As Microsoft focuses on merging its Web browser and operating system software, open-source competitors are mulling a proposal to join forces and beat the software giant to the punch.
Representatives from two open-source foundations, Mozilla and Gnome, met last week to consider a joint course of action aimed at keeping their respective Web and desktop software products relevant once Microsoft releases the next major overhaul of its Windows operating system, known as Longhorn.Microsoft now has "a single team for Web and native desktop rendering," noted one participant, according to meeting minutes posted on the Gnome Web site. "Gnome and Mozilla need to align to counter this."
Mozilla is an open-source browser development project. Gnome, which stands for GNU Network Object Model Environment, is an open-source user interface for use with Linux and other Unix systems. The April 21 meeting, attended by veteran Mozilla and Gnome organizers including JavaScript inventor Brendan Eich and Ximian co-founder Nat Friedman, is but one manifestation of the open-source community"s Longhorn jitters. Microsoft has promised that Longhorn will fuse Web browsing and desktop computing to an unprecedented degree.