> I do not remember BeOS lacking networking, it may have lacked TCP/IP at one point, but so did MacOS at the time, you had to get it and a PPP app via a third party application. My memory could be failing me on this one, but I don't seem to recall not having networking in BeOS.
BeOS had a networking stack at the time; the problem was that it was notoriously buggy and incompatible with the standard POSIX APIs.
Be was working on a replacement to it when they were sold to Palm, known as BONE. You can find a bit of information about it here: http://wiki.bebits.com/page/WhatIsBone
At the time period we're talking about, it was clear that the writing was on the wall about the internet being the future, and the poor networking stack on Mac OS was going to be a major problem going forward. NeXT had a mature stack based on BSD; BeOS had an immature stack that was in dire need of being ripped up and rewritten.
On that front, NeXT's networking was a clear step forward, and Be's barely a step sideways.
On that front, NeXT's networking was a clear step forward, and Be's barely a step sideways.
I am not saying they made the wrong decision, quite the contrary I am saying they made the right one, but I was just adding some historical context to the discussion that many of us at the time thought Be was the better choice. History has proven that we where wrong, but none the less a lot of us thought Be fit the bill. I no longer hold that position given what the future became, but I would be lying if I said, I and many people saw the logic back then.
BeOS had a networking stack at the time; the problem was that it was notoriously buggy and incompatible with the standard POSIX APIs.
Be was working on a replacement to it when they were sold to Palm, known as BONE. You can find a bit of information about it here: http://wiki.bebits.com/page/WhatIsBone
At the time period we're talking about, it was clear that the writing was on the wall about the internet being the future, and the poor networking stack on Mac OS was going to be a major problem going forward. NeXT had a mature stack based on BSD; BeOS had an immature stack that was in dire need of being ripped up and rewritten.
On that front, NeXT's networking was a clear step forward, and Be's barely a step sideways.