[linux-audio-announce] AGNULA and Microsoft to partner for R&D

[The AGNULA team]

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     [Sorry for cross-posting.  Feel free to forward around]

Florence, 1 April 2004

+++ AGNULA and Microsoft to partner for R&D

The AGNULA  project  [0] and Microsoft  Corporation  [1]  are proud to
announce  that   the AGNULA  team  will be    merged as  a  research &
development unit inside the Windows Media department.

+++

The  AGNULA project  [0] and  Microsoft  Corporation [1] are proud  to
announce   that the  AGNULA   team will be    merged as  a  research &
development unit inside the Windows Media department.

At the party  that was held in  Stockholm, Sweden, to celebrate  these
news   Tom Valenti, chief strategist   for  Microsoft Media, said that
"[Microsoft] is excited at the idea of being  able to proprietarize so
many Open  Source programs  in one  shot".  Later  on, Mr.   Valenti's
office sent an official statement claiming the above sentence was just
"the result of mixing too many swedish and american drinks in just one
shot".

When  asked  for  an opinion  on the  merge,   Andrea Glorioso (former
technical manager of the AGNULA project) just  said that "[people] can
do whatever they  want with AGNULA - I  just want this damn project to
disappear from my life".

Nicola  Bernardini, former  Project Coordinator,  was   reached on the
telephone while he was on a train towards Moscow.   The line was quite
disturbed, but Mr  Bernardini seems to have  said something like "Yes,
you know, the point is  that AGNULA as  a project was finished for  me
the day after it   got approved -  please talk  to Mr. Glorioso  about
these things (and so on and so forth)".

Rumours abound  that the  next big step  for  the AGNULA project is  a
DRM-capable version of AGNULA Libre Music [2].

Stay tuned for  more  exciting news  from the  Microsoft-AGNULA  Media
research unit!

+++

About AGNULA:   Agnula (acronym for   A  GNU/Linux Audio distribution,
pronounced with a strong  g) is  the name of   a project funded  until
April  2004  by    the   European  Commission   (number  of  contract:
IST-2001-34879; key action IV.3.3, Free Software: towards the critical
mass).  After the end of the funded period,  AGNULA is continuing as a
volunteer   based project,  aiming  to  spread Libre  Software in  the
professional audio/video arena.

About Microsoft: Founded in   1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT")  is  the
worldwide leader in  software, services and Internet  technologies for
personal  and business computing. The  company offers  a wide range of
products and services  designed to    empower people through     great
software -- any time, any place and on any device.

Best regards,

--
The AGNULA Team                                   info at agnula.org        
Our mailing lists:                        http://lists.agnula.org/
Our web site:                               http://www.agnula.org/
"There's no free expression without control on the tools you use"
 
[0] http://www.agnula.org/
[1] http://www.microsoft.com/
[2] http://muzik.agnula.org/