Category: Press Release

Free software luminaries, open source developers gather to advance the next generation of the multi-platform desktop environment.

BOSTON, Mass. February 18, 2003 The fourth annual GNOME User and Developer European Conference (GUADEC), will bring developers, GNOME Foundation leaders and individual, business and government GNOME users to Dublin, Ireland June 16-18, 2003. 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 GNOME development. GUADEC 2003 will feature a comprehensive set of tutorials that will benefit IT leaders, developers and deployers of GNOME.

GUADEC has quadrupled in attendance over the past three years, drawing GNOME developers, industry, government and education IT leaders and GNOME enthusiasts from every corner of the world, said Timothy Ney, GNOME Foundation executive director. GUADEC is a unique event that brings the people who are creating GNOME together to discuss and demonstrate their work and to build roadmaps for future development. Pair these developers with IT leaders from every sector and you get the electric environment that is GUADEC.

GUADEC is being held June 16-18, 2003 at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. The program will boast a stellar lineup of speakers, from GNOME leaders to IT industry movers and shakers. Additional information on GUADEC can be found at www.guadec.org.

GUADEC is an opportunity to bring developers, who have worked with one another virtually for months and/or years, together in one place. Miguel de Icaza, president of the GNOME Foundation and CTO and co-founder, Ximian, Inc. said. It gives us a chance to meet with the very people who are deploying GNOME. GUADEC gives us a chance to discuss the future of GNOME and set the overall strategy and direction of GNOME for the next year.

About GNOME

GNOME is a free software project that provides a complete, easy to use desktop for a variety of operating systems, including GNU/Linux (more commonly known as Linux), BSD, Solaris , Operating Environment, HP-UX, Unix, BSD and Apples Darwin. The GNOME desktop is used by millions of people around the world. More than 700 computer developers, including over 100 full-time, paid developers, contribute their time and effort to the project.

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.

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.

Latest version of the popular, multi-platform desktop environment boasts improved usability and a host of new utilities and applications.

BOSTON, Mass – The GNOME Foundation today announced the release of version 2.2 of the GNOME Desktop and Developer Platform. Building on the developer platform advances of GNOME 2.0 and extensive work on usability and accessibility, users and administrators on all levels can look forward to a mature, flexible and powerful user interface, as well as a host of new applications and utilities. Developers can look forward to a more mature application development platform with several new developer programs and the advantages of GNOME’s component-based architecture.

“GNOME 2.2 release signals a new era in GNOME development,” said Miguel de Icaza, president of the GNOME Foundation and CTO and co-founder of Ximian, Inc. “The GNOME Release Team has attracted some of the best developers in the world and has moved to a more mature, schedule-based release program culminating in the enhanced functionality and usability of GNOME 2.2.”

GNOME is supported on a variety of platforms, including GNU/Linux (more commonly referred to as Linux), Solaris(TM) Operating Environment, HP-UX, Unix, BSD and Apple’s Darwin. The enhanced user interface features a commitment to accessibility and also boasts powerful features such as high-quality smooth text rendering and first class internationalization support, including support for bi-directional text. GNOME 2.2 also brings to the desktop the first appearance of a new multimedia framework, called Gstreamer.

“We’re seeing the results of the GNOME 2.0 Developer Platform, which was released last year,” said Jeff Waugh, GNOME Foundation board member and GNOME release team chair. “The industrial-strength GTK+ 2.0 toolkit, combined with add-on tools such as Glade, Python and our CORBA implementation make GNOME the natural choice for developers on a variety of platforms. GNOME 2.2 is the result.”

GNOME 2.2 also features improved theming, with the addition of icon themes, making the user experience much better and more customizable.

Availability

Developers and users wishing to install the GNOME 2.2 Desktop and Developer Platform may freely download the software at www.gnome.org. The software includes the GNOME 2.2 desktop interface, file manager, menus and utilities, as well as the complete set of development tools and libraries.

A number GNOME 2.2 versions of popular applications are available, with more to come later in 2003. GNOME 2.2 will be available later this year on the Solaris (TM) Operating Environment, HP-UX, Red Hat Linux and MandrakeLinux, as well as being distributed by Ximian and other Linux distributions as part of their offerings.

