Archived News

Introducing the BeOS Dungeon Master apps

See the MaxUpdater progress (http://vbeosa.blogspot.com/2007/01/maxupdater-progress.html). Now we are getting somewhere...

Today I (Mr X) released QuickFox 3.0 (http://bebits.com/app/4222) in time for my birthday. I made it on time!

Introducing you to BeOS 5 PE Max Edition V4 development procedure.

A teaser...

Happy New Year everybody. Hope this year brings Haiku and peace to the world!!!

Vassilis 'vasper' Perantzakis, and BeOS Mr. X

Newly made app Jukebox (http://www.bebits.com/app/4434) by J.M. Reis (http://www.bebits.com/devprofile/5307) is an audio player that uses the folder structure of your music directory to sort all files by artist, album and title. Jukebox is (in the jukebox-mode) a mix of soundplayer and file browser. This makes Jukebox quite fast (especially during the startup) and doesn't create any aditional database files. Just one settings-file and your personal playlist in the /boot/home/config/settings-folder. The app also provides skin support and users can adapt their own custom skins. Luckily that J.M. Reis has a good sense of style, from a screenshot (http://www.iltuosistema.it/news3/jkb.png) it looks very crystallized and slick. Recommended to install along with jukebox is Vista Inspirat Deskbar (http://bebits.com/app/4342) since they look nice together. Jukebox was developed on Zeta 1.21 and at the time fails to load on BONE systems.

I don't know if anyone else has picked up on this, but Magnussoft has put a Zeta Version 1.5 (http://www.zeta-os.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=42&language=en&osCsid=c6118b930f427f4c6ec54bef75d084af) upgrade on their product list. It is a pre-order and it will start shipping January 15, 2007. The box photo can be viewed here (http://www.zeta-os.com/shop/images/zeta15.gif?osCsid=c6118b930f427f4c6ec54bef75d084af) . The purchase price is 29.00EUR (44.0807 CAD 37.9784 USD) . This CD is an upgrade and requires Zeta 1.21 .

WMV3 (aka WMV9) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WMV9#Versions) BeOS(R5,BONE,Dan0) and Zeta compatible vlc player version 0.8.6 (http://www.bebits.com/app/2119/) is available. Now popular websites like www.ebaumsworld.com and others that use .wmv as their main codec can now be watched under BeOS. I think it has came way too late, but it is better than no playback. Flash file playback does not work yet.

• BeOS Download (ftp://ftp.videolan.org/pub/videolan/vlc/0.8.6/BeOS/vlc-0.8.6-BeOS.zip) 7.37 MB
• Zeta Download (ftp://ftp.videolan.org/pub/videolan/vlc/0.8.6/BeOS/vlc-0.8.6-ZETA.zip) 7.28 MB

Gnash (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnash) for BeOS has been created. Screenshot (http://joomla.iscomputeron.com/images/stories/924/gnash_05.png) 1 (http://joomla.iscomputeron.com/images/stories/924/gnash_01.png) 2 (http://joomla.iscomputeron.com/images/stories/924/gnash_02.png) 3 (http://joomla.iscomputeron.com/images/stories/924/gnash_03.png)

• 1. The port currently requires BONE. I will try to port back to plain R5, but that will most likely mean no network support will be included.

• 2. Gnash itself is not quite stable. It crashes sometimes and often blocks on assertions. I will put some more effort into resolving the latter so that it quits gracefully instead of freezing (which is especially painful if used as a plugin, because it takes the browser with it). But these are general Gnash issues which need to be fixed by the project.

• 3. Gnash works with most files up to version 7 and even with some of later versions. But don't expect the results to be perfect. There are holes in the parsing, rendering and ActionScript parts that prevent some files from working correctly.

A whole two months since the updates, so I (Mr. X) have stepped in to contribute regularly to the news section. There is some interesting news. Some promising new features of VLC for Zeta in its new version (http://homepage.eircom.net/~beos/vlc-0.8.6-test1-ZETA.zip) will be able to play flash 8 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Flash) and WMV3 (aka WMV9) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WMV9#Versions) encoded files that are extremely popular on the internet, and also extremely locked in for windows only until only just recently. ZETA Gets Full lib Pthreads Support. Pthreads, is a required library that BeOS has needed for sometime. According to ICO (http://joomla.iscomputeron.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=920&Itemid=2) the Pthread (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pthread) sources will be made available to the Haiku project, which means they can also be made avail for R5. This is good news, as we may now be able to compile multi-threaded, multi-connection download accelerators like aget (http://www.enderunix.org/aget/) and prozilla (http://prozilla.genesys.ro/), impossible to do before. Some other bits:

