This page contains the Corporate Profile of The XFree86 Project, Inc. For convience, the section headings are listed below which can be used to link to the named section.
The XFree86 Project, Inc, is a not-for-profit corporation of the
state of Texas. Our primary charter is to design, implement, and distribute,
as free software, enhancements to The X Window System[TM], product of the
X Consortium, Inc. Our primary product, XFree86[TM], provides ports of
X to many Intel-base UNIX[TM] and UNIX-like operating systems, along with a
family of high-performance X Window System Servers for a large class of
PC-clone video hardware. All products of The XFree86 Project, Inc, are
freely available, and freely redistributable. Our software is covered by
a copyright statement that allows use of our code for any purpose, free
or commercial, as long as the copyright notices remain intact. All we
ask in return is that we be acknowledged for our work, in product
documentation, literature, or other forms.
History
The project that has become XFree86 was initiated in April, 1992 by four developers seeking to provide enhancements to Release 5 of Version 11 of The X Window System (X11R5). At the time, the existing support for Intel-based Unix platforms was unstable, and performed poorly on the current display technology. These four individuals had been working on enhancements, independently, and at (sometimes) cross-purposes. The decision of the four to unite their development efforts has led to one of the most successful free software projects in history.
XFree86 grew rapidly, largely due to the concurrent development of freely available operatings systems (Linux, 386BSD, and its follow-ons, FreeBSD and NetBSD). Each project helped stimulate the growth of the other. The free operating systems provided the massive user base for XFree86, while the availability of a quality, high-performance windowing system helped make the operating systems accessible to the users, and helped ensure their success. While there is no reliable way to judge how many people use our software, due to the ad-hoc nature of its distribution, estimates of 100-500,000 users of the free operating systems have been made, with an estimate that 80% or more of these users are using XFree86.
Since the initiation of the project, there have been 7 major and several smaller releases of XFree86. XFree86 provides workstation- class performance on a wide range of hardware, while still providing quality support for the low-end systems in use by a large number of free-software users (refer to the documentation located with the software distribution (see below) for details on supported hardware and operating systems).
XFree86 has maintained good working relationships with many
companies and organizations involved with the development of X products.
Several of these organizations have members involved in the development
of XFree86, providing a possibly unique symbiosis between a free software
project and its commercial "competitors".
The XFree86 Project, Inc.
Late in 1993, when the X Consortium, Inc, was working on Release 6 of Version 11 of The X Window System (X11R6), the core development team for XFree86 began to pursue avenues by which the project could join the X Consortium. Two avenues were available - finding a sponsor organization to join the Consortium, or to form a new company that could join the Consortium in its own right. The problem then became to how to attract funding for the Consortium membership. After finding an attorney that would file the incorporation pro bono, it was decided to form a new corporation, and after an initial round of funding requests proved successful, The XFree86 Project, Inc, joined the X Consortium in January, 1994.
Because the filing was as a not-for-profit corporation, the legal process took longer than desired. The actual incorporation took place on May 19, 1994. At this time, The XFree86 Project, Inc, is headed by a Board of Directors with 7 members, who are also the voting members of the corporation. The remaining members of the XFree86 development team are non-voting members of the corporation. Non-voting membership is available to all parties agreeing to meet certain conditions.
The sole source of revenue for The XFree86 Project, Inc., is
through contributions. The financial needs of the corporation are
minimal; annual membership in the X Consortium, Inc, and funds to
travel to technical conferences make up most of our requirements.
Filings are being made with the IRS to be named as a tax-exempt
corporation; until such time as the IRS rejects this filing, contributions
to The XFree86 Project, Inc, will be tax deductible as charitable
contributions.
Organization of the Project
The development of XFree86 uses a team hierarchy. The overall development of the project is overseen by a Core Team of seven developers (five of whom are on the corporate Board Of Directors). There is an Alpha Test team of about 30 developers, who do the vast majority of code development and testing. Alpha Test releases are done with relative frequency; sometimes several are done in a week.
The majority of the develpment team is the Beta Test team,
which numbers approximately 200. These are the people who beta-test
the code, once it has stabilized a bit. There are usually 4-6 beta
test releases of XFree86 over the space of several months between
public releases. Because of the free software nature of the project,
and the amount of time people can put into it, the membership of the
alpha and beta teams is fairly fluid.
For More Information
The XFree86 Project, Inc maintains a series of electronic mail contact addresses:
In addition, an anonymous FTP server is availble at ftp.xfree86.org. The following directories are available:
For business related to The XFree86 Project, Inc, you can contact our president, or our industry liason:
David Dawes Marc Evans President Industry Liason The XFree86 Project, Inc. The XFree86 Project, Inc. c/o School of Physics c/o The Destek Group, Inc. University of Sydney, 2006 21 Hinds Lane AUSTRALIA Suite 23L +61 2 351-2639 Pelham, NH 03076-3013 +61 2 660-2903 (fax) (603) 635-3857 (voice/fax) dawes@XFree86.Org marc@XFree86.Org