About GNOME

GNOME is a free software project that is developing a complete, easy to use desktop for Linux-based operating systems, BSD and a variety of other Unix and Unix-like operating systems. The GNOME desktop is used by millions of people around the world. More than 500 computer developers, including over 100 full-time, paid developers, contribute their time and effort to the project.

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. 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.

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

Ten fonts will be released for use under a special open license agreement, giving advanced font capabilities to all free and open source software developers and users.

NEW YORK, New York January 22, 2003 — In a move to fill the last remaining gap in font display capabilities for open source software, the GNOME Foundation has reached an agreement with Bitstream (NASDAQ: BITS) to release fonts under an open source license. A total of ten serif, sans serif and monospaced fonts will be released under a special open source license, after they have been adapted to meet the requirements for technical use. The set of ten fonts will bring advanced font capabilities to all developers and users of free and open source software.

“The donation of these fonts to the free software community is the final piece that will give full functionality to projects like Freetype, XFT2 and X Render extensions of the XFree86 project, Pango, KDE and Trolltechs QT, among many others.” said Jim Gettys of HP and GNOME Foundation board member. “These fonts will be available to all developers and users, giving GNOME and other open source programs a great look right out of the box that has been lacking until now.”

The Bitstream Vera fonts will be available for free copying and redistribution and can be modified as long as the font name is changed. The fonts cannot be packaged by themselves for sale, but can be sold with any software. The GNOME Foundation will incorporate the fonts into future GNOME releases, giving end users of all levels, as well as GNOME developers, the advanced display capabilities they offer.

“Bitstream has had a long relationship with the developer community,” explained Bob Thomas, director of product management, Bitstream. “Were very happy to contribute these fonts to the open source community and we hope that developers will generate new fonts and continue to enhance the experience of end-users at all levels.”

“GNOME was created to give free software users a friendly, powerful desktop environment,” said Miguel de Icaza, GNOME Foundation president and CTO of Ximian, Inc. “This agreement with Bitstream will enhance the experience and graphics capabilities of corporate, enterprise, educational, governmental and individual GNOME users and will give powerful tools to open source developers everywhere.”

“Bitstream’s generous donation is a tangible measure of the importance and growth of open source,” said Russ Nelson, VP of the Open Source Initiative. “I praise the GNOME Foundations efforts to bring this agreement into being.”

The agreement between Bitstream and the GNOME Foundation will bring invaluable tools to open source developers and users worldwide.

URLs of Organizations Listed in this Press Release

Bitstream: http://www.bitstream.com/
GNOME: http://www.gnome.org/
Freetype: http://www.freetype.org/
KDE: http://www.kde.org/
Open Source Initiative: http://www.opensource.org/
Pango: http://www.pango.org/
Trolltech: http://www.trolltech.com/
XFree86: http://www.xfree86.org/

About GNOME

GNOME is a free software project that is developing a complete, easy to use desktop for GNU/Linux (more commonly known as Linux), BSD, Solaris, HP-UX and a variety of other Unix and Unix-like operating systems. The GNOME desktop is used by millions of people around the world. More than 700 computer developers, including over 100 full-time, paid developers, contribute their time and effort to the project.

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 Bitstream

Bitstream Inc. (Nasdaq:BITS) is the leading developer of font technology, digital fonts, and custom font designs. Bitstream licenses its award-winning TrueDoc® and Font Fusion technologies to Web and application developers, and to manufacturers of information appliances, wireless and handheld devices, set-top boxes, embedded systems, and printers. Setting the standard for excellence in font technology, Bitstream holds numerous key patents in the U.S. that cover the creation of portable fonts for the Internet. Building on this experience, Bitstream has released ThunderHawk, a breakthrough technology for the wireless Web.

Bitstream and TrueDoc are registered trademarks, and Font Fusion, MyFonts.com, ThunderHawk, and Vera are trademarks of Bitstream Inc. Other technologies and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Latest version of the popular, multi-platform desktop environment boasts simpler user interface and a host of powerful developer tools.

