[ale] Re: X Consortium to Transfer X Window System to The Open Group

[Dan Newcombe]

Blech!  Anyway - FYI

In comp.windows.x.announce, rws at x.org (Bob Scheifler) wrote:

>[Apologies, a misunderstanding on my part prevented this from being
>posted yesterday. -rws]

>For Immediate Release

>Contact:
>Paul Lavallee
>Director of Marketing,
>X Consortium, Inc.
>pcl at x.org, 617-374-1012

>     X Consortium to Transfer X Window System(tm) to The Open Group

>Cambridge, Massachusetts - July 1, 1996 - X Consortium, Inc. today
>announced that it would transfer responsibility for the X Window System
>to The Open Group at the beginning of next year. "X is now mainstream
>technology, and since the first commercial release in 1986 it has
>matured to the point where a dedicated consortium is no longer essential
>to its on-going support," explains Robert W. Scheifler, president of the
>X Consortium. "Our industry will benefit greatly by continuing and
>accelerating the convergence of X, Motif and the Common Desktop
>Environment (CDE) into a unified technology stack. This is already well
>underway with the current CDE-Motif PST project, operating under the
>auspices of The Open Group, an organization that is well positioned to
>take this technology into the future."  The Open Group will continue
>their existing work of publishing, testing and branding products which
>conform to international standards, including X.

>"As a long standing partner with the X Consortium in the Open Systems
>industry, The Open Group supports this decision. On a personal note, I
>want to add that the computer industry owes an enormous debt of
>gratitude to Bob Scheifler and the X Consortium for the service they
>have provided for the last eight years," commented Jim Bell, CEO of The
>Open Group. "Their very positive impact on our industry will continue to
>be felt for years to come."

>As part of this change, X Consortium plans to wind down all engineering
>operations at the end of this year. "I have made a commitment to our
>members, and to the sponsors of the CDE-Motif project, to oversee the
>entire transition process from now until our current engineering
>projects are finished and the hand-off is complete," said Scheifler. The
>X Consortium will work with its members and The Open Group to determine
>whether the organization should continue on in some reduced fashion.

>Broadway, the code name for the next release of the X Window System,
>will be completed as planned by the end of the year, and will be made
>freely available to the public under the same terms as previous X
>Consortium releases.  Broadway enables interactive UNIX and Windows
>applications to be integrated, unmodified, into HTML documents and
>published on World Wide Web servers, using plug-in technology, and
>includes network protocols for graphics and audio to provide remote
>access to those applications from inside Web browsers. The Broadway
>release is expected to be available from current sources, including
>worldwide ftp sites and CDROM distributors.

>The X Consortium will fulfill its obligations as prime contractor in The
>Open Group's Pre-Structured Technology (PST) project developing the next
>release of CDE and Motif. "The plan has always been to complete both the
>CDE-Motif project and Broadway by the end of this year," says Jim
>Fournier, Director of Engineering. "We are confident in our ability to
>deliver as planned."

>About the X Consortium

>Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, X Consortium, Inc. is a
>not-for-profit industry consortium developing user interface standards
>and graphics technology with over sixty members worldwide. Founded in
>1993 as successor to the MIT X Consortium, the X Consortium enhances and
>maintains the X Window System. In 1995, the X Consortium was named prime
>contractor for development of the next release of CDE and Motif.


>X Window System is a trademark of X Consortium, Inc.
>Motif is a registered trademark of the Open Software Foundation, Inc.
>The Open Group is a trademark of the Open Software Foundation, Inc. and
>X/Open Company Ltd.  
>All other trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.