[openbeos] Re: Getting started

> I have a number of questions about getting to the point where one can
> contribute.  You should know that I'm basically brand new to OBOS.
> 
> 1) What iso should one use to install?
That really is a matter of personal preference. You could just use the 
original BeOS 5 Personal Edition or you could use the BeOS Max Edition 
which  basically is the former with a bunch of extra software. The 
advantage of the original is that you don't need to repartition; it'll 
create a 500 MB file on either your Windows or your Linux partition and 
run off of that. The disadvantages are you're restricted to 500 MB and 
you need to get just about all the software you need separately. BeOS 
Max Edition allows you to install the BeOS onto its own partition, thus 
lifting the 500 MB restriction. Plus, it comes with a nice selection of 
software.

The original BeOS 5 Personal Edition is to be had from http://
www.bebits.com/app/2680 .  Halfway down the page are the downloads. Be 
sure to download both the updates as well. They are to be applied from 
within the BeOS. Furthermore, you might want to apply the Athlon/Duron 
patch ( http://www.bebits.com/app/3390 ). It must be applied from 
within Windows. What to do when you're running the BeOS from a Linux 
partition, I don't know.

The Max Edition is to be had from http://www.bebits.com/app/3148 . I 
can't get version 2.1 to boot whereas 3 beta works fine - ymmv. The CD 
creation guide might be of help ( http://www.beosmax.org/
cd_creationIndex.htm )  as might the faq ( http://www.beosmax.org/
faq.htm )


> 2) I'll need to dual boot.  Can you point me to good documentation/
> tools
> for that?
As stated before, when you're running the original BeOS 5 PE, you 
don't. When using Max Edition, well, the BeOS comes with its own boot 
manager so you theoretically don't need to get one. It doesn't seem to 
allow for a lot of flexibility though, and its documentation is either 
well hidden or it doesn't exist at all. I personally like to use XOSL ( 
http://xosl.org/ ). It does eat another partition though, unless you're 
willing to experiment with something as scary as a bootloader hidden in 
a windows partition (ugh!).


> 3) Does that iso contain the programming tools to use?  Are they the
> proper blessed versions?  If not, where do I look?
The original doesn't, Max Edition does. I don't know about blessings 
though. Just about anything can be had from bebits.com. It's brilliant.


> 4) After that, install the tools from the BeOS Toolchain on dev 
> central?
Sure.


> 5) Anything else?
A BeOS programming tutorial maybe. There are some linked in the 
OpenBeOS faq ( http://open-beos.sourceforge.net/faq.php ) but the one 
in the Be Newsletters is very useful as well. The newsletters can be 
gotten from ftp://be.dsi.unimi.it/pub/Be/webarchives/
BeNewsletterArch.zip and you'll possibly need ftp://be.dsi.unimi.it/pub
/Be/webarchives/volume_III.zip as well. The first edition is volume_II/
Issue7.html#Workshop ; the second is volume_II/Issue13.html#Workshop .  
There are lots more but I'll leave them for you to be discovered :) 


--
A mathematician is a machine for converting coffee into theorems.

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