OTTAWA, Canada – June 26, 2002 – The GNOME Foundation today released version 2.0 of the GNOME Desktop and Developer Platform at the Ottawa Linux Symposium. With the inclusion of GNOME 2.0 by leading Linux and Unix vendors later this year, users of GNOME can look forward to an improved user environment for existing GNOME applications, including a faster and more powerful Nautilus file manager, features that are better organized and usability-tested, dozens of useful utilities, applications and even games. Users and administrators will also see a new, simplified configuration system. Developers can look forward to more efficient application development with stronger integration of GNOME APIs and the advantages of GNOME’s component-based architecture.

“The GNOME 2.0 project is the culmination of a major effort which had the dual objectives of dramatically improving developer productivity and significantly enhancing the GNOME user experience,” said Miguel de Icaza, president of the GNOME Foundation and CTO and co-founder of Ximian, Inc. “The result is an elegant, new multi-platform desktop environment for individual, corporate and government users worldwide.”

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 enhanced user interface moves from a traditional X Window System interface to one that is easy to use and familiar to users of other environments. The user interface also boasts powerful features such as high-quality smooth text rendering and first class internationalization support, including support for bi-directional text.

“Developing on the GNOME platform will take a leap forward with the release of 2.0,” said Havoc Pennington, GNOME Foundation board chair and technical lead for desktop engineering at Red Hat, Inc. “The industrial-strength GTK+ 2.0 toolkit, combined with add-on tools such as Glade, Python and our CORBA implementation make GNOME the natural choice for developers on a variety of platforms. GNOME’s component-based architecture makes it possible for developers to use already existing tools, libraries and features, cutting development time significantly.”

GNOME 2.0 has a host of advanced accessibility features for users with disabilities and a built-in accessibility framework for developers to meet Section 508 requirements. Developers of GNOME 2.0 have devoted thousands of man-hours to ensuring that GNOME will be accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities. More features and enhanced accessibility capabilities will be added later this year.

GNOME 2.0 boasts some significant advances for developers, including an enhanced GTK Toolkit, new libraries and widgets, as well as the unparalleled advantages of GNOME’s component-based architecture. GNOME’s libraries are available for use in any application, without fees, under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License.

GNOME 2.0 is the first of the GNOME 2.x series. Future releases will bring more features to the core desktop, while adding GNOME 2 native versions of popular applications such as Evolution, Galeon, Mozilla and Gnumeric.

Availability

Developers and users wishing to install the GNOME 2.0 Desktop and Developer Platform may freely download the software at www.gnome.org. The software includes the GNOME 2.0 desktop interface, file manager, menus and utilities, as well as the complete set of development tools and libraries.

GNOME 2.0 versions of popular applications will be available later this year. GNOME 2.0 will be available later this year on the Solaris ™ Operating Environment, HP-UX and Red Hat Linux, as well as being distributed by Ximian and other Linux distributions as part of their offerings.

About GNOME

GNOME is a free software project that is developing a complete, easy to use desktop for Linux-based operating systems, BSD and a variety of other Unix and Unix-like operating systems. The GNOME desktop is used by millions of people around the world. More than 500 computer developers, including over 100 full-time, paid developers, contribute their time and effort to the project.

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. 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.

LINUX is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. RED HAT is a registered trademark of Red Hat, Inc. All other names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Miguel de Icaza goes on GNOME Foundation’s First Latin American Roadshow

BOSTON, Mass. – June 24, 2002 – Miguel de Icaza, president of the GNOME Foundation and CTO and co-Founder of Ximian, Inc. is visiting three Latin American countries to discuss GNOME and free software with government officials, business, IT leaders and open source advocates in Peru, Uruguay and Brazil. GNOME is a user-friendly, powerful desktop environment and developer platform that is licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public License, making it freely available for anyone to modify and distribute. GNOME boasts an advanced, component-based architecture and powerful development tools, that make it possible to customize it and add capabilities and applications easily.

“Emerging markets like Peru, Uruguay and Brazil have shown a strong interest in GNOME and free software,” said Miguel de Icaza, president of the GNOME Foundation and CTO and co-founder of Ximian, Inc. “I’m excited to be visiting these three countries and to be speaking with government, business and IT leaders there.”

