View source for BeBox

{{Short description|Personal computer sold by Be Inc.}}
{{About|the personal computer|the router|Be Unlimited}}
{{primary sources|date=April 2013}}
{{Infobox information appliance
| name = BeBox
| title = 
| aka = 
| logo = 
| image = Samsung SyncMaster 191T and BeBox 20081114.jpg
| caption = This BeBox has an aftermarket monitor.
| developer = 
| manufacturer = [[Be Inc.]]
| family = 
| type = [[Workstation]]
| generation = 
| releasedate = '''BeBox Dual603-66:''' {{Start date and age|1995|10|03}}<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www-classic.be.com/aboutbe/pressreleases/95-10-03_Intro.html |title=Jean-Louis Gassée Unveils the BeBox |date=October 3, 1995|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000128072331/http://www-classic.be.com/aboutbe/pressreleases/95-10-03_Intro.html |archive-date=2000-01-28 }} for the original BeBox Dual603-66.</ref><br />'''BeBox Dual603e-133:''' {{Start date and age|1996|08|05}}<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www-classic.be.com/aboutbe/pressreleases/96-08-05_BeBox133.html |title=Be Announces the BeBox Dual603-133 |date=August 5, 1996|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000128162559/http://www-classic.be.com/aboutbe/pressreleases/96-08-05_BeBox133.html |archive-date=2000-01-28 }}</ref>
| lifespan = 
| price = '''BeBox Dual603-66''' {{USD|1600|1995|round=-1}}<br>'''BeBox Dual603e-133''' {{USD|2995|1996|round=-1}}
| discontinued = {{End date and age|1997|01}}
| unitssold = 1000 – BeBox Dual603-66<br />800 – BeBox Dual603e-133<ref name=production>[http://testou.free.fr/www.beatjapan.org/mirror/www.be.com/support/qandas/faqs/faq-0261.html The BeBox, General, FAQ, How many BeBoxes were sold before they were discontinued?] Be, Inc.</ref>
| unitsshipped = 
| media = 
| os = [[BeOS]]
| power = 100–240 volt AC single-phase
| soc = 
| cpu = 2× [[PowerPC 600#PowerPC 603|PowerPC 603]] @ 66&nbsp;MHz, or<br>2× [[PowerPC 600#PowerPC 603e and 603ev|PowerPC 603e]] @ 133&nbsp;MHz<ref name=bbdatasheet>[http://testou.free.fr/www.beatjapan.org/mirror/www.be.com/products/bebox/dual603ds.html Be Product Datasheet], The BeBox Dual603, BeBox Dual603-66, BeBox Dual603-133</ref>
| memory = Up to 256&nbsp;MB (Up to eight 72-pin SIMMs)
| storage = 
| memory card = 
| display = 
| graphics = 
| sound = 
| input = 
| controllers = 
| camera = 
| touchpad = 
| connectivity = 
| platform = 
| service = 
| dimensions = 15.68&nbsp;in × 8.28&nbsp;in × 18.15&nbsp;in<br />39.8&nbsp;cm × 21.0&nbsp;cm × 46.1&nbsp;cm
| weight = 
| topgame = 
| compatibility = 
| predecessor = 
| successor = 
| related = 
| website = {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/19961020193020/http://www.be.com/}}
}}

The '''BeBox''' is a discontinued [[personal computer]] from [[Be Inc.]], running the company's [[operating system]], later named [[BeOS]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=About Be |url=https://www.gbnet.net/public/be/acrobat/AboutBe.pdf |website=www.gbnet.net}}</ref> It has two [[PowerPC]] CPUs, its I/O board has a custom "GeekPort", and the front bezel has "[[Blinkenlights]]".

The BeBox debuted in October 1995 with dual [[PowerPC 603]] at 66&nbsp;MHz.<ref>{{cite magazine
| url      = https://books.google.com/books?id=lp7gd8Y8RL4C&pg=PP45
| magazine = [[Computerworld]]
| title    = Video Be-in
| first    = Lisa
| last     = Picarille
| date     = 16 October 1995
| page     = 45
| volume   = 29
| issue    = 42
}}</ref> The processors were upgraded to 133&nbsp;MHz in August 1996 (BeBox Dual603e-133). Production was halted in January 1997,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bebox.nu/history.php?s=history/1997|title=BeBox History, 1997|work=The BeBox Zone|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204152621/http://bebox.nu/history.php?s=history%2F1997|archive-date=4 February 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine
| url   = https://books.google.com/books?id=aToEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA3
| magazine = [[InfoWorld]]
| title = Briefly Noted
| date  = 3 February 1997
| page  = 3
| volume = 19
| issue  = 5
}}</ref> following the port of BeOS to the [[Mac (computer)|Macintosh]], for the company to concentrate on software. Be sold around 1,000 66 MHz BeBoxes and 800 133&nbsp;MHz BeBoxes.<ref name=production />

