Category: Press Release

• The creation of an admin suite, including a lock down editor, Pessulus, and a user profile editor, Sabayon
• A new search bar, called Deskbar, which can search through local files, programs and contacts as well as on the web
• Ekiga, the VoIP client formerly known as GNOME Meeting. It can now communicate using the SIP protocol which is already used by Google Talk, Asterisk and others.
• Performance work, making your desktop even snappier
• The ability to switch users quickly, without logging off
• Even easier configuration, allowing GNOME 2.14 to adapt to different users needs

Admin Suite

he new administration suite allows system administrators to control and configure the GNOME desktop to specific needs. Two new applications have been created for this: Pessulus allows administrators to lockdown the GNOME desktop for corporate environments, Internet cafes, and schools; and Sabayon allows administrators to graphically configure generic, role-based user profiles, exactly as they would configure their own desktop and then apply them to user accounts.

Deskbar

A new panel-based program launcher and search bar has been created, called Deskbar. Users will be able to use several internet search engines and content providers directly, without breaking workflow by starting another application. It will also enable them to launch desktop applications related to a word or phrase and its functionality is extensible by plugins.

Ekiga

GNOME 2.14 also includes Ekiga, the new version of GNOME’s softphone client formally known as GNOME Meeting. With Ekiga, users are able to make video or audio calls over the Internet, using the industry standard protocal SIP. SIP is also used by Google Talk, and popular PBX software such as Asterisk.

Performance

This new release also includes several changes to improve system performance. Several important components of the GNOME desktop are now measurably faster, including text rendering, memory allocation, and numerous individual applications. Faster font rendering and memory allocation benefit all GNOME and GTK+ based applications without the need for recompilation. For application developers, a new memory allocator has been created, called GSlice, which will make the desktop more responsive and faster.

As always, GNOME 2.14 is not the end of development and performance work on the GNOME desktop. Users can expect even more with our 2.16 release, scheduled for September 2006.

Switching Users

GNOME 2.14 includes the ability to easily switch between users, and makes it possible to have multiple users logged in at the same time.

Easier Configuration

Based on response from user feedback, GNOME 2.14 includes a number of easy ways to configure how the desktop behaves. This includes making it easier to change default settings for applications as well as controlling sound events.

Further Information

The GNOME 2.14 Release Notes contain more detailed information, including screenshots and other features not mentioned here.

Availability

GNOME 2.14 will soon be available as part of most popular Linux distributions. For those who can’t wait, the new GNOME LiveCD (available from www.gnome.org/start/2.14/) allows users and journalists to test the latest GNOME desktop by burning a CD and rebooting – no installation is necessary.

Developers and advanced users wishing to try and install GNOME 2.14 may download the source code or build scripts atwww.gnome.org/start/2.14/.

About GNOME

GNOME is a free-software project whose goal is to develop a complete, and easy to use desktop for Linux and UNIX-based operating systems. GNOME also includes a complete development environment to create new applications. It is released two times a year on a regular schedule.

The GNOME desktop is used by millions of people around the world. GNOME is a standard part of all leading Linux and Unix distributions worldwide, including popular community distributions like Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora Core, and SUSE. It is is also the default desktop on major enterprise Linux distributions like Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Novell’s SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, and Sun Java Desktop System.

GNOME is also the desktop of choice for some of the world’s biggest Linux desktop deployments, including large government deployments in Extremadura, Spain, and Sao Paulo, Brazil. GNOME’s technology is used by major Linux ISVs such as Firefox, the Eclipse Project, Real Networks, and VMWare. Additionally, GNOME is increasingly being used by mobile device companies such as Nokia and Palm.

More than 500 software developers from every continent, including more than 100 paid developers, contribute their time and effort to the project. Sponsors include industry leaders like Fluendo, HP, IBM, Novell, Red Hat, and Sun. GNOME is supported on a variety of platforms, including GNU/Linux (more commonly referred to as Linux), Solaris Operating Environment, HP-UX, Unix, BSD and Apple’s Darwin.

More information on GNOME can be found at www.gnome.org/.