Miguel will speak at the Auditorio de la Asamblea Nacional de Rectores today in Lima, Peru. He will be in Montevideo, Uruguay at the Universidad Católica del Urugual (UCUDAL) on June 26 and at Universidade Estadual do Rio Grande do Sul (UERGS) in Porto Alegre, Brazil on June 27. He will also meet individually with business, government and IT leaders in each country.

“Given the current economic pressure of foreign debt in the region, GNOME helps bring the computer accessibility necessary for modernization without straining public budgets” said Timothy Ney, GNOME Foundation’s Executive Director.

A theme common to many De Icaza’s discussions will be that of “Software Libre and the State”, addressing how countries can more affordably bridge the “digital barrier” for their citizens while maintaining control of their domestic technology industries and destinies by building upon free, open-source rather than proprietary software.

GNOME has advanced internationalization capabilities and a host of accessibility features for users with disabilities. It also features a built-in accessibility framework for developers to add even more features. It is an attractive and cost-effective option for business, government and education, as well as individual users. 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.

“GNOME is technically advanced, user-friendly, cross-platform desktop that represents a way for countries like Brazil to bridge the digital divide and compete in a global economy,” said Marcos Mazoni of PROCERGS, the state data processing and Internet provider in Rio Grande Do Sol, Brazil “Miguel has made a huge contribution to computing through his work on GNOME. Millions of people worldwide use GNOME and we are thrilled to have him here.”

The state of Rio Grande do Sol in Brazil was one of the first governments in the world to implement a policy of using only free software. Among other things, they are deploying free software programs to manage their automobile registration system and other government databases, and they are installing computers loaded with GNOME in schools across the state.

About GNOME

GNOME is a free software project that is developing a complete, easy to use desktop for Linux-based operating systems, BSD and a variety of other Unix and Unix-like operating systems. The GNOME desktop is used by millions of people around the world. More than 500 computer developers, including over 100 full-time, paid developers, contribute their time and effort to the project.

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. 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 third annual GNOME User and Developer European Conference (GUADEC) boasts program that includes top developers and Free/Open Source software luminaries.

BOSTON, Mass. – March 26, 2002 – The third annual GNOME User and Developer European Conference (GUADEC), will bring developers, GNOME Foundation leaders and individual, business and government GNOME users to Seville, Spain next month. The conference is a unique forum for highlighting the capabilities of GNOME, the user environment for desktops, networked servers and portable Internet devices. GUADEC will also feature meaningful discussions of the future direction of GNOME development.

“The GNOME Project has more than 700, mostly volunteer, developers worldwide,” said Timothy Ney, GNOME Foundation executive director. “GUADEC is a unique event that brings these talented individuals together to discuss and demonstrate their work and to build roadmaps for future development. The energy and enthusiasm they bring to GUADEC is tremendous.”

GUADEC is being held April 4-6, 2002 in the Escuela Superior de Ingenieros in Seville, Spain. The program boasts a stellar lineup of speakers, including Jon “Maddog” Hall of Linux International, Miguel de Icaza, GNOME Foundation president and CTO of Ximian, Inc. and Jim Gettys, Principle Member of Technical Staff, Cambridge Research Laboratory, Compaq Computer Corporation.

“Since the inception of the GNOME Project in 1997, thanks to the contributions of thousands of developers worldwide, GNOME has quickly matured as a computing environment,” said Miguel de Icaza, president of the GNOME Foundation and CTO and co-founder of Ximian, Inc. “In addition to the efforts of the developer community, strong corporate support has built up the momentum behind GNOME, helping make it the open source environment of choice for the corporate desktop. The development goals we discuss at GUADEC will pave the way for the development of even more powerful, scalable and stable desktop applications for Linux and UNIX users.

GNOME is a free software project that is developing a complete, easy to use desktop for GNU/Linux (more commonly known as Linux), BSD, Solaris, HP-UX and a variety of other Unix and Unix-like operating systems. The GNOME desktop is used by millions of people around the world. More than 700 computer developers, including over 100 full-time, paid developers, contribute their time and effort to the project.

