Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2000 10:29:16 -0800 (PST)
From: Sara Winge <sara@oreilly.com>
To: lwn@lwn.net
Subject: Collab.Net builds e-speak open source site for HP

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 25, 2000
CONTACT: Bernie Mills, Collab.Net 415-908-1722, bernie@collab.net,
http://www.collab.net

       COLLAB.NET BUILDS E-SPEAK OPEN SOURCE HOSTING SITE FOR HP
Engagement transfers e-speak code and Open Source expertise to industry
                  and the Open Source community

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--Collab.Net announced today that it has entered into
an agreement with Hewlett-Packard Company to build, host and maintain
the Open Source software development infrastructure and Web site
(www.e-speak.net) for e-speak technology.  E-speak, an HP-developed
software that is now available as Open Source software, dramatically
simplifies the creation, composition, deployment, management, and
maintenance of e-services over the Internet.

Collab.Net is providing Web-based development life-cycle management
services including code versioning, bug tracking, and email discussion
forums that are key to a well-run Open Source software community.  HP
contributed the content, including the e-speak source code, to be
augmented with contributions from the broader e-speak user and
developer community.  Collab.Net is also providing development and
hosting services for the www.e-speak.net Web site, and will play a role
in helping HP and the rest of the e-speak user base to grow as an Open
Source development community.  HP has also developed an e-speak
commercial developer site (http://espeak.hp.com) focused on the
training, development, and support needs of developers using e-speak to
create and deploy e-services.

The e-speak services platform hosted on the e-speak site consists of a
universal services interface (a set of APIs) and a run-time deployment
engine (e-speak engine).  The core e-speak software was released under
a combination of the GNU General Public License (GPL) and the GNU LGPL
(Lesser General Public License) on December 8, 1999.  These licenses
have a long history with the Open Source community, and are effective
tools for reaching broad acceptance and achieving successful
integration with other Open Source platforms and applications.

"HP believes the Open Source community is the ideal environment for
creating a truly open standard," said Arindam Banerji, e-speak
development manager for HP's E-speak Operation. "But, it takes more
than simply releasing code as Open Source software for download to
achieve the far-reaching benefits of Open Source software and open
development.  Rather, careful steps must be taken to host, nurture and
grow a community around the software that will carry the technology
forward and establish it as a de facto standard.  Through our work with
Collab.Net, we will be able to bring an effective combination of tools,
services and Open Source development processes into the e-speak
community."

As a part of this effort, Collab.Net is providing a hosting platform
consisting of several major, well-known packages of Open Source
software combined into a cohesive offering:

- Code Version System (CVS) repositories 
- Bug tracking using the BugZilla software from the Mozilla Project
- Mailing lists, archived and searchable
- Source code browsing tools 
- An administrative interface for "admins" from the e-speak community

In addition, Collab.Net will provide an initial, proposed set of bylaws
for the e-speak community.

The e-speak Open Source site also contains news items, community and
licensing information, on-line demos and tutorials.  The site
seamlessly integrates with Collab.Net's hosting services, as well as
Collab.Net's sourceXchange marketplace (www.sourcexchange.com), an
Internet based marketplace matching Open Source project sponsors with
Open Source developers.  Brian Behlendorf, Collab.Net's CTO stated,
"Collab.Net and HP have built an Open Source portal and community
development site specifically for developers interested in using,
developing with, and contributing to e-speak.  The best way new
Internet technologies can be introduced and gain traction is if they
are collaboratively built from day one, with an essential element being
the freedom for developers to use and improve those technologies."

As the founding member of the e-speak Open Source community, HP funded
the site and hosting capabilities, and provided a wealth of e-speak and
e-services content. HP is actively recruiting participation by industry
partners and Open Source developers to assume joint ownership of the
e-speak services platform and development environment.  Collab.Net will
continue to collaborate with HP and the community to develop and refine
the by-laws, and help build the community that will, over time, develop
and maintain the e-speak services platform.

ABOUT COLLAB.NET
Collab.Net is distilling the essential processes of the open source
community and providing tools and services that facilitate predictable,
well-organized, high value open source development. The company's first
service, sourceXchange, is a marketplace where open source developers
match their expertise to committed buyers with well defined,
financially backed open source projects. Collab.Net also provides an
infrastructure of hosting services and productivity tools to facilitate
collaborative software development among a worldwide community of
developers. In addition, Collab.Net provides an extensive array of
consulting services that help guide companies into open source markets.
Collab.Net was founded by Brian Behlendorf, co-founder of the Apache
Software Foundation, and O'Reilly & Associates in July 1999. For more
information, see www.collab.net.

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