Ten minutes after you open the box, you can have BeOS installed andconfigured. Boot up, and you'll find recognizable folders, windows,pull-down menus, and dialog boxes. The interface is so familiar, there'salmost no learning curve. You can install BeOS right alongside Windows,Linux, or any other operating system. At startup, just choose which systemto load. It's that simple. You can even read and copy data from filescreated in other operating systems to BeOS.

With BeOS, each application runs in its own protected memory space, so ifone crashes, the system and other applications don't even flinch. You'reable to continue working uninterrupted while the crashed applicationreloads. Built with TCP/IP as its native communication protocol, BeOSinteroperates flawlessly with the Internet right out of the gate. E-mail andWeb browsing services are built in. Any BeOS system is able to serve up Webpages right from the start.

BeOS 5.0 Pro Edition comes complete with a Web browser, e-mail client, mediaplayer, 3-D audio mixer, MP3 software, RealPlayer G2, CD burnerapplication, integrated development environment with source-level debugger,utilities, translators, and application demos. In addition, you can choosefrom more than 1,000 powerful applications and tools currently availablefor BeOS, including: Audio, Video, Graphics, Office Productivity, Internetand Networking, Development Tools, Utilities, Games, and more.

This package also includes Scot Hacker's The BeOS Bible, the definitive BeOS user's guide for power users and creative professionals. This 916-page book includes easy-to-follow procedures, tips and tricks, and other information to help you get the most from the BeOS and its applications.