• Zeta 1.5 on its way (http://www.zeta-os.com/cms/news.php?extend.27)
• aspell (http://www.bebits.com/app/4427) how to make it usable (http://beosnews.com/?postid=166)
• Native DVD Playback for ZETA (http://joomla.iscomputeron.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=912&Itemid=2), and could potentially allow ZETA users to rip DVD video and encode it in XviD/DivX, without any additional software.
• Firefox 2.0 (http://haikunews.org/1246) for BeOS, Zeta and decently stable this time.
• Nuts and Scrap (http://www.bebits.com/app/4428/) a new commercial game for Windows and Zeta 1.21 .
• First Signs of Haiku WiFi Support (http://beosnews.com/?postid=161)
• Nerdcore Halloween CD Released (http://beosnews.com/?postid=158)
• Haiku With Scalable Vector Graphics (http://joomla.iscomputeron.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=916)
• Haiku Icon Contest Winner Announced (http://beosnews.com/?postid=163)

In the last 3 days, there have been 3 news items that show the progress Haiku and BeOS are making. If this keeps up for a few weeks, BeOS will be feature complete!!! First, there is the news about PXE Coming to Haiku (http://joomla.iscomputeron.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=891&Itemid=2), then there is the news about USB 2 support that works on BeOS R5 (http://haikunews.org/1240) with the driver commited to the Haiku tree AND finally NTFS Read & Write for BeOS (http://haikunews.org/1241)!!!

WOW!!!

Vasper has ported a quality game to Zeta and BeOS R5. Freedroid RPG (http://www.bebits.com/app/4398) is an Isometric RPG. It follows the spirit of Diablo II and it is an excellent pass time.

There is also a new blog that will follow the porting/creating of Haiku/BeOS/Zeta applications by vasper. It is Vasper's BeOS Adventures (http://vbeosa.blogspot.com/).

It is time for a transition. BeOSMax.org is now also accessible through Haikumax.org (http://www.haikumax.org/wiki/index.php) and in the next days you will see a complete transition to that name being used on this site. BeOSMax.org will always lead to this page too but the formal name will change to Haiku Max.

Begasus wrote an interesting article on BeBug (http://www.bebug.be/newsitem.php?index=316&language=3) about Flojo Soft (http://www.flojo-soft.com/) creations. Flojo Soft was also a Featured link on our site last week, and since then they have some more things to show. It seems we have a lot of activity lately...

Vasper has ported an interesting application to Zeta. This application is called FontForge and is a font creator/editor that can handle almost any kind of font, including ofcourse True Type Fonts. You can find this application at BeBits (http://www.bebits.com/app/4365) or at BeOSMaxFiles.org (http://www.beosmaxfiles.org). Screenshots are here (http://www.beosmax.org/wiki/images/5/5b/Fontforge.jpg) and here (http://www.beosmax.org/wiki/images/8/81/Fontforgelarge.png)

How I Did It (Max on Mac) (http://www.beosmax.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=50) is an interesting read. But don't get your hopes up, it isn't native. It is inside QEmu. However it is usable, minus a small drawing delay.

This is a Besides Magazine reminder: We want you... to write an article for us. Send your ideas (mailto:vasper@beosmax.org?subject=BeOS-Haiku-Zeta%20Magazine) in now

BeOSMaxFiles.org (http://www.beosmaxfiles.org/) domain is now online and will be updated with files. For now it has the last edition of BeOS Max ever published (version 3.1 beta 1) and will soon have updates on it, like a latest browser or the tools to build Haiku on your BeOS Max (idea by Mr. X), but no new distro will be made.

If you don't allready know about it, there is a new site that accepts donations for code bounties on Haiku. They have started a Network bounty, a USB bounty and a Java bounty. Head over there and see if you would like to help, or take on a bounty: Haiku Bounties (http://www.haikubounties.org/)

For some reason there has been a reapearance of an old BeOS Max Distro as news of a new distro on QUBE.ru and on JPBE.net! The last version, released 22 months ago can be found on BeBits (http://www.bebits.com/app/3892), but it is not being developed. We speculate it is a misunderstanding that has to do with the download link of v3.1b1 being hosted on beos.spb.ru. Please everyone know this is not a new version, and there will be no new versions of the BeOS Max distro released by us.

Vassilis 'vasper' Perantzakis

A call to arms. A time of great change and a time of problems. On one hand we have Haiku that is making remarkable progress and on the other we have Zeta that seems to be in trouble, despite the progress it is making. So this is a call to everyone in the BeOS/Haiku/Zeta community, no matter what you think, Zeta is a product worth keeping alive so there can be innovation in the OS market, not just for the BeOS community.

On other news, progress with Besides Magazine is slow due to the changes in the community and real life, but we are getting there. We will post soon on that.

