Press releases

["Corey Burger" <corey burger gmail com>]

Hello all,

We currently have two press releases, from myself and Claus. I have
attached both. The key difference between the two is length. Mine is
fashioned on the 2.12 press release, as well as looking at a few other
non-gnome ones. They tend to be short, with very few actual details.
Claus' is longer, with more detail. My inclination is to lead towards
shorter and push people to the excellent release notes if they want
more in depth information.

Thoughts?

The GNOME Project is please to announce the release of the latest
version of the GNOME Desktop and Developer Platform, the leading
desktop for Linux and Unix operating systems. Version 2.14 improves
the usability, power and performance of GNOME in response to user
feedback and developer contributions, and includes thousands of
changes to refine the easiest and friendliest free software desktop.

Some the key new features:

 * 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, a VOIP client which can now talk SIP, used by Google Talk,
Asterisk and others. Ekiga was formerly known as GnomeMeeting
 * The ability to switch users quickly, without logging off
 * Even easier configuration
 * Performance work, making your desktop even snappier.

For more detailed information about the great new features of GNOME
2.14, please see the 2.14 release notes at
http://www.gnome.org/start/2.14/notes/C/index.html

To get GNOME 2.14 for your favourite flavour of Linux, BSD, Solaris or
Unix, please see our Getting Footware page at
http://www.gnome.org/~davyd/footware.shtml

GNOME 2.14 Released

New version introduces new administration suite and improves performance.

BOSTON, Mass - September 7, 2005 - The GNOME Project today released the latest version of the popular GNOME Desktop and Developer Platform. With a new administration suite, system-wide performance improvements, better search capabilities, a brand-new Voice-over-IP softphone, and numerous other enhancements, GNOME 2.14 finishes another half year development schedule.

The new administration suite, initially consisting of two new packages called Pessulus and Sabayon, satiesfies the need of business system administrators to control and configure corporate, and institutional deployments: Pessulus allows administrators to disable certain features of the GNOME desktop, useful in corporate environments, Internet cafés, and schools. Sabayon allows administrators to set up generic, role-based  user profiles to simply set up and configure new user accounts.

The new release also includes several changes to improve system performance. Among them, the new memory allocator, called GSlice, will make the desktop more responsive and faster. 

<insert answer on the question: Do you feel the performance improvements are sufficient, or can GNOME users expect the work to continue here ? >

Performance improvements will also originate from the inclusion of the latest release of the GStreamer Multimedia Framework in GNOME 2.14, removing several issues on multi-processor systems and improving stability and playback support.

GNOME 2.14 also includes Ekiga, the new version of GNOME's softphone client formally know 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.

<insert statement from Ekiga's maintainer to the question: "Ekiga is a fine software. What do you do to make it even easier for users to use it? What are the plans for the future?">

GNOME 2.14 also integrates better search capabilities all over the desktop. In its core desktop module, the file manager Nautilus, searching gets as simple as in the Firefox Internet browser: A small window appears inside to enter expressions.

Additionally, a new so-called Deskbar will integrate into the desktop panel. 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 make launch desktop applications related to a word or phrase, and its functionality is extensible by plugins. Searching is now also possible in GNOME integrated help viewer.

Other improvements include a new integrated screensaver, fast user switching, network saving and a plugin mechanism for the default editor, advanced functions for desktop windows, shared calendering, smarter bookmarking, and redesigned interface for configuring preferred applications and sound preferences.

<insert statement from the release manager to the question: "It's probably a lot of work to get the release out. What went wrong, and how do you feel now after the release?">

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 install the GNOME 2.14 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 2.14 desktop interface and a complete set of developer tools and libraries.


About GNOME

GNOME is a free-software project 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.

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 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.

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