About GUADEC

The GNOME User and Developer Europe Conference (GUADEC) is an annual gathering of GNOME developers, enthusiasts and individual, business 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. Sponsors for GUADEC 2002 include Hewlett-Packard Company, Ximian, Inc. Isotrol and the Open Source Development Network.

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.

New developments make the GNOME 2.0 Desktop more accessible to the needs of users with disabilities.

New York, N.Y. January 28, 2002 – The GNOME Foundation today announced the latest innovative assistive technology contributions to the GNOME project, an open-source, free-software desktop for GNU/Linux and UNIX. BAUM Retec AG delivers the first full-featured GNOME screen magnifier, a screen reader, and a set of Braille drivers to meet the needs of vision-impaired users and the Adaptive Technology Resource Centre, University of Toronto is delivering the first GNOME on-screen keyboard to support users with motor impairments. These built-in assistive technologies seamlessly integrate with a new generation of accessible applications as they enable users with disabilities to easily interact with applications that can adapt to their needs.

These new assistive technologies leverage Sun Microsystems, Inc.’s contribution of the GNOME Accessibility Framework. This framework based on an open architecture, provides a comprehensive toolkit and APIs, that developers can use to create accessible applications and interface them with assistive technologies on any UNIX or GNU/Linux platform running the GNOME 2.0 desktop. With the combination of the Accessibility Framework and assistive technologies, users with disabilities have the solutions they need to get their job done efficiently:

• Screen Magnifier – enables users with low vision to enlarge the computer screen and interact with the magnified portion of the screen they are accessing, such as menus, toolbars, graphics, and text.
• Screen Reader – allows users who are blind or visually impaired to access information on the computer screen through a Braille display or synthesized speech. With screen readers users can read and edit text, manipulate menu bars, buttons and dialog boxes, and fully interact with the GNOME desktop.
• On-screen Keyboard – provides users with physical impairments a wide variety of ways to enter text and manipulate the graphical user interface of applications and the GNOME desktop. In addition, environments without a keyboard, such as a touch screen kiosk, can take advantage of the on-screen keyboard. This on-screen keyboard goes beyond the standard physical keyboard, it supports word prediction, scanning access, coded access, customizable keyboard layouts, and dynamic keyboard functionality that conveniently places menu bar options and other application elements onto the keyboard display for direct manipulation.

“Integrating accessibility technology solutions with the GNOME desktop allows anyone to use GNOME,” said Miguel de Icaza, GNOME Foundation President. These built-in capabilities provide enterprises with a ready-to-go and comprehensive accessible desktop that adapts to the needs of users with disabilities. The benefits are vast – for IT organizations this cost-effective alternative resolves the problem of buying and installing expensive complex software; for disabled users it’s simpler and more convenient to work and collaborate with team members since they have the advantage of using any UNIX or GNU/Linux platform running the GNOME 2.0 desktop”.

“We chose GNOME because of its open, extensible, and comprehensive accessibility architecture,” said Thomas Friehoff, CTO, head of software development of BAUM Retec AG. “Using the open Assistive Technologies Service Provider API we were able to deliver our solutions quickly, because it eliminated the need to reinvent assistive technology software for different UNIX platforms, saving us time and costs”.

“Our center in Toronto specializes in developing information technologies that include seamless accessible interfaces,” said Jutta Treviranus, Director, Adaptive Technology Resource Centre, University of Toronto. “The GNOME Accessibility Framework free software project enables us to leverage the component-based architecture to develop technologies that intelligently integrate alternative access techniques. Using this approach we will make the user interface accessible and usable by the large group of individuals who cannot use a standard keyboard or mouse. We will continue working with the GNOME open source project to develop new kinds of user input support, including an open source keyboard configuration editor that provides ways to improve the efficiency of computer interaction for users with disabilities.”