About the GNOME Foundation

Comprised of hundreds of volunteer developers and industry-leading companies, the GNOME Foundation is an organization committed to supporting the advancement of GNOME. The Foundation is a member directed, non-profit organization that provides financial, organizational and legal support to the GNOME project and helps determine its vision and roadmap. More information on the GNOME Foundation can be found at foundation.gnome.org.

Press Inquiries

Check www.gnome.org/press/ to find your nearest press contact. You may also contact us at press@gnome.org.

Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass – October 6, 2005 – The fifth GNOME Summit will be held October 8 through 10th. at the Stata Center, MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The GNOME Summit is an intensive workshop where members of the GNOME project get together to discuss development issues and demonstrate their work. The summit gives developers from around the globe, who work together and communicate with each other via the Internet, a chance to meet face-to-face. The goal of this Summit is to accelerate the development and planning work that will lead to future GNOME innovations and improvements.

“This is one of the two most important events for GNOME developers,” said Timothy Ney, executive director of the GNOME Foundation.

GNOME developers are constantly trying to find ways to improve the environment and make the end user experience better. Last year, the Summit focused on accessibility, quality assurance and usability initiatives were among the many topics covered during the conference.

The focus of this year’s Summit will be GNOME performance testing that is being done, so that the necessary improvements for 2.14 can made quickly and efficiently. Summit participants will be able to share data and information they have on performance in various environments – the standard desktop, thin clients and form devices such as the Nokia 770. Participants would also discuss the state of visuals and aesthetics in GNOME i.e. icons, themes, etc.

Last year, 130 developers attended the summit. The Summit is sponsored by GNOME Foundation with support from the Friends of GNOME. Ney said that this year, more than a 100 developers are expected to participate in the Summit.

GNOME developers meet twice a year, once in Europe at GUADEC and the second time in the United States at the Summit. The next gathering for developers and users will be in GUADEC, which will be held May 27th through May 31st.

About GNOME and the GNOME Foundation

Comprised of hundreds of volunteer developers and industry-leading companies, the GNOME Foundation is an organization committed to supporting the advancement of GNOME. GNOME is a free software desktop and development environment for personal computers, workstations, networked servers and portable Internet devices. Major leading software industry and computer manufacturers support the GNOME development effort, which is led by a worldwide community of volunteers.

The Foundation provides organizational, financial and legal support to the GNOME project and helps determine its vision and roadmap. More information on GNOME is available at http://www.gnome.org/.

Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

European Start-ups in Media and Mobile Technology Use GNOME

BOSTON, Mass – October 5, 2005 – The GNOME Foundation today announced three new corporate members – OpenedHand Ltd., Imendio AB and Fluendo S.L. These young growing companies are eager to support the GNOME Desktop project and become more deeply involved by joining GNOME’s advisory board. Based in the United Kingdom, Sweden and Spain, and specializing in different applications of the GNOME platform, they reflect the diversity and optimism of the GNOME community.

“We strongly believe that GNOME technologies give advantages on today’s mobile and embedded platforms,” said Matthew Allum, Director of OpenedHand. “At OpenedHand we are both GNOME developers and users. That’s why we are excited to join the foundation and further support GNOME and broaden its audience”.

“The GNOME platform has always been a core part of our business, so it’s with great joy that we announce this partnership. Our developers have been involved both professionally and personally in GNOME since the beginning of the project. We see this as a great opportunity to also support GNOME financially.” said Mikael Hallendal, CEO of Imendio AB.

“With GStreamer as GNOME’s multimedia framework we were happy to be invited to join the GNOME Foundation advisory board,” said Julien Moutte, CEO of Fluendo. “Through collaboration with the GNOME and GStreamer communities we hope to provide a first class multimedia experience for GNOME users.”

About OpenedHand Ltd

OpenedHand has unique skills and experience in royalty-free mobile and embedded open source software, ranging from low-level kernel development to user interface work. OpenedHand develops open source software as well as contributing to numerous free software communities including X.org, Freedesktop.org, the Linux kernel, OpenEmbedded, GNOME, GTK and GPE.

