GraphOn Technology Provides X-Windows Access On Linux - GraphOn's Bridges - Company Business and Marketing

Computer Technology Review, Dec, 1999 by Joshua Piven

Don't let anyone tell you that penguins can't fly. Startled Comdex conventioneers gaped as several penguin-clad Linux supporters parachuted into the Las Vegas Convention Center parking lot, a stunt picked up by most of the network TV stations in attendance. While it may not have been manna from heaven, for Windows bashers, it was clearly a welcome sight, a sure sign that Linux has hit the big time.

But while the Suns and Oracles of the world call for Microsoft's bust up, some smaller software companies are working to make sure that the huge installed base of Windows apps is available to Linux users. In tandem with Corel Corp.'s announcement of its forthcoming Linux-based OS, GraphOn Corp. indicated that Corel will be licensing the company's Bridges technology, which gives Linux users remote access to Windows applications.

Bridges allows virtually any display device to access any Windows, Unix, or Linux application over the Internet, via dialup or any network connection. Significantly, GraphOn's technology Web-enables Windows applications without requiring the Microsoft Terminal Server license. Bridges technology does this by dealing directly with the application itself, not the Windows NT kernel. GraphOn says this approach will provide additional cost-savings to Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), Application Service Providers (ASPs), and enterprise IT managers.

GraphOn, which in the past has specialized in thin-client software for Windows and Java, is now supporting Linux with its new version of WinBridge, scheduled to ship by the time you read this. WinBridge, including the new Linux client, will ship with the OEM version of Bridges.