Ximian

Ximian, Inc.
Company type	Private
Industry	Software
Founded	1999
Founder	Miguel de Icaza, Nat Friedman
Defunct	2003
Fate	Acquired by Novell
Headquarters	Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Products	Ximian Desktop, Ximian Evolution, Ximian Connector, Red Carpet, Bonobo, Mono

Ximian, Inc.—initially known as International GNOME Support and later as Helix Code—was a U.S.-based software firm concentrating on application software tailored for Linux and Unix systems, utilizing the GNOME environment. Founded in 1999 by entrepreneurs Miguel de Icaza and Nat Friedman in Boston, Massachusetts, Ximian created significant products including Ximian Desktop and Ximian Evolution. In 2003, Novell acquired the company, incorporating Ximian's solutions into its enterprise software suite such as GroupWise and ZENworks.

History

Before initiating the GNOME project, Miguel de Icaza encountered Nat Friedman during a 1997 interview at Microsoft. In April 1999, Friedman suggested launching a company dedicated to GNOME-related development. The business was officially formed on October 19, 1999, under the name International GNOME Support. Due to trademark conflicts, it underwent rebranding first to Helix Code and subsequently adopted the name Ximian in January 2001.

Friedman acted as CEO until 2001 when David Patrick assumed the role; Friedman then moved into the position of Vice President of Product Management. Ximian's approach combined open-source and proprietary software offerings along with associated services. As an influential participant in the open-source community, it was a founding entity of both the GNOME Foundation and the Desktop Linux Consortium.

On August 4, 2003, Novell acquired Ximian to strengthen its Linux enterprise solutions. Later, Novell itself was purchased by The Attachmate Group in 2011. After Attachmate laid off Mono developers including de Icaza, the original founders established Xamarin in May 2011 to continue advancing Mono technology. Microsoft subsequently acquired Xamarin in February 2016, broadening its capabilities in mobile application development.

Products

Ximian focused on creating new software products and improving existing open-source applications to deliver reliable performance. These efforts culminated in the Ximian Desktop, a comprehensive suite of integrated tools designed for professional users. The company also released "Ximianized" editions of GNOME, OpenOffice.org, and Gaim, alongside proprietary key offerings such as:

External links

Archived official website