About Imendio AB

Imendio is a small European company employing some of the world’s most experienced and talented GNOME and GTK+ developers. Imendio focuses on cross-platform library and API development, targeting platforms ranging from embedded devices to desktops. With extensive experience in GLib/GTK+ and XMPP/Jabber, Imendio provides first class software development services.

About Fluendo S.L.

Fluendo specializes in delivering products and consulting services focusing on UNIX and GNU/Linux multimedia. Fluendo employs several of the main developers of the GStreamer multimedia framework, which is quickly establishing itself as the de-facto standard multimedia framework for GNU/Linux and UNIX systems.

Fluendo’s flagship product is the Flumotion streaming media server, which benefits from a unique and powerful distributed design. Fluendo leads the way by combining best-of-breed systems from the Open Source world with a strong team of highly knowledgeable software engineers and a management team with extensive streaming media expertise.

About GNOME and the GNOME Foundation

Comprised of hundreds of volunteer developers and industry-leading companies, the GNOME Foundation is an organization committed to supporting the advancement of GNOME. GNOME is a free software desktop and development environment for personal computers, workstations, networked servers and portable Internet devices. Major leading software industry and computer manufacturers support the GNOME development effort, which is led by a worldwide community of volunteers.

The Foundation provides organizational, financial and legal support to the GNOME project and helps determine its vision and roadmap. More information on GNOME is available at http://www.gnome.org/.

Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

New version of the popular free-software desktop environment offers convenience and capability.

BOSTON, Mass – September 7, 2005 – The GNOME Project today released the latest version of the GNOME Desktop and Developer Platform, the leading desktop for Linux and Unix operating systems. Version 2.12 improves the usability and power of GNOME in response to user feedback and developer contributions, and includes thousands of changes which refine the easiest and friendliest free software desktop.

In keeping with GNOME’s ‘users first’ philosophy, GNOME makes stable releases every six months. This allows developers and distributors to plan their GNOME-based products with confidence. As a result, distributions such as Fedora, SUSE, and Ubuntu will include GNOME 2.12 in the next release of their products, providing GNOME 2.12 to millions of users.

• An updated default theme.
• Easier file management.
• Intuitive clipboard behaviour.
• A unified document viewer.
• The About Me control panel.

System administrators will also welcome the new Services control panel, and menu editor. Software developers benefit from improvements to the underlying GTK+ toolkit, including integration of the next-generation cairo drawing toolkit from freedesktop.org.

“GNOME 2.12 looks better than ever before and brings greater consistency,” said Owen Taylor, chairman of the GNOME Foundation’s board. “There are useful new features throughout the desktop, carefully implemented to increase usability while keeping GNOME simple and intuitive.”

“This release is the result of lots of hard work by a fantastic group of people,” said Elijah Newren, GNOME’s release manager. “We are proud of our developers and proud of what they have produced.”

GNOME 2.12 is available in 43 languages, with many more languages partially supported. Galician, Estonian, Indonesian, Macedonian, Nepali, Slovak, Vietnamese, Thai, and Xhosa are new supported languages in GNOME 2.12.

Availability

GNOME 2.12 will soon be available as part of most popular Linux distributions. For those who can’t wait, the new GNOME LiveCD (available from www.gnome.org/start/2.12/) allows users and journalists to test the latest GNOME desktop by burning a CD and rebooting – no installation is necessary.

Developers and advanced users wishing to install the GNOME 2.12 Desktop and Developer Platform now may download the software athttp://ftp.gnome.org/pub/GNOME/desktop/ The software includes the source code for the GNOME 2.12 desktop interface and a complete set of developer tools and libraries.

About GNOME

GNOME is a free-software project developing a complete, easy to use desktop. Besides including central desktop components like system menus, a file manager, web browser, and utilities, GNOME is a complete development environment allowing developers to create new applications.

More than 500 software developers from every continent, including more than 100 paid developers, contribute their time and effort to the project. Sponsors include industry leaders like Fluendo, HP, IBM, Novell, Red Hat, and Sun. GNOME is supported on a variety of platforms, including GNU/Linux (more commonly referred to as Linux), Solaris Operating Environment, HP-UX, Unix, BSD and Apple’s Darwin.

