Corporate Background

Software developers understand what it will take to make this digital convergence a reality. They know it will take higher bandwidth communications. They know that new software paradigms and building blocks will be required. And they know that dealing with digital media and information will take much more processing power than is inherent in today's personal computers. The industry is already busy attempting to address all of these issues and more, with new companies going public every week on the promise. New software is being bolted onto current operating systems to handle the new media types. New tools are being developed to allow programmers to handle the increasing complexity of software development. And users are being bombarded with new software packages, which present an unbelievable array of capabilities -- and complexity.

But there's the hitch. The very solutions being proposed to enable media convergence are increasingly complex. Complexity that is increasing the cost of computing products at the same time customers expect falling prices. Complexity that is making it more difficult for a programmer to be productive, and lengthening the time it takes to bring a product to market. Complexity that is increasing software overhead and consuming additional processing power. And most of all, complexity that is driving end users crazy -- in purchase decisions and in product use -- making personal computers less approachable and, ironically, less useful.

In 1990, Jean-Louis Gassée, former president of Apple's product division, formed Be, Inc. to address these problems head-on -- to step beyond the evolutionary approach to personal computing architectures. To see what could be accomplished if you built a personal computer using new assumptions, based on cutting-edge software design concepts, and designed for the next decade's applications, rather than the last decade's. The result is a new level of price-performance and a dramatic reduction in the complexity of software development.

This isn't to say that the entire personal computer market is moving in lock step. Dataquest estimates that approximately 68 million personal computers and an additional one million workstations will be sold in 1996. Many of these systems will be used in areas such as office automation, where the current focus ranges from mainframe database access to groupware. Another portion of new PCs will be used by consumers at home. In both of these segments, the impact of slowing performance gains and increasing system complexity is not yet critical.

But the experience of the people at the heart of multimedia activity -- the digital designers who actually create (rather than consume) CD-ROMs and DVDs, web sites, and print ads -- is very different. Today, they're purchasing high-end personal computers and then stuffing them with expensive high-performance graphics cards, communications devices, and high-speed I/O options. And in spite of this, they're demanding even faster performance and even more interactive control. They're increasingly dealing with digital audio, digital video, and complex 3-D graphics. In effect, these people are consuming processing power faster than it's being delivered to the market.

And their numbers are growing, numbering in millions this year, and increasing at a rate that's some three to four times the growth in the PC market overall. Their frustration is growing as current PC architectures fail to keep up with their needs. Some of these users are considering high-priced workstations in their search for more performance, but costs are prohibitive for widespread adoption. These users represent a shift in the personal computer market -- a set of consumers who are actively searching for new solutions. They don't need to be convinced that they need digital media capabilities -- they already know it. And they present software developers with a major opportunity to build new business franchises and to be in on the ground floor of a transformation in the industry.

• A True Multitasking, Heavily Multi-threaded System. The BeOS is a heavily threaded system, and the application model is designed to divide an application into multiple threads even if the programmer doesn't explicitly do so. This increases the efficiency and performance of applications and of low-level OS operations, allowing developers to structure their applications for simplicity and performance without worrying about arbitrary architectural limits.
  
  
• Symmetric Multiprocessing. The most efficient way to take advantage of multiple processors is to allow threads to move from one processor to another depending on system load -- a process called symmetric multiprocessing. The result is significantly greater parallelism on multiprocessor systems, and significantly higher overall performance throughout.
  
  
• An Object-Oriented Design. The BeOS application programming interface (API) is object-oriented, rather than the procedural API common in other mainstream OS architectures. The result is faster time to market for new applications, and faster revisions to existing applications over time.
  
  
• A Design for Real-Time Media and Communications. The structure of the BeOS is optimized for dealing with real-time, high-bandwidth data types such as audio and video, and for handling a wide array of communications capabilities.
  
  
• Simplicity. Throughout the BeOS, there has been a heavy emphasis on delivering simple, elegant solutions to programming problems. The attention to simplicity within the BeOS stems from an underlying belief that software programmers are most effective and efficient when each one can understand the entire OS model.

Considerably more can be said about the features of the BeOS and the benefits obtained through its architecture. But overall, the end result -- and the overriding goals of the OS design process -- revolve around two primary benefits: Performance and reduced time to market:

• Superior Performance. From uniprocessor systems up through four-processor systems (and more), the BeOS makes optimal use of the underlying hardware, significantly reduces OS overhead, and increases parallelism compared with other mainstream OS architectures.
  
