“Trolltech announced yesterday that the next version of its Qt
software library will be released under the General Public License,
the mainstay of the open-source world that has produced Linux and
several other significant software packages.”
“The change means the KDE user interface, which is based on
Trolltech’s Qt, will now compete on a more equal technical basis
with the Gnome user interface, which is based on the GTK+
library. In a series of flame wars in recent years, debaters
have often focused on the legal underpinnings of the two user
interfaces.”
“It’s the second time Trolltech has moved toward the open-source
community’s preferences. In March 1999, Trolltech changed Qt’s
license to a new creation called the Q Public License. In remarks
posted at the open-source programmer site Freshmeat, Trolltech
programmers Eirik Eng and Matthias Ettrich wrote, “We want to give
a strong sign that we have never wanted to control the graphical
interface” of Unix or Linux.”