The GNOME desktop is used by millions of people around the world. GNOME is a standard part of all leading Linux and Unix distributions worldwide, including those of popular community distributions like Debian, Fedora Core, and SUSE, and is the default desktop on major enterprise Linux distributions like Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Sun Java Desktop System. GNOME is also the desktop of choice for some of the world’s biggest Linux desktop deployments, including large government deployments in Extremadura, Spain, and Sao Paulo, Brazil. GNOME’s technology is used by major Linux ISVs such as Firefox, the Eclipse Project, Real Networks, and VMWare.

More information on GNOME can be found at http://www.gnome.org/

About the GNOME Foundation

Comprised of hundreds of volunteer developers and industry-leading companies, the GNOME Foundation is an organization committed to supporting the advancement of GNOME. The Foundation is a member directed, non-profit organization that provides financial, organizational and legal support to the GNOME project and helps determine its vision and roadmap. More information on the GNOME Foundation can be found at foundation.gnome.org.

Press Inquiries

Please direct press inquiries to gnome-press-contact@gnome.org.

Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

The 7th annual GNOME User and Developer European Conference (GUADEC) will draw businesses, government, education and end users to Barcelona.

BOSTON, Mass. – 20 June, 2005 – The 7th annual GNOME User and Developer European Conference (GUADEC) will bring software developers, as well as business, government and private users of free and open source software to Barcelona (Catalonia – Spain).

The conference highlights the capabilities and direction of GNOME, the free software desktop and development environment for personal computers, workstations, and portable Internet devices.

Topics will include development workshops, translation showcases, business models for free software development, GNOME in mobile devices, and discussions about the future of GNOME.

GUADEC will be jointly organized by the GNOME Foundation, the Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan Government), the Council of Barcelona, the Internet Global Congress (IGC) and the local free software community. The event takes place in combination with the IGC at Fira de Barcelona in May 2006, with the exact date yet to be announced.

Owen Taylor, chairman of the board of the GNOME Foundation, welcomes the participation of the local administrations: “This is a splendid opportunity to showcase their developments in e-government and education, and to share that with visitors from all over the world.”

The Generalitat de Catalunya and the Council of Barcelona are committed to the use of open standards and free and open source software in the public sector and are encouraging the adoption of free software by citizens.

The secretary for Telecommunications and the Information Society in the Catalan Government, Oriol Ferran, highlighted “the importance for Catalunya to host events such as GUADEC as it helps us to support the government’s national policy to promote Free Software development”.

According to Oriol Ferran “These meetings allow us to access the main points of debate about Free Software development thus situating Catalonia as an international reference point in this field”.

About GNOME and the GNOME Foundation

Comprised of hundreds of volunteer developers and industry-leading companies, the GNOME Foundation is an organization committed to supporting the advancement of GNOME. GNOME is a free software desktop and development environment for personal computers, workstations, networked servers and portable Internet devices. Major leading software industry and computer manufacturers support the GNOME development effort, which is led by a worldwide community of volunteers. The Foundation provides organizational, financial and legal support to the GNOME project and helps determine its vision and roadmap. More information on GNOME is available at http://www.gnome.org/.

About GUADEC

The GNOME User and Developer Europe Conference (GUADEC) is an annual gathering of GNOME developers, enthusiasts and individual, business, education and government users worldwide. It provides a forum for members of the GNOME project to showcase their work and to discuss the future of GNOME development. Housed in a different European country each year, GUADEC is a catalyst for the future development and direction of GNOME. More at guadec.gnome.org.

About the IGC

The Internet Global Congress is the leading Internet and New Technologies congress in Spain. Organized by the Fundació Barcelona Digital, the Congress comprises a series of conferences addressing a number of key Information Society themes, and an exhibition (IGC Village) where delegates can discover the latest ICT products and services. More at www.igcweb.net.

Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

STUTTGART, Germany –May 31, 2005 – Nokia, which recently launched the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet, announced today a developer device program at the GNOME user and Developer European Conference (GUADEC). The developer device program will donate the proceeds from the sales of 500 Nokia 770 devices to the GNOME Foundation.