Thursday, March 2, 2006

I thought I'd post some news I had forgotten to link for some time, so here it is: BeOS Max forums (http://www.beosmax.org/forums)

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

yab.beosmax.org (try www.beosmax.org/yab if this doesn't work) is the forum for Yab, to be released soon by Team Maui. Vasper has tested a release candidate and was given permission by Team Maui to start a forum. We will soon post some screenshots and tutorials, so you can get a head start. Tutorials and a full article will also be included in the Besides Magazine being worked on now.

Tuesday, February 7, 2006

No.. we are still here. Just that we had a lot of real life (tm) work to do this past 2 months. Vasper is ready to assign tasks for Besides Magazine. We have allready been contacted by a few people, which we thank, and we promise that Vasper will personally contact them. If anyone else wishes to help, we have some openings for review articles (NVU, Refraction, ZBackup etc), opinions on the future of BeOS and interviews with members of the community (how about a 1 on 1 with Axel e.g.?)

Monday, December 19, 2005

And it's name shall be..... tadam.... . Personally I think it is a clever name. What do you think (mailto:vasper@beosmax.org)?

Thursday, December 8, 2005

How about a magazine? As you might have heard, Technoids has released its final issue. We don't know why, but we have to respect their wishes. So how about a new magazine? Vasper has offered to lead a new English language magazine to try and fill the gap Technoids has created. Are you up to it? Articles, Stories, Ads, Announcments and Interviews of the Be/Haiku/Zeta and Alternative OS scene are welcome. Interested? Send an email (mailto:vasper@beosmax.org?subject=BeOS-Haiku-Zeta%20Magazine). Also name suggestions will be appreciated.

Thursday, December 1, 2005

Zeta released Videoeditor Pro (http://www.yellowtab.com/downloads/index.php?cat_id=3) in its downloads. It includes all filters, transitions and effects.

Only a few things are missing before Zeta can be the only OS on your PC. (well.. until Haiku is ready anyway)

Friday, November 18, 2005

The following news is not BeOS related, but I think it is important:

The 100$ laptop is a reality. So what is it? It is the creation of MIT's head of Multimedia Lab, Dr.Nickolas Negreponte. A low cost, Linux based 500Mhz laptop that will be bought by goverments and non profit organizations and then donated to children mostly in underdeveloped countries.

This laptop cannot be bought by anyone else, so don't expect to get one. It is only for children that don't have access to computers. It will not be available in stores.

It has special characteristics, like wifi for pear-to-pear communications, manual recharging and a screen that can be set to color or black and white for easy reading.

Apple had offered to provide free MacOSX licenses for this laptop, but the offer was refused, because MacOSX isn't free.

Finally, governments and organizations can order a minimum of 1 million laptops. Construction will begin once 5 to 10 million orders are placed and paid. This is mandatory to drop the cost of hardware to a minimum.

Thursday, October 13, 2005

It has been a long time since we have posted news on this site. So for a quick update, Vasper is currently working on Greek support for Zeta, doing the locale files and the testing needed on his Zeta R1.We are collecting material for the HowTo and Tips section, mostly covering Zeta. But for the BeOS Classic funs, don't worry, we will fully support Haiku, and as Vasper has promised WalterOS will be out once Haiku is production ready. He told us to tell you he will even try some coding... but we don't know if that is good news :-) (just kidding vasper).

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Started HowTo section and the first HowTo is a guide on how to setup the FTP file transfer on Zeta from scratch.

Wednesday, July 6, 2005

Now, this is not BeOS related news, but the European parliament has just turned down the proposal on Software Patents by 648 against versus 14 pro. This is truly a great day to be a software engineer in Europe... and a bad one if you work for Microsoft!!!

Started the Tips Section. Enjoy... and ask vasper (mailto:vasper@beosmax.org).

Sunday, July 3, 2005

As you all know, Zeta R1 is out and since we promised we would stop developing Max after its release, we are. So sorry, but there will be no final version. Real life (tm) didn't leave us with enough time to finish it. We will focus on the opensource Haiku version, once it is complete, to create a new distro (codenamed WalterOS) as was our intention.

This site will continue to exist to help you get the Max out of BeOS and Zeta.

To all who have sent us e-mails this past 3 weeks, Vasper is going to answer them soon. He has been very busy with his job lately.

Also, expect a Review of Zeta R1 soon. It is in the mail as Mensys has informed Vasper.

Friday, June 3, 2005

We are hard at work, testing and editing the final version of BeOS Max. Once we have a definite release date we will inform the community. Soon...

Monday, May 16, 2005

We are still updating Content of this site, and writing the On-line Documentation, which will be included in the Distro too. Now is a good time for any suggestions you have on software you would like included or NOT to be send to us (mailto:suggestion@software.beosmax.org).

Sunday, May 8, 2005

We are currently updating site with Content. Contact as at webmaster AT beosmax DOT org (mailto:webmaster@beosmax.org) for any thoughts you have on content.