| Linux Lab zeroes in on Desktop Linux standardization |
Feb. 14, 2005
The Open Source Development Labs (OSDL), employer of Linux development heavyweights Linus Torvalds and Andrew Morton, today released a document that defines goals for making the Linux desktop succeed in the enterprise. The document was published by the OSDL's Desktop Linux Working Group, which launched one year ago.
Despite the widely acknowledged success of Linux in the server and embedded markets, its success as a desktop operating system has remained limited to less than five percent market share, by most estimates, and a lack of standardization has frequently been faulted. The OSDL therefore plans to increase Linux's success on desktops by rallying community and corporate resources around a Desktop Linux standardization effort.
OSDL chief technology officer Tim Witham, said, "OSDL is committed to accelerating use of Linux on desktop computers in the enterprise. We're fostering an open forum where IT vendors, IT managers, and the Linux development community can discuss and define the capabilities required in future Linux desktops. We invite the Linux community and the rest of the industry to participate."
About the document
The OSDL says its member companies developed the Desktop Linux Capabilities document following a review of the requirements of enterprise desktop users.
The document focuses on the needs of four types of desktop Linux users: basic office, transaction worker, technical workstation, and fixed function. Additionally, the document groups Desktop Linux capabilities into eight application layers: hardware support, operating system services, application services, system security, network services, browser, installer, and accessibility.
On its website, the OSDL describes the Desktop Linux Capabilities document as follows:
The OSDL DTL Working Group captures, discusses, publishes and develops Linux capabilities required by demanding, enterprise-class desktop applications. The ultimate goal is to accelerate the use of Linux on enterprise desktops. The DTL Capabilities document is the work of current OSDL member companies and interested individuals.
Together with industry leaders, Independent Software Vendors and end-users, the DTL group identifies Linux capabilities required to address a range of enterprise desktop usage models. Each of the capabilities listed within this document has been analyzed for applicability to these Desktop Linux models.
The purpose of this document is to provide an external snapshot of the work in progress to allow feedback from interested parties. When complete these capability descriptions will be used to evaluate the actual state of the Linux desktop. Gaps and difficiencies will be documented and expressed as use cases which can be used as reference for open source development projects to come up with solutions.
This document is neccessarily forward looking and describes capabilities which are not present, or may not fully developped on any current system. For this reason this document should not be regarded as any form of desktop specification which can be used to evaluate a current desktop implementation.
The focus the OSDL's Desktop Linux initiative
The OSDL defines its Desktop Linux project as follows:
Desktop Linux is a version of Linux tailored for use as an interactive system for individual use. Usage ranges from a system dedicated to a single task, such as a point of sale terminal to a general purpose desktop system such as is typically found on a home PC. This initiative looks at a very specific sub-set of this wide range, the desktop systems most commonly in use in the enterprise.
J. Craig Manning, Cisco's senior manager for IT, and chair of the OSDL Desktop Linux Working Group's steering committee, said, "The OSDL Desktop Linux Working Group found that Linux operating system adoption in the enterprise is directly tied to the number of ISV [independent software vendor] applications available for Linux. We are releasing the first version of the capabilities document to support an open process to solicit feedback on capabilities which we will incorporate into our future work."
Joe Menard, AMD's corporate vice president for Software Strategy and Alliances, added, "In keeping with our customer-centric approach, AMD supports the Desktop Linux Capabilities document and encourages our enterprise Linux customers and ISV partners to review the document and provide feedback," said "We will continue support of OSDL and the open source community in their efforts to develop software solutions that meet the needs of the enterprise."
Alan Nugent, Novell's chief technology officer, added, "Novell's support for the OSDL Desktop Linux working group effort further demonstrates our focus on the needs of enterprise customers who are increasingly looking at Linux as a viable desktop choice. We will continue to work closely with the Linux community as the Linux desktop matures."
Michael Evans, Red Hat's vice president of partner development, added, "We are seeing widespread worldwide demand for Linux based desktop and client systems. We believe efforts like OSDL DTL that can help gather end user and market input for capabilities in future Desktop Linux versions can be very helpful to the overall market."
About the OSDL
Founded in 2000 the OSDL describes itself as "a non-profit organization supported by a global consortium of more than 60 of the world's largest Linux customers and IT industry leaders." The OSDL curretnly sponsors industry-wide initiatives around Linux in telecommunications, in the enterprise data center, and on corporate desktops. The Lab also provides Linux expertise and computing and test facilities in the United States and Japan available to developers around the world.
The version 1.0 of the OSDL's Desktop Linux Capabilities document is now available for free download from the OSDL, here (PDF file). Further details on the OSDL's Desktop Linux Working Group initiative are available here.
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