The Nokia 770 Internet Tablet is based on Linux and widely deployed Open Source technologies like GNOME. At the core of the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet is Hildon Application Framework, which is based on GNOME technology. This technology has been adapted with extensions and modifications to evolve a user interface framework that is better suited for handheld category devices.

“GNOME is a very powerful and user-friendly environment suitable for desktops,” said Ari Jaaksi, Director, Open Software Platform, Convergence Products, Multimedia, Nokia. “By harnessing the power of GNOME and adapting it for handhelds on the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet, we are delivering an impressive product that will continue to grow with the help and input of GNOME and Open Source users and developers.”

The tablet, which was unveiled on the 25 of May at the LinuxWorld Summit in New York, will allow users to browse the web, check e-mail, read the latest news, listen to Internet radio or their own music, watch videos and store and view images.

“We’re very excited about the release of the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet,” said Timothy Ney, executive director of the GNOME Foundation. “We are also really grateful to Nokia for donating the proceeds of the developer device program to the GNOME Foundation.”

The 770 Internet Tablet has a host of utilities, including a file manager, PDF reader, notes and sketch capabilities, as well as games. It has a high-resolution 4.13-inch touch screen, 800×480 resolution and 65,536 colors that will show off the truly impressive graphic environment. It also features an on-screen keyboard and handwriting capabilities, as well as zooming, panning and full-screen features.

About Nokia

Nokia is a world leader in mobile communications, driving the growth and sustainability of the broader mobility industry. Nokia connects people to each other and the information that matters to them with easy-to-use and innovative products like mobile phones, devices and solutions for imaging, games, media and businesses. Nokia provides equipment, solutions and services for network operators and corporations. www.nokia.com

Media Enquiries:

Nokia Multimedia
Communications
tel. +358 7180 45725

Nokia
Communications
tel. +358 7180 34900
e-mail: press.office@nokia.com

www.nokia.com

About GNOME and the GNOME Foundation

Comprised of hundreds of volunteer developers and industry-leading companies, the GNOME Foundation is an organization committed to supporting the advancement of GNOME. The Foundation provides organizational, financial and legal support to the GNOME project and helps determine its vision and roadmap. GNOME is an entirely free user environment for desktops, networked servers and portable Internet devices. The modern architecture and design of GNOME includes a technically advanced application development platform and a powerful end-user desktop environment. Major leading software industry and computer manufacturers support the GNOME development effort, which is led by a worldwide community of volunteers. More information on GNOME is available at www.gnome.org.

Media Enquiries:

Leslie Proctor
gnome-press-contact@gnome.org

About GUADEC

The GNOME User and Developer Europe Conference (GUADEC) is an annual gathering of GNOME developers, enthusiasts and individual, business, education and government users worldwide. It provides a forum for members of the GNOME project to showcase their work and to discuss the future of GNOME development. GUADEC is also home to open source luminaries, top-level government and business IT leaders who discuss strategies, deployments options and the future of open source software. GUADEC is housed in a different European country each year.

Media Enquiries:

Leslie Proctor
gnome-press-contact@gnome.org

The world’s largest open source desktop event to feature a multimedia track and keynotes from technology notables

BOSTON, Mass. – 23 May, 2005 – The sixth annual GNOME User and Developer European Conference (GUADEC), announced additions to the already impressive slate for GUADEC, which will be held in Stuttgart, Germany May 29-31, 2005. The high-level conference has added a special multimedia track, on the latest in free media technology, including speakers from the BBC and Nokia. Keynote addresses by Mark Shuttleworth, founder of HBD Venture Capital and the Shuttleworth Foundation and Nathan Wilson, Project Lead, Software of Dreamworks Animation Studio have been added to the program. Keynotes by Miguel de Icaza, GNOME Founder and VP of Developer Platforms at Novell and Daniel M. Kusnetzky, Program VP, System Software, Enterprise Computing at IDC round out the keynote sessions.