== CPU configuration ==
[[File:BeBox.Le dos (cropped).jpg|thumb|Connectors of the I/O board]]
Production models use two 66&nbsp;[[Hertz|MHz]] [[PowerPC 600#PowerPC 603|PowerPC 603]] [[Central processing unit|processors]] or two 133&nbsp;MHz [[PowerPC 600#PowerPC 603e and 603ev|PowerPC 603e]] processors to power the BeBox. Prototypes having dual 200&nbsp;MHz CPUs or four CPUs exist, but were never publicly available.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bebox.nu/news.php?lookat=65|title=Interview with Joseph Palmer|date=2 December 2005|work=Be Informed, The BeBox Zone|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080224230323/http://www.bebox.nu/news.php?lookat=65|archive-date=24 February 2008}}</ref>

== Main board ==
The main board is in a standard AT format commonly found on [[IBM PC compatible|PC]]. It used standard PC components to make it as inexpensive as possible.<ref name=wizards_be>{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/eu_MacTech-1997-01_OCR/page/n53/mode/2up |page=52-56 |title=The Wizards of Be, Inc. |first=Dave |last=Mark |date=January 1997 |magazine=[[MacTech]] |volume=13 |issue=1}}</ref>

* Two PowerPC 603/66 MHz or 603e/133 MHz processors
* Eight 72-pin [[SIMM]] sockets
* 128 KB Flash ROM
* Three [[Peripheral Component Interconnect|PCI]] slots
* Five [[Industry Standard Architecture|ISA]] slots
* Internal [[SCSI]] connector
* Internal [[Parallel ATA#IDE and ATA-1|IDE]] connector
* Internal floppy connector
* External [[Parallel SCSI#SCSI-2|SCSI-2]] connector
* [[Parallel port]]
* Keyboard port, [[IBM Personal Computer/AT|AT]]-style
* Three GeekPort fuses
* I/O Board connector
* Front panel connector
* Power connector

== I/O board ==
The I/O board offers four [[serial port|serial ports]] (9-pin [[D-sub]]), a [[PS/2 port|PS/2 mouse port]], and two joystick ports (15-pin D-sub).<ref>{{Cite web |title=beunited.org - Open Standards BeOS-compatible Operating Systems - the BeBox |url=https://www.beunited.org/bebook/ |access-date=2025-08-12 |website=www.beunited.org}}</ref>

There are four [[DIN connector|DIN]] [[MIDI]] ports (two in, two out), two stereo pairs of [[RCA connector|RCA connectors]] audio line-level input and output, and a pair of 3.5&nbsp;mm stereo [[Phone connector (audio)|phone jacks]] for microphone input and headphone output. There are also internal audio connectors: 5-pin strip for the audio CD line-level playback, and two 4-pin strips for microphone input and headphone output. The audio is produced with a 16-bit DAC stereo sound system capable of 48&nbsp;kHz and 44.1&nbsp;kHz.<ref name=wizards_be />

For the more unusual uses, there are three 4-pin [[Mini-DIN connector|mini-DIN]] infrared (IR) I/O ports.

===GeekPort===
An experimental-electronic-development oriented port, backed by three fuses on the mainboard, the 37-pin D-sub "GeekPort" provides digital and analog [[Input/output|I/O]] and [[Direct current|DC power]]<ref name=pinouts>{{cite web|url=http://pinouts.ru/Motherboard/GeekPort_pinout.shtml| title=Pinout for the GeekPort connector |access-date=18 August 2021}}</ref> on the [[ISA bus]]:
* Two independent, bidirectional 8-bit ports
* Four A/D pins routing to a 12-bit [[Analog-to-digital converter|A/D converter]]
* Four D/A pins connected to an independent 8-bit [[Digital-to-analog converter|D/A converter]]
* Two signal [[ground (electricity)|ground]] reference pins
* Eleven power and ground pins: Two at +5&nbsp;V, one at +12&nbsp;V, one at -12&nbsp;V, seven ground pins

