Desktop boost for Linux on the horizon

An open source developer has launched a software package which it claims will make Linux on the desktop easier to use.

Ximian said that its Version 1.0 Evolution software, scheduled for launch next month, will integrate email, calendars, meeting scheduling, contact management and online task lists in one application.

The collaboration software connects Linux and Unix users to corporate communications architectures by supporting standard communications and data interchange standards. For example, Ximian Evolution is compatible with SMTP, POP and IMAP. It can also import mailboxes created with Netscape, Outlook Express, Eudora and other email managers.

The company recently announced its first packaged software product, called Ximian Desktop, which includes a suite of applications and a graphical user interface (GUI) for Linux PCs.

A preview version of Evolution, along with the Mozilla web browser, office productivity applications, the latest version of the Ximian GNU Network Object Model Environment GUI, open source spreadsheet and image editing software will be included in the standard edition of the desktop product.

The professional version adds StarOffice, the open source desktop software suite from Sun Microsystems.

Nat Friedman, co-founder and vice president of product development at Ximian, said that Desktop will drive adoption of the Linux desktop, especially in corporate environments. "We have worked to carefully select, integrate and polish applications from hundreds of open source developers worldwide," he explained.

Ximian also recently launched a project aimed at creating a Linux-based version of Microsoft's .Net. The Mono project is designed to give developers open source tools for developing .Net applications and XML-based web services that run on both Linux and Windows.