GUADEC is a unique forum for highlighting the capabilities and direction of GNOME, the user environment for desktops, networked servers and portable Internet devices. The conference will also feature meaningful discussions of the future direction of open source projects, including the Open Office suite.

“Were very pleased with our outstanding keynote speakers and the addition of the multimedia track, said Timothy Ney, GNOME Foundation executive director. “This years GUADEC in Germany promises to be another landmark conference on open source technology.

GUADEC is being held May 29-31 at Haus der Wirtschaft in Stuttgart, Germany and is co-organized by the Ministry of Economic Affairs for Baden-Wrttemberg, Stuttgart Region Economic Development Corporation and GNOME Deutschland, e.V. The conference is an opportunity for enterprise and government leaders to share information on IT policy and best practices for migration to a Linux desktop. The combination of top GNOME developers with influential users makes Stuttgart a not-to-be-missed destination for hundreds of participants from over 30 countries. Additional information on GUADEC can be found at www.guadec.org.

About GUADEC

The GNOME User and Developer Europe Conference (GUADEC) is an annual gathering of GNOME developers, enthusiasts and individual, business, education and government users worldwide. It provides a forum for members of the GNOME project to showcase their work and to discuss the future of GNOME development. GUADEC is also home to open source luminaries, top-level government and business IT leaders who discuss strategies, deployments options and the future of open source software. GUADEC is housed in a different European country each year.

About the GNOME Foundation

Comprised of hundreds of volunteer developers and industry-leading companies, the GNOME Foundation is an organization committed to supporting the advancement of GNOME. The Foundation provides organizational, financial and legal support to the GNOME project and helps determine its vision and roadmap. GNOME is an entirely free user environment for desktops, networked servers and portable Internet devices. The modern architecture and design of GNOME includes a technically advanced application development platform and a powerful end-user desktop environment. Major leading software industry and computer manufacturers support the GNOME development effort, which is led by a worldwide community of volunteers. More information on GNOME is available at www.gnome.org.

About Stuttgart Region Development Corporation Stuttgart Region Development Corporation created and coordinates the initiative “Open Source Region Stuttgart”. With more than 40 events to date, some 100,000 visitors to the website and more than 23 million media contacts, the initiative was most effective in making the IT-industry and IT-users more aware of their Open Source software options. http://opensource.region-stuttgart.de/english.php.

19 May, 2005 – The GNOME Foundation, a leading open source organization and the provider of the GNOME desktop environment and the GNOME development platform, is partnering with the Open Source Consortium (OSC), the independent voice of the Open Source business community in Europe. GNOME will join OSC’s Community Advisory Board, and work with the OSC to promote the Open Source desktop.

The move reflects the GNOME Foundation’s support for the work of the OSC. Examples of such work include the OSC’s involvement with the recent BECTA announcement concerning the future of Open Source solutions for UK schools, and involvement with the Open Source Academy initiative, which promotes adoption of Open Source software amongst the public sector and is funded by the Office Of The Deputy Prime Minister.

Says Owen Taylor, chairman of the board of directors of the GNOME Foundation, “The GNOME Foundation welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with the OSC and increase adoption of Free and Open Source Software in public administrations in Europe. We are excited about the value we can bring to governmental organisations through the OSC”.

OSC members will benefit from the closer working relationship with the GNOME Foundation, including information sharing, GNOME presence at OSC events and the GNOME Foundation’s long experience in Open Source. The GNOME Foundation expects to benefit by working with OSC to promote Open Source desktop software as an alternative to proprietary operating systems in the European public sector.

For his part Mark Taylor, Executive Director of the OSC welcomed Owen’s comments adding, “The GNOME Project are known to the entire Free and Open Source Software community for their usable, high-quality desktop. We look forward to our joint collaboration in advancing the free software desktop in Europe.”

About the GNOME Foundation

Comprised of hundreds of volunteer developers and industry-leading companies, the GNOME Foundation is an organization committed to supporting the advancement of GNOME. The Foundation provides organizational, financial and legal support to the GNOME project and helps determine its vision and roadmap. GNOME is an entirely free user environment for desktops, networked servers and portable Internet devices. The modern architecture and design of GNOME includes a technically advanced application development platform and a powerful end-user desktop environment. Major leading software industry and computer manufacturers support the GNOME development effort, which is led by a worldwide community of volunteers. More information on GNOME is available at www.gnome.org.

