Portland Project Releases Unified Interface for Desktop Graphical
Environments, Included in Major Linux Community Distributions
BEAVERTON, Ore., Oct. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Open Source Development Labs
(OSDL), the global consortium dedicated to accelerating the adoption of
Linux(R) and open source software, and freedesktop.org, the open source
project focused on interoperability and shared technology for X Window
System desktops, today announced the general availability of Portland 1.0.
The software is available for download at
http://portland.freedesktop.org/wiki/ .
The highly anticipated general release of Portland 1.0, the first set
of common interfaces for GNOME and KDE desktop environments, today is
available in major community distributions including Debian, Fedora and
OpenSUSE. Red Flag and Xandros have committed to including Portland 1.0 in
their next releases and others are expected to follow. Trolltech's Qt 4.2,
the primary KDE application framework, is also using Portland 1.0 to
provide developers with tighter integration with the GNOME desktop
environment.
"For the first time, ISVs are able to port their applications to Linux
regardless of desktop environment. This release gives ISVs the opportunity
to increase their customer base and for users to gain access to new
applications," said Stuart Cohen, CEO of OSDL. "Portland is a success story
for vendors, developers and users alike -- it's a perfect example of how a
common need, combined with a distinct community interest, produces
collaboration and increased adoption of technology."
"Portland 1.0 opens the way to the creation of a rich Linux application
infrastructure that will address the diverse needs of our business
clients," said Andreas Typaldos, Xandros CEO. "We will see an accelerated
rollout of real-world Linux solutions since third party software developers
can now integrate their applications regardless of the desktop deployed."
Portland 1.0 includes a set of command line tools designed to help
Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) install and integrate their
applications in the major Linux desktop environments. The programming
interfaces, built to specifications established by freedesktop.org, provide
developers with an easy method for executing the most common installation
and integration tasks. For a full list of Portland 1.0 features, please
visit http://portland.freedesktop.org/wiki/ .
"Compatibility for educational applications and other free software
projects across graphical desktop environments is critical, especially as
we customize menus to include applications from other products. This makes
the job OSDL is doing with the Portland Project so important for the
community," said Agustin Benito, development coordinator for mEDUXa, the
educational Linux distribution of the Canary Islands Government.
The Portland Project was born from the first OSDL Desktop Architects
Meeting in December 2005. A Portland preview was made available in April
2006 and beta versions were released throughout the summer. The Portland
Project is expected to be included in the Linux Standard Base, the industry
standard for interoperability between applications and the Linux platform.
OSDL's industry-wide initiatives bring Linux ecosystem participants
together to identify challenges and execute collective solutions. OSDL has
a track record of success with its initiatives and today sponsors four
technical working groups: Desktop Linux, Carrier Grade Linux, Mobile Linux
and Data Center Linux. The Labs also sponsor legal initiatives including
the Patent Commons Project and, in partnership with the United States
Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the Open Source as Prior Art (OSAPA)
initiative.
About freedesktop.org
freedesktop.org was formed in March 2000 to encourage cooperation among
open source desktops for the X Window System. An X desktop is a graphical
environment designed to give a technologically advanced, user-friendly face
to the X Window System running on UNIX-like operating systems. Most X
desktops also provide a development infrastructure for writing applications
that integrate well with the desktop.
About Open Source Development Labs (OSDL)
OSDL -- sponsor of Linus Torvalds, the creator of the Linux kernel, and
other key developers -- is dedicated to accelerating the growth and
adoption of Linux-based operating systems in the enterprise. Founded in
2000 and supported by a global consortium of major Linux customers and IT
industry leaders, OSDL is a nonprofit organization that provides
state-of-the-art computing and test facilities to developers around the
world. With offices in China, Japan and the United States, OSDL sponsors
legal and development projects to advance open source software as well as
initiatives for Linux systems in telecommunications, in the data center and
on enterprise desktops. Visit OSDL on the Web at: http://www.osdl.org/ .
NOTE: OSDL is a trademark of Open Source Development Labs, Inc. Linux is
a trademark of Linus Torvalds. Third party marks and brands are the property
of their respective holders.
Editorial Contacts:
Jennifer Cloer for OSDL Mike Maney for OSDL
Page One PR Page One PR
503.547.9451 215.345.7096
jennifer@pageonepr.com mike@pageonepr.com
SOURCE Open Source Development Labs
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Related links:
http://freedesktop.org
http://www.osdl.org
CONTACT:
Jennifer Cloer, +1-503-547-9451, or
jennifer@pageonepr.com, or Mike Maney, +1-215-345-7096, or
mike@pageonepr.com, both of Page One PR for OSDL
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