Eazel
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software |
| Founded | August 1, 1999 in Mountain View, California, United States |
| Founder | Andy Hertzfeld |
| Defunct | May 15, 2001 |
| Headquarters | Mountain View , United States |
Area served | Linux desktop users |
Key people | Mike Boich (CEO), Bud Tribble (VP Engineering), Andy Hertzfeld (Principal Designer), Darin Adler (Development Lead), Susan Kare (Icon Designer) |
| Products | Nautilus file manager, Software Catalog, Eazel Online Storage |
Number of employees | 75 (2001) |
Eazel was a software enterprise based in the United States, active between 1999 and 2001, initially located in Palo Alto before relocating to Mountain View, California. Its primary offering was the Nautilus file manager designed for the GNOME desktop environment on Linux, which rapidly gained traction within the free software movement. The company was among the pioneers in early cloud storage solutions, providing users with personal file storage accessible through the Internet.
History
Founded by Andy Hertzfeld in August 1999 in Mountain View, California, Eazel began with a team of 22 employees and secured venture capital funding. At the outset, developers contributed to all aspects of the product before focusing on specific areas.
By 2001, the workforce had grown to 75 employees, and Red Herring magazine listed Eazel among the top ten companies to watch amid rising interest in Linux. The team included seasoned professionals from companies such as Apple, Netscape, Microsoft, and Red Hat. Leadership featured CEO Mike Boich, a former Apple executive and co-founder of Radius; VP of Engineering Bud Tribble, one of the original Macintosh designers; principal designer Andy Hertzfeld; development lead Darin Adler, who previously led System 7 development; and icon designer Susan Kare. The board comprised GNOME contributor Maciej Stachowiak and industry expert Michael Homer.
Eazel's Nautilus file manager was developed specifically for the GNOME desktop environment. The company faced several challenges, including creating sophisticated user-centric software compatible with multiple Linux distributions, blending corporate practices with an open-source community ethos, and generating revenue from free software within a niche Linux desktop market dominated by Windows and macOS. The decision to support GNOME over KDE stemmed from licensing concerns related to KDE’s use of the Qt framework.
The firm sought to improve Linux desktop usability by enhancing user interface design, positioning Nautilus as a driver for wider adoption. Project leader Darin Adler highlighted the importance of maintaining innovation while ensuring consistency throughout the GNOME platform to attract a broader user base.
In December 2000, Dell made a notable investment and agreed to ship Nautilus pre-installed on its Linux devices. Eazel also launched "network user experience" services integrated into Nautilus: a Software Catalog for discovering applications and Eazel Online Storage, which allowed users to access files seamlessly via their desktop or web browsers.
Despite these initiatives, Eazel encountered difficulties monetizing its products and securing further investment amid changing market conditions. On March 13, 2001, it released Nautilus version 1.0 but simultaneously reduced its staff significantly to conserve resources. The company ultimately shut down operations on May 15, 2001 after failing to find a buyer for its core development team.
After Eazel’s closure, founder Andy Hertzfeld arranged discussions with Apple’s management. By June 2001, many senior engineers transitioned to Apple’s Safari team, including Bud Tribble, Lisa Melton, Darin Adler, John Sullivan, Ken Kocienda, and Maciej Stachowiak.
Legacy
Nautilus, the file manager, garnered positive feedback and has been a fundamental part of GNOME starting with version 1.4. Subsequently, GNOME rebranded Nautilus as Files and integrated Eazel's pioneering "network user experience" idea into cloud storage, enabling compatibility with platforms such as Google Drive. Files continues to serve as an essential element within free Linux desktop environments and is actively maintained by contributors from the free software movement.
See also
- History of free and open-source software#Desktop (1984–present)
- Chandler, a discontinued free software PIM application
- Taligent and Kaleida Labs, former software ventures founded by Apple alumni through the AIM alliance