The world’s largest open source desktop event to highlight multimedia, business and government deployments.

BOSTON, Mass. – 11 March, 2005 – The sixth annual GNOME User and Developer European Conference (GUADEC), announced its program slate for GUADEC, which will be held in Stuttgart, Germany May 29-31, 2005. The high-level conference has lined up a roster of industry-leading analysts, developers and thought leaders, as well as top government and business IT officials. The conference is a unique forum for highlighting the capabilities and direction of GNOME, the user environment for desktops, networked servers and portable Internet devices. GUADEC will also feature meaningful discussions of the future direction of open source projects, including the Open Office suite.

“GUADEC is not to be missed for anyone developing or deploying a free and open source desktop,” said Timothy Ney, GNOME Foundation executive director. “GUADEC looks not only at new technology for managing and locating information like Beagle, but it is also an opportunity for enterprise and government leaders to share information on IT policy and best practices for migration to a Linux desktop. The combination of top GNOME developers with influential users makes Stuttgart a not-to-be-missed destination for hundreds of participants from over 30 countries.”

“Linux continues to be one of the most rapidly growing client operating environments,” said Dan Kusnetzky, IDC’s vice president of system software research. “System software, such as GNOME, that helps individuals be more productive when using Linux are an important factor supporting of that growth.”

GUADEC is being held May 29-31 at Haus der Wirtschaft in Stuttgart, Germany and is co-organized by the Ministry of Economic Affairs for Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart Region Development Corporation, and GNOME Deutschland, e.V.

A preliminary lineup of speakers ranges from GNOME founder Miguel de Icaza and Federico Mena Quintero to top industry analyst Dan Kusnetzky from IDC and IT entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth. Additional information on GUADEC can be found at www.guadec.org.

“We’re very pleased that GNOME Foundation chose the Stuttgart Region in Baden-Württemberg for its annual European congress,” Ernst Pfister, Minister of Economic Affairs for the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg said. “Open Source software is a cornerstone for economic development and GUADEC will feature the expertise in our state and its partnership with this innovative global IT community”

“GUADEC (3rd. edition) had a profound effect on our business and on open source development and deployment in Andalusia (Spain),” said Antonio J. Saenz, chief technology officer of ISOTROL, S.A. “The meetings held by business and government IT leaders with developers, thought leaders and individual users gave the region the tools to make our IT goals a reality.”

GUADEC 6 will feature special sessions on Open Office, two days of conference aimed at GNOME developers, as well as the popular and useful User Day, which will feature sessions that will be of interest for individual, corporate and government users of open source software.

About GUADEC

The GNOME User and Developer Europe Conference (GUADEC) is an annual gathering of GNOME developers, enthusiasts and individual, business, education and government users worldwide. It provides a forum for members of the GNOME project to showcase their work and to discuss the future of GNOME development. GUADEC is also home to open source luminaries, top-level government and business IT leaders who discuss strategies, deployments options and the future of open source software. GUADEC is housed in a different European country each year.

About the GNOME Foundation

Comprised of hundreds of volunteer developers and industry-leading companies, the GNOME Foundation is an organization committed to supporting the advancement of GNOME. The Foundation provides organizational, financial and legal support to the GNOME project and helps determine its vision and roadmap. GNOME is an entirely free user environment for desktops, networked servers and portable Internet devices. The modern architecture and design of GNOME includes a technically advanced application development platform and a powerful end-user desktop environment. Major leading software industry and computer manufacturers support the GNOME development effort, which is led by a worldwide community of volunteers. More information on GNOME is available at www.gnome.org.

About Stuttgart Region Development Corporation

Stuttgart Region Development Corporation created and coordinates the initiative “Open Source Region Stuttgart”. With more than 40 events to date, some 100,000 visitors to the website and more than 23 million media contacts, the initiative was most effective in making the IT-industry and IT-users more aware of their Open Source software options. http://opensource.region-stuttgart.de/english.php.

