BE DOPE NEWS (BDN) The BeOS is the heart, soul and brains of AIBO, a fully interactive robotic dog introduced by Sony today. According to Sony engineers, the project was completely stalled until they approaced Be about using its operating system in the robot's CPU.

"We had some functionality, but the emotional components, for example, were a total disaster," said a Sony engineer. "With other operating systems he could become really territorial and demagnetize your hard drive. It ate several Furbies. Under Windows it somehow managed to pee on the carpet despite the fact it has no biological components. We're still trying to figure that one out."

AIBO (which stands for Artificial Intelligence, BeOS Operated) has built-in functions for feelings, instincts, learning, and growth. The pervasiveness of multi-threading in the BeOS let engineers design a system that could maintain a complex database that could handle tough engineering functions such as pattern recognition, voice recognition and movement while at the same time handling "soft" tasks such as expressing emotion and playing.

"It is the so-called 'soft' engineering that turns AIBO from yet another piece of hardware into a true companion," said a Be spokesperson.

Several AIBO prototypes have been spotted in and around Be's Menlo Park campus.

"Every day at about noon AIBO comes in to pick up several bags of food for delivery to Be," said the owner of a local Chinese food eatery. "He is always polite and is a generous tipper."

The BeOS' media heritage shines through in AIBO who will often sing when feeling happy.

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