“By providing rich and consistent interfaces for both assistive technologies and applications, the accessibility framework enables flexible and comprehensive accessibility solutions for GNOME,” said Bill Haneman, GNOME Accessibility Architect, Sun Microsystems, Inc. “A key aspect of the GNOME Accessibility Framework is support for user interface component sets beyond the built-in GNOME component set,” said Peter Korn, Sun Accessibility Architect. “The thousands of applications that take advantage of the Java Accessibility API will work with the GNOME Accessibility Framework unaltered and gain the benefit of the assistive technologies included with the GNOME 2.0 Desktop. In addition, other important applications, such as the OpenOffice.org productivity suite, are being modified to use these technologies.”

Availability

GNOME Accessibility Framework is available at: http://projects.gnome.org/accessibility/

Baum Retec AG assistive technologies are available at: http://projects.gnome.org/accessibility/

ATRC, University of Toronto assistive technology is available at: http://projects.gnome.org/accessibility/

About GNOME

Gnome is a unified, open and rich desktop that employs an intuitive and appealing user interface, includes a wealth of productivity applications, supports the latest industry standards, and provides an innovative component-based architecture, ALL BUILT ON a powerful network-centric architecture.

GNOME is a free software project (also referred to as open source software) that is developing a complete, easy to use desktop for GNU/Linux, BSD and a variety of other UNIX and other operating systems. The GNOME desktop is used by millions of people around the world. More than 500 computer developers, including over 100 full-time, paid developers, contribute their time and effort to the project.

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. 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 world-wide community of volunteers. More information on GNOME is available at www.gnome.org

About BAUM Retec AG

As a leading European provider of products and services for the blind and visually impaired, BAUM Retec AG offers a wide range of electronic aids for educational, professional and private use. BAUM’s products want to help visually impaired customers to be more successful in their jobs and to have all the possibilities to access information. More information on BAUM Retec AG is available at www.baum.de

About Adaptive Technology Resource Centre (ATRC), University of Toronto

The ATRC advances barrier-free access to information technology by working directly with information technology manufacturers and developers to influence the early design stages of tomorrow’s computer based technology. The ATRC uses a user-centered design approach to model and create solutions that are commercially feasible, operationally effective, and inclusive of users with disabilities. The centre works closely with government and public sector partners to address accessibility issues. More information on Adaptive Technology Resource Centre, University of Toronto is available at www.utoronto.ca/atrc

About Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, Solaris, Java are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries. More information on Sun Microsystems, Inc. is available at www.sun.com

Cupertino, California — August 28, 2001 — GNOME Foundation today announced the early access release of the Gnome 2.0 Accessibility Framework. This framework paves the way for a new generation of applications that integrate with assistive technologies — enabling all users to access the GNOME desktop.

Sun’s contributions to the GNOME Accessibility Framework within the GNOME open source project further underscores Sun’s commitment to the delivery of an accessible desktop for the benefit of all users in the workplace. The GNOME Accessibility Framework includes a comprehensive toolkit and APIs that is comprised of the following two key components:

• An Accessibility Toolkit (ATK API) and associated implementation library integrated with the GTK+ 2.0 user interface toolkit that provides built-in accessibility support – enabling developers using GTK+ widgets to automatically build accessible applications
• An agnostic Assistive Technologies Service Provider Interface (AT SPI) toolkit for developers to interface technologies such as voice command, text-to-speech, screen readers, and screen magnifiers with GNOME accessible applications on any UNIX platform.

This built-in extensible accessibility framework provides the foundation for developers to write accessible applications from the ground up, provides built-in accessibility support for existing GNOME applications, and enables assistive technologies developers to adapt their enabling technologies to run on any UNIX platform.

“GNOME 2.0 will break down accessibility barriers” said Havoc Pennington, Chairman of the Board of Directors GNOME Foundation. Integrating the Accessibility Framework into the fabric of GTK+, will enable developers to easily write accessible applications”. “Because of the object- oriented structure of GTK+, it is easy for application developers to incorporate accessibility capabilities without having to change the architecture of their software” said Owen Taylor, Engineering Lead for GTK+ at Red Hat. “This will lead to more accessible applications being developed quickly for the benefit of the entire GNOME user community”.