  
• Reduced Time To Market. The Be API is very compact compared to the APIs of current mainstream operating systems. Combined with modular software design and reduced programming overhead, developers working with the BeOS have already proven that they can be more efficient writing for the BeOS than for current mainstream architectures -- reducing development costs and speeding time to market.

The capabilities and performance of the BeOS bring bring to life existing Power Macintosh hardware and enables new multi-processor designs. We have licensed the BeOS to Power Computing and Motorola. The goal of these efforts is to reach the entire base of "content creators," providing the performance and capability benefits of the BeOS in many different forms. The company welcomes inquiries about software licenses and BeOS bundling opportunities.

The company is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, and has European corporate offices in Paris, France. Be currently employs a team of approximately 52 people, with experience from all parts of the personal computer and workstation industry.

Technology Development
In January 1997, the company discontinued its hardware operations to focus its technology development efforts on its state-of-the-art high-performance operating system software called the BeOS. Be's technology development resources are based in Menlo Park, California, in the heart of the Silicon Valley.

 

 

 

Developer Relations and Support
Since day one, we have recognized that our success depends upon the success of our developers. It's the development community that translates the power inherent in the BeOS into power usable by individual customers. For this reason, Be places a heavy emphasis on developer relations and support, maintaining staff in Menlo Park and in Paris dedicated to aiding developers. The company has initiated and is expanding a developer program that includes regular software updates and technical support. In addition, the company is working with developers to build Internet-based distribution channels for software and support, as well as providing access to Be value-added resellers.

 

 

 

Marketing and Distribution
Be markets its products worldwide. Marketing and sales efforts for North and South America and the Pacific Rim are based in Menlo Park, with European and Mediterranean efforts based in Paris. The company distributes its products through two primary channels: Through the Internet and through value-added resellers. Be has been doing business via the Internet since the company's inception, and those efforts are being expanded to include customer information, ordering, and support. In addition, the company's developer relations, support, and application distribution efforts are also focused around the Internet. In short, the Internet represents the company's "direct" channel marketing efforts.

The company is looking to the bundling and the internet as a primary distribution means both for the operating system and for third party applications. Be will also utilize traditional distribution outlets especially in countries where the internet is not yet well established.

 

 

 

Customer Support
The users of the BeOS will primarily be computer savvy media content developers and digital designers, as described above. As such, we believe our users will prefer to use the Internet for support and will try to resolve the problem themselves, before contacting the company.

Our support philosophy starts with providing as much information as possible to our customers via the Web and other electronic means. We will make this information easy to find and, through the use of the latest technology, help the customer to be self supporting.

We think the primary method of contact for technical support will be via electronic mail. We want to give the customer rapid, high quality responses and encourage them to use this method of contact, rather than the phone.

Some customers will not be able to wait for an electronic response. These customers will be handled by a responsive, high quality call center that uses state of the industry tools and methods to keep customer satisfaction high.

 

 

Jean-Louis Gassée
Chairman and CEO
In October 1990, Jean-Louis Gassée started a new company, Be Incorporated.

Prior to starting this new venture, Jean-Louis Gassée spent over nine years at Apple Computer, Inc. In February 1981, Gassée started Apple's French subsidiary and, in 1982, was also named president of the "Apple Education" foundation. Apple France became and remains Apple's largest business unit outside of the United States. In 1985, Gassée was transferred to Cupertino, California, to head Apple's Product Development. Most recently, Gassée was president of the Apple Products Division, responsible for managing all of Apple's global product functions, including product marketing, worldwide manufacturing and research and development.

Before joining Apple, Gassée was president and general manager of the French subsidiary of Exxon Office Systems.

Gassée also held several general management positions with Data General, including general manager for France, area manager for Latin and Middle-East countries and marketing director for Europe. In addition, he spent six years at Hewlett-Packard where he was responsible for overseeing the launching of the company's first desktop scientific computer and the development of its sales organization in France, before his promotion to Sales Manager of Europe.

Gassée serves as a director of several private or publicly traded companies such as 3Com, Electronics for Imaging, and Laser Master Technologies. A graduate of the Faculty of Sciences, a math and physics university in Orsay, France, Gassée holds a master's of science degree. At 53, he is married with three children and makes his home in Palo Alto, California.

