LinuxPower: Talking with John Heard of Sun about GNOME | Linux Today

LinuxPower: Talking with John Heard of Sun about GNOME

Written By
Web Webster
Web Webster
Jan 29, 2001

[ Thanks to Christian
Schaller
for this link. ]

“What expectations and hopes do Sun have for GNOME?”

“John Heard: Sun’s expectations for GNOME are based upon the
goals which we would like to see achieved. The primary goal is to
deliver and establish a single open and free GNOME User Environment
which is easy to use and available across a broad range of
products, including desktops and network appliances. We expect
GNOME to deliver a significant step in advancing the Unix operating
system, already the soul of the networked world, as the platform of
choice for people to easily create and use networked applications
and services. We know that by delivering GNOME on Solaris as a
fully integrated system, and thus expanding the open systems basis
upon which creative people in the GNOME and many other communities
can collaberate, we will see exciting innovations in return.”

“Sun recently announced an agreement with Eazel, how important
was Eazel’s high profile involvement with GNOME, for Sun’s decision
to join the GNOME Foundation and support the development of GNOME
in such a extensive way?

“John Heard: We were attracted to the depth of talent and
experience which existed within the GNOME community. Companies such
as Eazel, Ximian (previously Helix Code), and Red Hat indicated to
us the growing significance of GNOME. The many notable individuals
within these companies and throughout the GNOME community gave us
the confidence that GNOME as a technology was in good hands.
Finally, the steps that were being taken by the GNOME community
towards the creation of the GNOME Foundation, was a clear sign to
Sun that GNOME was about to become a community in which the open
source movement and open systems corporations would co-evolve and
collaberate.”

Complete
Story

Web Webster

Web Webster

Web Webster has more than 20 years of writing and editorial experience in the tech sector. He’s written and edited news, demand generation, user-focused, and thought leadership content for business software solutions, consumer tech, and Linux Today, he edits and writes for a portfolio of tech industry news and analysis websites including webopedia.com, and DatabaseJournal.com.

Linux Today Logo

LinuxToday is a trusted, contributor-driven news resource supporting all types of Linux users. Our thriving international community engages with us through social media and frequent content contributions aimed at solving problems ranging from personal computing to enterprise-level IT operations. LinuxToday serves as a home for a community that struggles to find comparable information elsewhere on the web.

Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2026 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.