“Our goal was to build accessibility into the initial design, giving the GNOME application developers uniformity across components by implementing one standard API, while at the same time providing extensibility” – said Robert O’Dea, Director of GNOME engineering at Sun Ireland. “Also, our design philosophy took into consideration the many graphical toolkits that could take advantage of the agnostic approach of the AT SPI toolkit — this strategy saves time by eliminating the need to reinvent accessibility for each platform. Developers can get started with the Accessibility Framework now. We have documentation and engineering support in place to help make the upcoming release of GNOME 2.0 Accessible by first customer ship. In addition, our Accessibility Lab is in place to help assistive technology developers to write to the AT SPI while leveraging available Sun hardware and software solutions”.

“Nobody builds a sidewalk without curb cuts we’re taking the same approach with software – making GNOME 2.0 accessible will open new doors for users with disabilities”, said Mike Rogers, Vice President of Webtop and Applications Software at Sun. “With the growing worldwide popularity of the GNOME desktop, it’s important that all users have the freedom to interact with this powerful user environment, using various assistive technologies to gain easy access to information and applications, as well as collaborate with team members”. “As use of GNOME spreads to more work environments, accessibility for employees with disabilities becomes increasingly important said Gregg C. Vanderheiden Ph.D. Director Trace R&D Center at the University of Wisconsin”. “SUNs leadership and efforts to ensure that GNOME is accessible is great news to both Solaris and Linux users who have disabilities”.

Availability:

The GNOME Accessibility Framework is available now, please visit:
http://developer.gnome.org/feature/current/

GNOME Accessibility project status and documentation, please visit:
http://projects.gnome.org/accessibility

Documentation:

API documentation:
http://library.gnome.org/devel/atk/stable/
http://projects.gnome.org/accessibility/talks/GTK-impl.html

Keyboard navigation documentation:
http://library.gnome.org/users/user-guide/nightly/keyboard-skills.html

About GNOME

Gnome is a unified, open and rich desktop that employs an intuitive and appealing user interface, includes a wealth of productivity applications, supports the latest industry standards and provides an innovative component-based architecture, all built on a powerful network-centric architecture.

GNOME is a free software project (also referred to as open source software) that is developing a complete, easy to use desktop for Linux (GNU/Linux), BSD and a variety of other Unix and Unix-like operating systems. The GNOME desktop is used by millions of people around the world. More than 500 computer developers, including over 100 full-time, paid developers, contribute their time and effort to the project.

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. 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 world-wide community of volunteers.

More information on GNOME is available at www.gnome.org

Well-known free software advocate and non-profit management expert joins the desktop software organization.

BOSTON, Mass. August 22, 2001 In a move that will take it to the next level, the GNOME Foundation, the organization driving the direction and development of GNOME desktop software for GNU/Linux, UNIX and other free software systems, has hired Timothy Ney as executive director. Mr. Ney is well known in the free software community for his past work with the Free Software Foundation, where he was the managing officer, and as a popular speaker and advocate.

“Timothy’s expertise will help bring the GNOME Foundation to full maturity as a force in the free software community.” said Havoc Pennington, GNOME Foundation board chair. “We welcome Tim to the GNOME Foundation.”

Mr. Ney has extensive experience in the growth and management of non-profit organizations. In his three years at the Free Software Foundation, he brought that organization from running an annual deficit to assets totaling more than $1 million. Mr. Ney has also served as Executive Director of the Independent Feature Project and was Director of Sponsorship and Loan Programs at the New York Foundation for the Arts. Additionally, he served as Director of Business Development for Baseline, the first online service for the entertainment industry.

“Timothy has always been a great resource for GNOME.” Miguel de Icaza, president of the GNOME Foundation and CTO and co-founder, Ximian, Inc. said. “We’re happy that he has chosen to join our organization and lend his talent to the growth of GNOME and the GNOME Foundation.”

GNOME is a free software project that is developing a complete, easy to use desktop for GNU/Linux (more commonly known as Linux), BSD and a variety of other Unix and Unix-like operating systems. The GNOME desktop is used by millions of people around the world. More than 500 computer developers, including over 100 full-time, paid developers, contribute their time and effort to the project.

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.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark–(BUSINESS WIRE)–April 2, 2001– Latest GNOME release offers something for everyone – from enhanced end-user capabilities to powerful development tools.

