 US$2,995 |
| Discontinued | January 1997 |
| Units sold | 1000 - BeBox Dual603-66 800 - BeBox Dual603e-133 |
| Operating system | BeOS |
| CPU | 2 × PowerPC 603 |
| Memory | Up to 256 MB of RAM (Supports up to 8 72-pin SIMMs) |
| Power | 100 - 240 volt AC single-phase |
| Dimensions | 15.68 x 8.28 x 18.15 in 39.8 cm x 21.0 cm x 46.1 cm |
| Website | Historical: www.be.com |
The BeBox is a dual CPU personal computer, briefly sold by Be Inc. to run the company's own operating system, BeOS. Notable aspects of the system include its CPU configuration, I/O board with "GeekPort", and "Blinkenlights" on the front bezel.
The BeBox made its debut in October 1995 (BeBox Dual603-66). The processors were upgraded to 133 MHz in August 1996 (BeBox Dual603e-133). Production was halted in January 1997, following the port of BeOS to the Macintosh, in order for the company to concentrate on software. Be sold around a thousand 66 MHz BeBoxes and 800 133 MHz BeBoxes.
BeBox creator Jean-Louis Gassée did not see the BeBox as a general consumer device, warning that "Before we let you use the BeBox, we believe you must have some aptitude toward programming - the standard language is C++." The BeBox's more unique features included preemptive multitasking and built-in networking.
Initial prototypes are equipped with two AT&T Hobbit processors and three AT&T 9308S DSPs.
Production models use two PowerPC 603 processors running at 66 or 133 MHz to power the BeBox. Prototypes having dual 200 MHz CPUs or four CPUs exist, but these were never publicly available.
Two yellow/green vertical LED arrays, dubbed the "blinkenlights", are built into the front bezel to illustrate the CPU load. The bottommost LED on the right side indicates hard disk activity.
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Wikipedia