Ximian

Ximian was an American open-source software company established in 1999 by Miguel de Icaza and Nat Friedman. The company emerged from the early GNOME community and sought to turn Linux and Unix desktop software into a more coherent, supportable option for businesses and individual users. Its business model combined freely available open-source projects with proprietary extensions, integration work, support, subscriptions, and commercially packaged software. The company was initially founded under the name International GNOME Support on 19 October 1999. It was later renamed Helix Code and then changed its name to Ximian on 10 January 2001 after trademark concerns made the Helix Code name unsuitable. The business focused on improving the usability and consistency of GNOME and related open-source applications rather than simply distributing unmodified community software. It became one of the most visible commercial participants in the early Linux desktop ecosystem. Ximian's best-known offering was Ximian Desktop, an integrated collection of applications and desktop components intended to give business users a more polished working environment. The company maintained or enhanced versions of GNOME, OpenOffice.org, and Gaim, while also creating or commercializing products including Evolution, Ximian Connector, Red Carpet, Bonobo, and Mono. Evolution provided an integrated email, calendar, contacts, and groupware client. Ximian Connector extended Evolution's usefulness in organizations using Microsoft Exchange. Red Carpet was a software-management and update service, while Mono was a cross-platform implementation of Microsoft's .NET development environment and became one of the company's most strategically important projects. Ximian also participated in the institutional development of the GNOME ecosystem. It was a founding member of the GNOME Foundation and the Desktop Linux Consortium, helping promote GNOME and Linux as viable platforms beyond hobbyist and server markets. Under Nat Friedman, who served as chief executive from the company's foundation until 2001, Ximian developed its initial commercial identity. David Patrick subsequently became chief executive and president, while Friedman moved into product management. Novell acquired Ximian on 4 August 2003 as part of a broader effort to strengthen its enterprise Linux strategy. Novell continued developing Ximian's products and incorporated them into a larger portfolio that also included GroupWise and ZENworks. After the acquisition, Ximian no longer operated as an independent company, although its technologies and personnel continued to influence Novell's Linux and open-source work. The Ximian brand ultimately ceased to function as a standalone operating company. In 2011, following The Attachmate Group's acquisition of Novell, Attachmate laid off the United States-based Mono team. Miguel de Icaza and Nat Friedman subsequently founded Xamarin to continue work related to Mono. Ximian's legacy therefore extends through GNOME, Evolution, Mono, and the later cross-platform .NET ecosystem.

Ximian developed from the early commercial effort surrounding the GNOME desktop project. Miguel de Icaza and Nat Friedman first became acquainted in the late 1990s, when Friedman was an intern at Microsoft and de Icaza encountered him during a job interview. They later became collaborators and pursued the idea of building a company around GNOME and Linux desktop software. On 19 October 1999, the company was established as International GNOME Support. Its initial purpose was to provide professional development and support around GNOME, an open-source desktop environment intended to make Unix and Linux systems more accessible. The business soon adopted the name Helix Code, but that name presented trademark problems. On 10 January 2001, it became Ximian. Ximian's commercial approach combined community-developed software with engineering, packaging, integration, support, and selected proprietary components. Rather than treating open-source software as an unsupported collection of independent projects, the company attempted to deliver a consistent desktop environment for organizations. Ximian Desktop brought together a customized GNOME environment and applications such as OpenOffice.org and Gaim. The company also developed Evolution, a personal information manager and groupware client; Ximian Connector, which connected Evolution to Microsoft Exchange environments; Red Carpet, a software distribution and update service; and Bonobo, a component framework associated with GNOME application integration. Mono became another major part of Ximian's identity. It was a free and open-source implementation of Microsoft's .NET framework and development environment designed to operate across platforms, including Linux. Mono offered developers a way to use .NET-related languages and technologies in non-Windows environments. Its relationship to Microsoft technologies generated continuing discussion within the open-source community, but the project also became an important foundation for later cross-platform development work. Ximian was involved in the broader institutional development of the Linux desktop. It was a founding member of the GNOME Foundation and the Desktop Linux Consortium, reflecting its effort to promote GNOME and Linux as credible platforms for organizations and professional users. Nat Friedman served as chief executive from the company's foundation through 2001. David Patrick then became chief executive and president, while Friedman moved to product management. On 4 August 2003, Novell acquired Ximian. The transaction ended Ximian's independent corporate existence but brought its products and engineering capabilities into Novell's enterprise software strategy. Novell continued work on Ximian's original technologies and combined them with products such as GroupWise and ZENworks. Ximian's name consequently became associated with a product and technology heritage rather than a separate operating company. Novell was later acquired by The Attachmate Group on 27 April 2011. In May of that year, Attachmate eliminated the positions of the United States-based Mono team, including de Icaza. On 16 May 2011, de Icaza and Friedman founded Xamarin, a separate company intended to continue Mono-related work. Although Xamarin was not Ximian, its creation demonstrated the continuing influence of Ximian's founders and technology. Microsoft announced an agreement to acquire Xamarin on 24 February 2016. Ximian's lasting contributions include its role in professionalizing GNOME-based desktop software, Evolution and related groupware tools, Red Carpet's software-management concepts, and Mono's contribution to cross-platform .NET development.