== "Blinkenlights" ==
[[File:Bebox CPU LEDs.jpg|thumb|The LEDs]]
Two yellow/green vertical LED arrays, dubbed the "blinkenlights", are built into the front [[:wikt:bezel|bezel]] to illustrate the [[Central processing unit|CPU]] load.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pinheiro |first1=Eric |title=BeOS: The Alternate Universe's Mac OS X |url=https://hackaday.com/2020/01/09/beos-the-alternate-universes-mac-os-x/ |access-date=10 March 2024 |work=Hackaday |date=9 January 2020}}</ref> The bottommost [[Light-emitting diode|LED]] on the right side indicates hard disk activity.

== Market ==
Be called the BeBox: "the first true real-time, portable, object-oriented system that features multiple PowerPC processors, true preemptive multitasking, an integrated database, fast I/O, and a wide range of expansion options — all at an extremely aggressive price that is well below that of any competitive offering."<ref name=":0" />

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{{snd}} the standard language is [[C++]]."<ref name="NGen21">{{cite magazine |date=September 1996 |title=New Amiga Prepares to Kill Mac/PC |url=https://archive.org/details/nextgen-issue-021/page/n21/mode/2up |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |issue=21 |page=21}}</ref>

== Prototype ==
As of 1993, prototypes (at the time called Be Machine) had two 25 MHz [[AT&T Hobbit]] processors and three AT&T 9308S [[digital signal processor|DSP]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Introduction to the Be machine and the BeBus |url=https://www.hirlimann.net/Ludovic/beos/hobbitdoc/intro1.jpg |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221105754/https://www.hirlimann.net/Ludovic/beos/hobbitdoc/intro1.jpg |archive-date=21 February 2017 |format=JPEG}}</ref> In 2009, a rare prototype of the BeBox with Hobbit processors was sold at an auction.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Planets Align: Rare Hobbit BeBox Offered and Sold – OSnews |url=https://www.osnews.com/story/20869/planets-align-rare-hobbit-bebox-offered-and-sold/ |access-date=2023-11-24 |website=www.osnews.com}}</ref>

== Linux ==
Craftworks Solutions developed Be_Linux for the BeBox. Craftworks and Be Inc. announced in 1996 that they would work together to bring Be_Linux to the BeBox.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1997-02-18 |title=Craftwork Solutions and Be Announce Alliance |url=http://www.be.com/aboutbe/pressreleases/96-11-18_Craftwork.html |access-date=2023-11-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970218230243/http://www.be.com/aboutbe/pressreleases/96-11-18_Craftwork.html |archive-date=1997-02-18 }}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Multi Emulator Super System]] (MESS){{snd}} able to emulate both BeBox [http://www.progettoemma.net/mess/system.php?machine=bebox 66] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150621165404/http://www.progettoemma.net/mess/system.php?machine=bebox |date=2015-06-21 }} and [http://www.progettoemma.net/mess/system.php?machine=bebox2 133] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150621175752/http://www.progettoemma.net/mess/system.php?machine=bebox2 |date=2015-06-21 }}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/eu_MacTech-1997-01_OCR/page/n53/mode/2up |page=52-56 |title=The Wizards of Be, Inc. |first=Dave |last=Mark |date=January 1997 |magazine=[[MacTech]] |volume=13 |issue=1}} {{snd}} An interview with Be Inc. CEO [[Jean-Louis Gassée]] and VP of Engineering [[Erich Ringewald]].
* {{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/eu_MacTech-1996-01_OCR/page/n26/mode/2up |title=Opening the BeBox |page=25-45 |date=January 1996 |magazine=[[MacTech]] |volume=12 |issue=1 |first1=Peter |last1=Potrebic |first2=Steve |last2=Horowitz}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.bebox.nu/|title=The BeBox Zone|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130415074143/http://www.bebox.nu/|archive-date=15 April 2013}}
* [http://www.josephpalmer.com/BeBox/BeBox.shtml BeBox Photo Gallery (Joseph Palmer: Be HW Engineer)]
* {{US trademark|75054089}} (BeBox)

{{BeOS}}

{{Commons category|BeBox}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bebox}}
[[Category:Be Inc.]]
[[Category:Computer-related introductions in 1995]]
[[Category:Computer workstations]]
[[Category:Personal computers]]
[[Category:PowerPC computers]]