Linux is ready to move onto the desktop and challenge
Microsoft’s dominance, according to open source developer Miguel de
Icaza.
In an exclusive interview with Silicon.com, broadcast today, de
Icaza explains that he wants to put free software onto everyone’s
desktop.
De Icaza is the coordinator of Gnome, a graphical user interface
(GUI) project for Linux systems. He’s been working on the GUI for
nearly two years, along with a community of 288 developers around
the world.
“It’s going to enable people to use free systems on their
desktops,” he said. “So people like secretaries, kids, mothers, we
want them to use free software instead of proprietary
software.”
Gnome is designed to look and feel very much like Windows –
since that’s what users are familiar with. The project doesn’t have
enough money to engage in costly market research which could modify
the idea of the user interface. So instead the group is drawing on
what’s on the desktop already.
“I think that the first release of Gnome, which is the basic
desktop, is pretty much what a Windows system would do or a
Macintosh system would do at the very beginning,” explained de
Icaza. “The basic thing is that we’re providing is a number of
freedoms to the user. You get the freedom to copy the program. We
give you the source code which means you can actually modify the
code, and we give you the permission to do so. You can redistribute
modified versions of the code to your employees or sister
organisations.”
Simon Earthrawl, of the UK Unix Users Group, said Gnome was
important, but still needed time. “At the moment, the whole
development of Gnome is embryonic and it needs a
cross-fertilisation of ideas,” he said. “Linux is growing up,
everyone is arguing and trying to establish which interface is
better, because Linux needs stability and it needs to be more
business-friendly. This is helping it mature.”
Sarah Left Desktop Strategies Enterprise OS Java/Developer Julian Goldsmith Deputy News Editor NMTV Direct Line 0171 761 8210 Fax 0171 761 8008 Email: jgoldsmith@nmtv.net URL: http://www.silicon.com