Group Looks To Tighten Linux Desktop StandardsGroup Looks To Tighten Linux Desktop Standards

The Free Standards Group, which develops open standards for Linux, launched on Tuesday an effort to develop technology that, if adopted, would make it easer to build applications that run across a wider variety of desktop versions of the open-source operating system.

The work would be conducted inside the FSB's Linux Standard Base workgroup, which has formed the LSB Desktop Project. Companies committed to participating include Adobe Systems Inc., IBM, Intel Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., Linspire Inc., Mandriva, Novell Inc., RealNetworks Inc., Red Hat Inc., Trolltech and Xandros Inc., organizers said. All the companies have agreed to donate time and resources.

The initial goal of the project is to develop common libraries and standard technology for core packaging specifications that address desktop-specific software installation. A library is a set of ready-made software functions that are linked into a program when it is compiled.

Because Linux desktop vendors do not follow standards aimed at software built to run on the OSes, independent software vendors are forced to write separate applications for each desktop system. This fragmentation has discouraged the writing of software for the open-source competitor of Microsoft Windows, which dominates the market.

"What our standards will do is enable desktop application vendors to easily target the Linux ecosystem, not just a single vendor, to make sure they run across all the different distributions," Jim Zemlin, executive director of the FSB, said in an interview from China. Zemlin is working with the Chinese government, which is encouraging local developers to adopt open-source technology as a way to foster a homegrown technology industry.

Despite the promise of interoperability, Dan Kusnetzky, analyst for International Data Corp., said more is needed to increase the use of Linux on the desktop.

"Standards are an important foundation for the acceleration of the adoption of any type of software," Kusnetzky said. "This, all by itself, will not be sufficient, however, to speed the adoption of Linux as a desktop platform.

"A strong portfolio of applications, applications that are compatible with the way people work today, is another very important component."

Because of a lack of applications in comparison to the amount of software for Windows, use of Linux on the desktop remains low. Linux is expected to account for 3 percent of paid, or revenue producing shipments, of client operating systems this year, according to IDC. That number is expected to increase to between 5 percent and 6 percent in 2008.

Nevertheless, Zemlin was optimistic, saying the combination of open-source development of Linux and standards for interoperability would eventually lead to a strong market for applications.

"This is an unstoppable force globally," Zemlin said of the adopt of open source technology and standards.