Erich Ringewald
Vice President, Engineering
Mr. Ringewald oversees software and hardware engineering. He joined Be after more than six years at Apple Computer, where he held several software engineering and R&D management positions. He was the manager of special projects software (1989 -1991), assistant to the director of European R&D at Apple Computer Europe (1988 -1989), manager of the next generation system software group (1987 -1988), author of Multifinder and manager of the MacOS group (1986 -1987), and a member of the Mac Plus ROM team (1985 -1986). From 1983 to 1985, Mr. Ringewald was a senior software architect for Tecmar, a manufacturer of expansion cards, hard disks, network hardware, and software for the IBM PC and Macintosh.

Alex Osadzinski
Vice President, Sales and Marketing
Mr. Osadzinski has responsibility for the company's sales, channels, and marketing activities. Immediately prior to Be, he was V.P. of Marketing and International Sales at Textronix/Grass Valley Group, a manufacturer of digital video equipment, where he was also president of the company's Japanese subsidiary. During the previous seven years, Mr. Osadzinski held positions at Sun Microsystems, where he started and managed European marketing operations (1986 - 1990), managed software marketing (1990 -1992), and was V.P. for Markets and Product Strategy (1992 - 1994). Mr. Osadzinski also held positions at MIPS, where he was European marketing manager, at AT&T, where he was European sales manager for UNIX products, and at two U.K. start-ups where he was responsible for software engineering.

Wes Saia
Vice President, Finance
Mr. Saia is responsible for all areas of finance and control, including relationships with outside investors and legal counsel. He also manages personnel and general administration. Mr. Saia joined Be from Asanté, a company that specializes in networking products for the computer industry. As Asanté's vice president of finance and CFO (1993-1994), he completed an initial public offering that raised $25 million in cash. Mr. Saia also served as vice president of finance and CFO at Bimillenium, a startup software company (1992-1993), and as vice president of finance and CFO for Vitalink, a public company specializing in data communications (1987-1991). While at Vitalink he also completed an initial public offering and a secondary round of public financing, raising a total of $45 million.

Mr. Saia has also worked as a controller at Intel (1983-1987), vice president of finance at Fox & Carskadon (1981-1983), and controller with Sprint and Southern Pacific (1971-1981).

Jean Calmon
Vice President and General Manager, Europe
Mr. Calmon represents Be's interests in Europe. He has more than 24 years of operational experience with major companies in Europe and has specialized in developing the operations of U.S. high-technology companies in Europe. Mr. Calmon was most recently vice president, Europe, of EO, Inc., a subsidiary of AT&T (1992-1994). Prior to that, he was president of EDS French operations. Previously, he was associated with Apple Computer (1981-1990). As sales manager and then general manager (France), he built Apple's largest subsidiary and most successful network of resellers from inception to $270 million in revenues in five years. As director of Apple Europe he developed and implemented new distribution strategies while managing channels of distribution as well as the large-account and education business. Before Apple, Mr. Calmon spent ten years with IBM as marketing representative and district manager in the computer division.

Mark Gonzales
Vice President, Product Marketing
Mr. Gonzales is responsible for Be's product marketing, US and Pacific marketing, and developer support efforts. He joined Be from Global Village Communications, where he started that company's Internet product efforts. Prior to Global, Mr. Gonzales was with Apple Computer (1987 - 1993). His tenure at Apple included holding the position of product line manager for imaging products, expanding Apple's presence in the graphics markets, helping to grow line sales from $250 million to $750 million, and initiating a number of new digital media products. During his last two years at Apple, he held the position of senior product line manager for the Macintosh Operating System (MacOS).

Edward Romson
Director, Customer Support
Mr. Romson's main focus is the Customer, whether that customer is a developer, an OEM or an end-user. The areas that fall under Customer Support include; Developer Technical Support, End-user technical support and Customer Service Operations (distribution and repair). Mr. Romson joins Be, Inc. after a long period of service with Apple Computer, Inc. (1984-1997). His responsibilities at Apple included field support and field engineering management. He helped to open the Federal Systems office in Washington, D.C. in 1986 and to consolidate Reseller technical support in 1990. In 1992, Mr. Romson lead the technical support group that established Apple's US Customer Service Center in Austin, Texas. From 1993 to 1996, he served as the Director of Customer Service for Apple Japan, based in Tokyo, and was responsible for managing the technical support, training, field support, repair and warranty services and product quality activities on a nationwide (Japan) basis. As a result of the efforts of the team he lead, customer satisfaction ratings in Japan increased 14% over 3 years. During that tour, he also acted as a consultant in Asia when the Apple Asia call centers where established. Upon returning to the US, Mr. Romson lead a group that provided tools, training and reporting for all of Apple's call centers, worldwide.