NEWS BRIEFS

Sunnyvale, CA — VA Linux Systems, Inc., a provider of Linux and Open Source solutions for the Web, announced that SourceForge, a large Open Source development center, now hosts over 6,000 software projects and 40,000 registered users, at a current growth rate of 23 percent per month.

Since its official launch on January 4, 2000, SourceForge (sourceforge.net) has offered programming, project management and communication tools at no cost to Open Source developers, and serves as a central resource and repository for Open Source software.

Other recent developments on SourceForge include the availability of the most up-to-date changes to XFree86, the graphical engine for Linux and UNIX; hosting development of MySQL, the popular Open Source database; and new features such as a project document manager.

The XFree86 Project, producers of XFree86 – the graphical framework used by most user interfaces for Linux and UNIX – has made its development source tree available via SourceForge. Users now have access to the most up-to-date enhancements and bug fixes for XFree86. The XFree86 Project released the long-awaited 4.0 version in March 2000, followed by the release of version 4.0.1 in early July. For information on how to access the XFree86 CVS repository, see http://www.xfree86.org .

“By moving the public XFree86 CVS repository to SourceForge, we’re making it possible for anyone to download, track and contribute to XFree86 development as it progresses,” said David Dawes, president of The XFree86 Project. “This live access to XFree86 development is enabling a broader community of developers and users to test the software earlier and more often, resulting in faster bug fixes and accelerated development. It’s been a pleasure working with the SourceForge Team to make this happen.”

As announced on June 28, MySQL, a leading Linux database, recently moved development to SourceForge after re-licensing its database software under the GNU General Public License (GPL), as part of a broader strategic alliance with VA Linux Systems. The MySQL database is popular for its speed and extensive support by many Open Source applications, including Apache and PHP.

“SourceForge has strengthened our worldwide mirroring system for distribution of the latest MySQL releases. In addition, we have already begun work on porting MySQL to IA-64 Linux by using SourceForge’s Intel Itanium processor prototype compile farm,” said Monty Widenius, project leader on MySQL. “Through SourceForge, we hope to encourage more developers to contribute to MySQL and support the new IA-64 architecture from Day One.”

The SourceForge DocManager gives project administrators an easy way to solicit and manage documentation contributed by members of their development teams or the broader Open Source community – all in a central location. During its first week of availability, over 60 projects have made use of the DocManager.

“We are extremely pleased with the continued success and growth of SourceForge,” said John T. Hall, vice president, VA Linux Systems. “SourceForge demonstrates not only VA Linux Systems’ understanding and support of the Open Source community, but also its ability to design, implement and manage large-scale ASP infrastructures.”

VA Linux Systems is an expert provider of Linux and Open Source solutions for the Web. Founded in 1993, VA Linux provides a single point of contact for optimized Linux servers, Open Source software, and world-class professional services and support. VA Linux is located on the Web at www.valinux.com.

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