New version of the popular, multi-platform desktop environment offers greater ease and convenience.

BOSTON, Mass – March 9, 2005 – The GNOME Project today released the latest version of the GNOME Desktop and Developer Platform, the leading desktop for Linux and Unix operating systems. Version 2.10 improves the usability, stability, and power of GNOME by integrating multimedia, adding development possibilities, and including thousands of changes which refine the easiest and friendliest free software desktop.

In keeping with GNOME’s ‘users first’ philosophy, GNOME makes stable releases every six months. This delivers improvements to users quickly, and allows developers and distributors to plan their GNOME-based products with confidence. As a result, distributions such as Fedora, SUSE, and Ubuntu will include GNOME 2.10 in the next release of their products, providing GNOME 2.10 to millions of users.

Key features GNOME 2.10 users can look forward to include:

• An integrated video player, one-click CD ‘ripping’, and improved media format support. This makes the Linux desktop’s multimedia support more competitive with the leading proprietary operating systems.
• More auto-detection of hardware and network servers, demonstrating GNOME’s focus on software that ‘Just Works’ without distracting or confusing users.
• Better integration between applications, including improved links between GNOME applications, and use of cross-platform standards, improving both the user and ISV experience.
• Continued polish and stability, based on user feedback. GNOME 2.10 includes thousands of bug fixes and usability improvements since GNOME 2.8 was released in September.

“This GNOME release is exciting”, says Christian Schaller, Fluendo Business Manager and GStreamer development team member. “Not only is GNOME fixing problems for end users, but by working actively with other free software communities like freedesktop.org, GStreamer, and GTK+, GNOME is driving forward the entire Free Software desktop.”

“We’re having lots of fun doing this”, said Luis Villa, GNOME Foundation Board member and contributor. “Instead of just talking about vaporware that takes years to come out, GNOME’s developers are creating concrete improvements and delivering these to our users twice a year. This is something no proprietary desktop vendor matches.”

Availability

GNOME 2.10 will soon be available as part of most popular Linux distributions. For those who can’t wait, the new GNOME LiveCD (available from www.gnome.org/start/2.10/) allows users and other interested parties to test the latest GNOME desktop by burning a CD and rebooting – no installation necessary.

Developers and advanced users wishing to install the GNOME 2.10 Desktop and Developer Platform now may download the software at http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/GNOME/desktop/ The software includes the source code for the GNOME 2.10 desktop interface and a complete set of developer tools and libraries.

About GNOME

GNOME is a free software project developing a complete, easy to use desktop. Besides including central desktop components like system menus, a file manager, web browser, and utilities, GNOME is a complete development environment allowing developers to create new applications.

More than 500 software developers from every continent, including more than 100 paid developers, contribute their time and effort to the project. Sponsors include industry leaders like Fluendo, HP, IBM, Novell, Red Hat, and Sun. GNOME is supported on a variety of platforms, including GNU/Linux (more commonly referred to as Linux), Solaris Operating Environment, HP-UX, Unix, BSD and Apple’s Darwin.

The GNOME desktop is used by millions of people around the world. GNOME is a standard part of all leading Linux and Unix distributions worldwide, including those of popular community distributions like Debian, Fedora Core, and SUSE, and is the default desktop on major enterprise Linux distributions like Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Sun Java Desktop System. GNOME is also the desktop of choice for some of the world’s biggest Linux desktop deployments, including large government deployments in Extremadura, Spain, and Sao Paulo, Brazil. GNOME’s technology is used by major Linux ISVs like Firefox, the Eclipse Project, and Real Networks.

More information on GNOME can be found at http://www.gnome.org/

About the GNOME Foundation

Comprised of hundreds of volunteer developers and industry-leading companies, the GNOME Foundation is an organization committed to supporting the advancement of GNOME. The Foundation is a member directed, non-profit organization that provides financial, organizational and legal support to the GNOME project and helps determine its vision and roadmap. More information on the GNOME Foundation can be found at http://foundation.gnome.org

Press Inquiries

Please direct press inquiries to gnome-press-contact@gnome.org.

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