Cygnus Solutions: Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox |
{{Infobox company |
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| company_name = Cygnus Solutions |
| company_name = Cygnus Solutions |
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| company_logo = |
| company_logo = |
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| company_slogan = |
| company_slogan = |
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| fate = Merged with [[Red Hat]] |
| fate = Merged with [[Red Hat]] |
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| successor = [[Red Hat]] |
| successor = [[Red Hat]] |
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| foundation = 1989 |
| foundation = 1989 |
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| defunct = 2000 |
| defunct = 2000 |
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| location = |
| location = |
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| industry = [[software|Computer software]] |
| industry = [[software|Computer software]] |
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| key_people = [[John Gilmore (activist)|John Gilmore]], [[Michael Tiemann]], and David Henkel-Wallace |
| key_people = [[John Gilmore (activist)|John Gilmore]], [[Michael Tiemann]], and David Henkel-Wallace |
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| products = [[Cygwin]] |
| products = [[Cygwin]] |
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| num_employees = |
| num_employees = |
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}} |
}} |
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'''Cygnus Solutions''', originally '''Cygnus Support''', was founded in 1989 by [[John Gilmore (activist)|John Gilmore]], [[Michael Tiemann]] and David Henkel-Wallace to provide commercial support for [[free software]]. Its tagline was: ''Making free software affordable''. |
'''Cygnus Solutions''', originally '''Cygnus Support''', was founded in 1989 by [[John Gilmore (activist)|John Gilmore]], [[Michael Tiemann]] and David Henkel-Wallace to provide commercial support for [[free software]]. Its tagline was: ''Making free software affordable''. |
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For years, employees of Cygnus Solutions were the maintainers of several key [[GNU]] software products, including the [[GNU Debugger]] and [[GNU Binutils]] (which included the [[GNU Assembler]] and [[GNU Linker|Linker]]). It was also a major contributor to the [[GNU Compiler Collection|GCC]] project and drove the change in the project's management from having a single gatekeeper to having an independent committee. Cygnus developed [[Binary File Descriptor library|BFD]], and used it to help port GNU to many architectures, in a number of cases working under [[Non-disclosure agreement|non-disclosure]] to produce tools used for initial bringup of [[software]] for a new chip design. |
For years, employees of Cygnus Solutions were the maintainers of several key [[GNU]] software products, including the [[GNU Debugger]] and [[GNU Binutils]] (which included the [[GNU Assembler]] and [[GNU Linker|Linker]]). It was also a major contributor to the [[GNU Compiler Collection|GCC]] project and drove the change in the project's management from having a single gatekeeper to having an independent committee. Cygnus developed [[Binary File Descriptor library|BFD]], and used it to help port GNU to many architectures, in a number of cases working under [[Non-disclosure agreement|non-disclosure]] to produce tools used for initial bringup of [[software]] for a new chip design. |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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{{Portal|Free software}} |
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*"[http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/opensources/book/tiemans.html Future of Cygnus Solutions — An Entrepreneur's Account]" by [[Michael Tiemann]] - ''Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolution'' (January 1999) |
*"[http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/opensources/book/tiemans.html Future of Cygnus Solutions — An Entrepreneur's Account]" by [[Michael Tiemann]] - ''Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolution'' (January 1999) |
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*[http://www.toad.com/gnu/cygnus/index.html Marketing Cygnus Support -- Free Software history] |
*[http://www.toad.com/gnu/cygnus/index.html Marketing Cygnus Support -- Free Software history] |
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Revision as of 09:38, 7 June 2010
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| Industry | Computer software |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1989 |
| Founder | David Henkel-Wallace  |
| Defunct | 2000 |
| Fate | Merged with Red Hat |
| Successor | Red Hat |
Key people | John Gilmore, Michael Tiemann, and David Henkel-Wallace |
| Products | Cygwin |
Cygnus Solutions, originally Cygnus Support, was founded in 1989 by John Gilmore, Michael Tiemann and David Henkel-Wallace to provide commercial support for free software. Its tagline was: Making free software affordable.
For years, employees of Cygnus Solutions were the maintainers of several key GNU software products, including the GNU Debugger and GNU Binutils (which included the GNU Assembler and Linker). It was also a major contributor to the GCC project and drove the change in the project's management from having a single gatekeeper to having an independent committee. Cygnus developed BFD, and used it to help port GNU to many architectures, in a number of cases working under non-disclosure to produce tools used for initial bringup of software for a new chip design.
Cygnus was also the original developer of Cygwin, a POSIX layer and the GNU toolkit port to the Microsoft Windows operating system family, and of eCos, an embedded real-time operating system.
In the 2001 documentary film Revolution OS, Tiemann indicates that the name "Cygnus" was chosen from among several names that incorporated the acronym "GNU".
On November 15, 1999, Cygnus Solutions announced its merger with Red Hat, and ceased to exist as a separate company in early 2000. As of 2007[update], a number of Cygnus employees continue to work for Red Hat, including Tiemann, who serves as Red Hat's Vice President of Open Source Affairs, and formerly served as CTO.
External links
- "Future of Cygnus Solutions — An Entrepreneur's Account" by Michael Tiemann - Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolution (January 1999)
- Marketing Cygnus Support -- Free Software history