[fdn-ann] ZDnet on GNOME

["Cecile Roux" <croux chenpr com>]

http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2615142,00.html


Linux make a run at Windows on the desktop? Some computer heavyweights will 
give it a try.

By Mary Jo Foley, ZDNet News August 14, 2000 11:45 AM PT

A high-profile group of companies is expected to back the GNOME Linux 
interface as a serious competitor to Windows on desktop systems.

But if history is a guide, even the support of companies including Sun 
Microsystems Inc., Compaq Computer Corp. and IBM Corp. might not be enough 
to make a significant dent in the Windows world.

GNOME (GNU Network Object Model Environment) is in a battle with KDE (K 
Desktop Environment) for dominance among Linux desktop interfaces, both 
aiming to make the underlying operating system more user-friendly.

GNOME (pronounced Guh NOME) already has momentum behind it. It is bundled 
with just about every major Linux distribution, as well as with some Unix 
flavors, including Berkeley Standard Distribution (BSD). And some 
open-source software developers also use GNOME as a software-development 
framework.

This week, according to a report published in The New York Times, a number 
of top computer hardware vendors are going to throw their weight behind 
GNOME as well.

Among the companies slated to announce their support for GNOME at a press 
conference Tuesday at LinuxWorld in San Jose, Calif., are Compaq, 
Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM and Sun. The group will call itself the GNOME 
Foundation.