Be to offer free Be OS 5.0

Let it Be: Tiny Be, Inc. is going the free software route, offering its flagship Be OS 5.0 for free to individual users and other non-commercial use. Be OS 5.0, which will ship sometime before the end of March, is designed to be the most elegant operating system available for PCs. It features an advanced, Mac-like user interface, simple setup, and many modern features such as multiprocessor support and multithreading.

Be says that the free Be OS 5.0 download will be fully functionally, differing from the retail version only in its exclusion of a few software components and utilities. All of the software development tools that are currently available in earlier versions of the Be OS will be available in the free version, however.

Most notably, Be OS 5.0 may be Be's last stand on the Macintosh: Because Apple Computer jealously guards the secrets of its new G3 and G4 hardware from competitors, Be is unable to develop a version of its OS for Apple's latest hardware.

For more information, please visit the Be Web site