Open Source Development Labs (OSDL), the global consortium dedicated to accelerating the adoption of Linux 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.
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. The release of Portland 1.0 is expected to accelerate adoption of Linux on the desktop, contributing to what analyst firm IDC reports will be a $10 billion market by 2008.
''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 freedesktop.org.
''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 the Open Source Development Lab
OSDL - sponsor of Linus Torvalds, the creator of the Linux kernel - 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 available to developers around the world. With offices in China, Europe, 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/.