XFree86 Joins X.Org as an Honorary Member; Ensures the Interoperability of Linux and the X Window System.

MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 23, 1999--

X.Org, an organization of The Open Group, announces today that it has signed an agreement whereby XFree86 will become an Honorary Member of X.Org and receive a voting seat on the Executive Board of X.Org. Together, X.Org and XFree86 will ensure the future of the X Window System technical standard and co-develop the Sample Implementation (SI). The SI is the current and adopted version of the X Standard, which is X11R6.4. XFree86 gains a clear voice in the stewardship of the X Window System standard.

This agreement establishes direct contact between X.Org and XFree86, the leading X Server provider in the Open Source Software market. With the success and popularity of the Linux operating system, this brings a vital and unprecedented market dimension to the standards body. X.Org and XFree86 will work together to ensure that future development of the X Window System SI will meet the requirements of both the Open Source Software and commercial markets. XFree86 has been working closely on the upcoming release (XFree86 4.0) with many of the leading Linux vendors such as Red Hat, Caldera and SuSE. This cooperative agreement will enhance the ability of the two groups to effectively service the needs of over 30 million X users worldwide.

"We are excited to have XFree86 as part of X.Org," says Gary Tyreman, Chairman of X.Org. "XFree86 possesses considerable engineering talent, innovation and energy that X.Org is well positioned to leverage. This cooperation will certainly benefit all users of the X Window System, especially ISVs looking to capitalize on the Linux open source software market."

"We are pleased to join X.Org," said Dirk Hohndel, Vice President of the XFree86 Project, Inc. "XFree86 has long been a cornerstone of the Open Source movement and our participation in X.Org will give the Open Source community a voice in the ongoing evolution in the X Window System standard. We look forward to continuing our work within the framework of X.Org."

"I am very happy that XFree86 has joined X.Org. It brings together two great development teams to allow for the exchange of ideas and continued interoperability in the X Window System arena," said Jon "maddog" Hall, Executive Director of Linux International.

About The XFree86 Project, Inc.

The XFree86 Project, Inc. is a non-profit corporation of the state of Texas, USA. The primary charter is to design, implement, and distribute, as free software, an implementation of the X Window System. The software implements the X Window System specifications for many implementations of the UNIX(R) operating system. All products of The XFree86 Project, Inc., are freely available, and freely re-distributable. Major supporters of XFree86 include Compaq Computer Corporation, Metro Link, Red Hat Software, S.u.S.E. GmbH, and many others.

About The X Window System

The X Window System provides the only common windowing environment bridging the heterogeneous platforms in today's enterprise computing. The X Window System is one of the most successful open source, collaborative technologies developed to date and is the de facto standard graphical engine for the UNIX and Linux operating systems. The inherent independence of the X Window System from the operating system and hardware has made it widely available and deployed with over 20 million users worldwide. All major hardware vendors support the X Window System and many third parties provide technologies for integrating X Window System applications into the network computer or personal computer environment including DOS, Windows, Windows 9x, Windows NT and Linux. Further, thousands of software developers provide X Window System applications, and with the emergence of Linux, the number of users is growing exponentially.

About X.Org

X.Org is a non-profit organization, chartered to develop and execute effective strategies which provide world-wide stewardship of the X Window System technology and standards through funding by some of the leading computing companies in the world -- including Compaq Computer Corporation (NYSE: "CPQ"), Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: "HWP"), Hummingbird Communications Ltd. (NASDAQ: "HUMCF"), International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: "IBM"), SGI (NYSE: "SGI") and Sun Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ 100: "SUNW"). The current X.Org release of the X Window System is X11R6.4 and is available immediately for download at http://www.X.Org.

Note to editors: UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the US and other countries. XFree86(TM) is pending trademark registration by The XFree86 Project, Inc. Copyright (C) 1994-1999, The XFree86 Project, Inc., All rights reserved. LINUX is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. All company names are trademarks of the registered owners.