| BeOS-like distro focused on content creation |
Jul. 14, 2008
 A new Ubuntu-based Linux distribution has arrived, aimed at both Linux newbies and content creators. Boasting "out of the box" multimedia codecs, the freely downloadable PC/OS incorporates the lightweight XFCE desktop, and is said to offer a similar layout to the groundbreaking, but ultimately doomed BeOS.
(Click for larger view of PC-OS screenshot)
According to a blog by chief facilitator, Roberto Dohnert, "PC/OS is designed to play videos, music, and create content on a very simplified interface and platform. That's why my two-word mission statement is 'simplified computing.'"
PC-OS screenshot
(Click to enlarge)
Currently available in a PC/OS 2008 version, the distribution targets a fairly large audience, says Dohnert, namely, "the home user, the expert user, the multimedia developer, and the software developer." The common thread appears to be the regular use or development of multimedia content. There's also "great support for Mono, Ruby on Rails, and traditional programming languages such as C and C++," Dohnert says.
Some of the distro's featured applications include:Due to its Ubuntu roots, all software compiled for Ubuntu runs on PC/OS, and many fixes for Ubuntu and Xubuntu work on PC/OS, claims the group. Should PC/OS disappear, in fact, PC/OS users could still get their fixes from Canonical, says the PC/OS group.
PC/OS is not a "reimplementation" of BeOS, says the group, but offers a similar layout and a shared focus on multimedia, simplicity, and ease of use. Launched in 1991 by ex-Apple exec Jean-Louis Gassée and others, Be, Inc. developed a cube-like BeBox computer that ran the BeOS multimedia-oriented operating system.
The BeBox never went anywhere, but the multiprocessor-savvy, digital media-oriented OS was ported to the Macintosh and later to the PC. Despite attracting a small but highly devoted following, Be failed to gain adequate funding during the millennial market downturn, and its assets were sold to Palm. Since then, various hobbyist efforts including BeOS-derivative platforms such as Cosmoe, E/OS, and BlueEyedOS have struggled to survive. It appears that the most successful effort has been Open-BeOS (now Haiku-OS).
"OpenWorkstation" and Server versions of PC/OS 2008 are currently available for free download at the PC/OS site. A small-footprint "Internet Appliance" version is available for $10, as well as a $110 hard drive with a version preloaded. Future plans for PC/OS include a PowerPC version due in beta form this Fall, says Dohnert's blog.
-- Eric Brown
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