In a move that will take free software (also referred to as open source software) to a new level, the GNOME Foundation announced the release of GNOME 1.4. The release offers a stable, powerful and tightly integrated platform that features the most extensive documentation to date, making the help features very user-friendly. GNOME 1.4 includes Nautilus, the new graphical shell for GNOME that features advanced file and Internet browsing capabilities. Developers will find a set of new and updated tools, making GNOME the ideal programming platform.

“GNOME 1.4 has a wealth of new features, from an updated Sawfish window manager to enhanced support and interoperability with other desktop environments.” said Havoc Pennington, GNOME Foundation board chair. “This release represents a major leap forward in the GNOME desktop environment. Users will instantly see an improvement in the usability and power of components like Nautilus. Developers will enjoy the strategic advantages of improvements to the component architecture and streamlined tools for greater internationalization and localization of GNOME-based programs.”

New or enhanced features of the GNOME 1.4 desktop environment include:

• Nautilus – a new file manager and desktop environment that allows users to easily manage their files, browse the web and access web-based services through a sophisticated, customizable interface. For example, GNOME users can select any word in a text document and do a Google search on that term or look up the word in an online dictionary.
• Better support and interoperability with KDE and legacy X applications
• New Application Launch Feedback lets the user know when a program is in the process of being loaded.
• Sawfish window manager is now a standard part of GNOME. All aspects of the user interface are customizable through Sawfish, including complete configuration of the look and feel of the desktop.
• Easier to use and more intuitive help browser and help system, boasting extensive documentation covering all aspects of GNOME operations.
• GNOME Fifth Toe, a broad collection of applications that run on GNOME.
• Medusa, the new GNOME searching/indexing package. Medusa is a content and file indexing system that performs quick searches of a user’s hard drive.

“The goal of GNOME was to create a program that could be used by anyone.” Miguel de Icaza, president of the GNOME Foundation said. “GNOME 1.4 reaches that goal and more. The hundreds of volunteers and paid programmers who have worked on the project have created a program that is powerful, both for the user and the developer.” GNOME 1.4 will also include a number of enhancements for developers, including:

• GNOME-VFS – The GNOME Virtual File System provides an abstraction to common file system operations like reading, writing and copying files, listing directories and so on. GNOME-VFS is extensible and usable from any application on the GNOME desktop.
• Updated Bonobo Component Model – 1.4 will include developments in the interfaces that provide standard component programming and program interoperability in Linux and Unix.
• Xml-i18n-tools – a set of tools for better internationalization and localization of GNOME. Xml-i18n-tools contain some utility scripts for internationalizing various kinds of XML files. In addition, it has a merging feature, which will be extended to handle desktop and MIME files in the future.
• GConf, a sophisticated system for storing configuration information. It provides a notification service so applications can be notified when a configuration setting changes. changes. Gconf also allows for pluggable storage backends (text files, databases, etc.) and gives administrators control over default and mandatory settings.
• Enhanced Language Bindings – facilitating the use of GNOME from a number of programming languages. Language bindings included with GNOME 1.4 for Gtk+ include C, C++, Objective C, Ada, Perl, Python, Guile, TOM, Eiffel, Dylan, JavaScript, Pike, Pascal and Haskell. Many of these languages also have support for GNOME widgets available.
• Enhanced GNOME Display Manager – A re-implementation of the well-known xdm (X Display Manager) program that features X authentication, default and per-display initialization scripts, pre and post-session scripts, pluggable authentication modules and TCP wrappers for access control.

“Since the GNOME project is a free software project, we were able to incorporate advances from some of the most talented programmers in the world,” said Maciej Stachowiak, head of the 1.4 Release Team. “Hundreds of people from every part of the world contributed to this release. The result is a mature, stable, powerful and fun-to-use desktop, with the promise of a host of new killer applications, due to the programming enhancements.”

GNOME is a free software project that is developing a complete, easy to use desktop for GNU/Linux (more commonly known as Linux), BSD and a variety of other Unix and Unix-like operating systems. The GNOME desktop is used by millions of people around the world. More than 500 computer developers, including over 100 full-time, paid developers, contribute their time and effort to the project.

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.