Mozilla-Based HTML Editor Challenges Dominance of Microsoft FrontPage

Nvu, the free, easy-to-use Web editor and authoring system for desktop Linux, Macintosh and Microsoft Windows users, was released today in beta version in advance of the forthcoming Nvu 1.0 product sponsored by Linspire, Inc. Nvu gives non-technical computer users the power to create, edit and publish professional, attractive Web sites, much like Microsoft FrontPage or Macromedia Dreamweaver. Based on Mozilla Internet technology and Netscape Composer, the tool allows users to easily author and manage rich Web documents without programming or HTML coding. Nvu 1.0 beta is available for free download at http://www.nvu.com.

Nvu is a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) HTML editor, which means users can create Web pages as easily as they would type a word processing document -- complete with font pickers and paragraph and table controls. Instead of typing in HTML code and guessing what the published Web site may look like, Nvu allows users to constantly see how their site will look even before it is posted online. While the user works in a friendly, visual environment much like a word processor, Nvu creates the HTML code in the background - code which can easily be viewed or directly edited using Nvu's tabs. Publishing pages to a Web site is accomplished with one click using Nvu's FTP Site Management feature.

Because users can quickly toggle between the WYSIWYG editing mode and the HTML code mode, Nvu is also ideal for more advanced users or those wishing to learn HTML programming, as they can easily observe the interaction between the HTML code and what will actually appear in the Web browser. To see more features of Nvu, visit http://www.nvu.com.

Linspire, Inc., producer of the popular desktop Linux operating system, started the Nvu project as a complement to the other desktop Linux Web browsers and tools offered by the leading open source innovator Mozilla. Nvu was created from the code base of Netscape Composer, one of the most successful first-generation WYSIWYG Web editors.

Mozilla was broken off from Netscape after Netscape was acquired by AOL. The Mozilla group continued development of an open source Internet suite, pouring most of their efforts into browsers and email programs. Their work has recently resulted in Firefox, a hugely successful Internet browser, and the soon-to-be-released Thunderbird email program. Since most of Mozilla's efforts were going into the development of Firefox and Thunderbird, there were less resources available for advancing a Web authoring tool based on Netscape Composer. Linspire contributed to this part of the project by providing more development resources and capital to the Composer-based product -- renamed Nvu - to round out the Mozilla Internet suite.

"Mozilla has done phenomenal work developing a Web suite with alternatives to Microsoft, including the Firefox browser and soon, the Thunderbird email program. But there was a void in developing a Web publishing tool, which is why we adopted the Nvu project," said Michael Robertson, CEO of Linspire, Inc. "Our hope is that Nvu will compete with FrontPage just like Firefox competes with Internet Explorer."

Nvu is available in many different languages, including English, Italian, Russian, and Chinese. The cross-platform Web editor works on numerous operating systems, including Microsoft Windows, Apple OSX, OS/2, FreeBSD, Linspire, and many Linux-based systems. Since Nvu 1.0 is a beta version, Linspire would appreciate community feedback on the product -- to submit a comment or suggestion, email feedback@nvu.com.