The third annual GNOME User and Developer European Conference (GUADEC) boasts program that includes top developers and Free/Open Source software luminaries.

BOSTON, Mass. – March 26, 2002 – The third annual GNOME User and Developer European Conference (GUADEC), will bring developers, GNOME Foundation leaders and individual, business and government GNOME users to Seville, Spain next month. The conference is a unique forum for highlighting the capabilities of GNOME, the user environment for desktops, networked servers and portable Internet devices. GUADEC will also feature meaningful discussions of the future direction of GNOME development.

“The GNOME Project has more than 700, mostly volunteer, developers worldwide,” said Timothy Ney, GNOME Foundation executive director. “GUADEC is a unique event that brings these talented individuals together to discuss and demonstrate their work and to build roadmaps for future development. The energy and enthusiasm they bring to GUADEC is tremendous.”

GUADEC is being held April 4-6, 2002 in the Escuela Superior de Ingenieros in Seville, Spain. The program boasts a stellar lineup of speakers, including Jon “Maddog” Hall of Linux International, Miguel de Icaza, GNOME Foundation president and CTO of Ximian, Inc. and Jim Gettys, Principle Member of Technical Staff, Cambridge Research Laboratory, Compaq Computer Corporation.

“Since the inception of the GNOME Project in 1997, thanks to the contributions of thousands of developers worldwide, GNOME has quickly matured as a computing environment,” said Miguel de Icaza, president of the GNOME Foundation and CTO and co-founder of Ximian, Inc. “In addition to the efforts of the developer community, strong corporate support has built up the momentum behind GNOME, helping make it the open source environment of choice for the corporate desktop. The development goals we discuss at GUADEC will pave the way for the development of even more powerful, scalable and stable desktop applications for Linux and UNIX users.

GNOME is a free software project that is developing a complete, easy to use desktop for GNU/Linux (more commonly known as Linux), BSD, Solaris, HP-UX and a variety of other Unix and Unix-like operating systems. The GNOME desktop is used by millions of people around the world. More than 700 computer developers, including over 100 full-time, paid developers, contribute their time and effort to the project.

About GUADEC

The GNOME User and Developer Europe Conference (GUADEC) is an annual gathering of GNOME developers, enthusiasts and individual, business and government users worldwide. It provides a forum for members of the GNOME project to showcase their work and to discuss the future of GNOME development. Housed in a different European country each year, GUADEC is a catalyst for the future development and direction of GNOME. Sponsors for GUADEC 2002 include Hewlett-Packard Company, Ximian, Inc. Isotrol and the Open Source Development Network.

About the GNOME Foundation

Comprised of hundreds of volunteer developers and industry-leading companies, the GNOME Foundation is an organization committed to supporting the advancement of GNOME. The Foundation provides organizational, financial and legal support to the GNOME project and helps determine its vision and roadmap. GNOME is an entirely free user environment for desktops, networked servers and portable Internet devices. The modern architecture and design of GNOME includes a technically advanced application development platform and a powerful end-user desktop environment. Major leading software industry and computer manufacturers support the GNOME development effort, which is led by a worldwide community of volunteers. More information on GNOME is available at www.gnome.org.