1. 2011Ximian technology heritage continues through Xamarin

   Following layoffs affecting the Mono team after Attachmate's acquisition of Novell, Ximian co-founders launched Xamarin to continue Mono-related development.

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2. 2003Acquired by Novell

   Novell acquired Ximian on 4 August 2003 to improve its enterprise Linux offering.

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3. 2001Company renamed Ximian

   After operating as Helix Code, the company adopted the Ximian name on 10 January 2001 because Helix Code could not be trademarked.

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4. 2001David Patrick becomes chief executive

   David Patrick became chief executive and president, while Nat Friedman moved to the vice presidency of product management.

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5. 1999Company founded as International GNOME Support

   The company was established on 19 October 1999 by Miguel de Icaza and Nat Friedman to develop and support GNOME-related software.

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A commercial open-source software provider focused on making GNOME and Linux-based applications more usable, integrated, and supportable for business customers.

• Ximian DesktopIntegrated Linux desktop suite

  Ximian Desktop was a packaged desktop environment aimed at business users. It combined a customized GNOME desktop with integrated applications and improvements to consistency, usability, and deployment. The suite reflected Ximian's strategy of polishing and integrating existing free software rather than presenting users with disconnected upstream projects.

• EvolutionEmail and groupware client

  Evolution was an integrated personal information manager for GNOME, combining email, calendaring, contacts, and related productivity functions. It was designed to make Linux desktops more practical in organizational settings and became one of the most recognizable applications associated with Ximian.

• Ximian ConnectorEnterprise groupware integration

  Ximian Connector extended Evolution for organizations using Microsoft Exchange. By connecting a GNOME-based client to a widely deployed enterprise messaging system, it addressed one of the interoperability barriers facing Linux desktop adoption in corporate environments.

• Red CarpetSoftware management service

  Red Carpet was Ximian's software distribution and update-management service. It provided a mechanism for obtaining, maintaining, and administering software packages, supporting the company's broader goal of making Linux application deployment more manageable for users and organizations.

• MonoCross-platform development platform

  Mono was an open-source implementation of Microsoft's .NET development environment for platforms including Linux. It enabled developers to use .NET-related languages, libraries, and programming models outside Windows. Mono became one of Ximian's most strategically significant technologies and later continued through projects associated with Xamarin.

• GNOMEOpen-source desktop environment

  GNOME was the principal open-source desktop platform around which Ximian built its business. Ximian contributed development, packaging, support, and commercial integration, and released a more polished and consistently configured version as part of its desktop offerings.

• 2003Novell acquires XimianM&A

  Novell was seeking to strengthen its enterprise Linux products and open-source software capabilities.

  What changed. Novell acquired Ximian on 4 August 2003.

  Aftermath. Ximian ceased to operate independently, while Novell continued developing its products and integrated them with GroupWise and ZENworks.

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• 2001Adopt the Ximian corporate nameStrategy

  The company had operated under the Helix Code name, but that name could not be trademarked.

  What changed. It changed its name to Ximian on 10 January 2001.

  Aftermath. The Ximian name became the identity associated with the company's commercial GNOME, Linux, and Mono activities.

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• 2011Attachmate lays off United States Mono staff

  After The Attachmate Group acquired Novell, it dismissed the United States-based employees working on Mono, including Miguel de Icaza.

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• 2011Xamarin is founded by former Ximian leaders

  Miguel de Icaza and Nat Friedman founded Xamarin after the Mono team reductions, creating a new company to continue Mono-related development.

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• 2003Novell acquires Ximian

  Novell acquired Ximian to strengthen its enterprise Linux and open-source software portfolio.

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• 2001Ximian changes its name from Helix Code

  The company adopted the Ximian name after determining that Helix Code could not be trademarked.

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1. Ximian