Press release draft (was: [GRASS5] GRASS 5.0.0 to be released now)

[Helena]

I slightly modified (and fixed spelling) in what I have to say.
I have also added Baylor University, and ibiblio but feel free to skip
it if you think
that it should not be there (given the fact that the Baylor site may be
outdated).
I used the latest Mike's version as it reads better.

Helena

----------------------------------------------------------------------

First Stable Release - GRASS 5 Free Geographic Information System.

Today the GRASS Development team led by Markus Neteler
released the first stable version (5.0.0) of the well known GRASS
Geographic Information System.

Grass 5 is a free software, the sources of which can be found on
grass.itc.it
and several mirrors along with further information.
The mirror sites include the Baylor University site (grass.baylor.edu)
and grass.ibiblio.org in the USA.
In addition to traditional Unix platforms such as Linux, Solaris and
IRIX, 
Grass 5 also runs under Microsoft Windows (R) and Apple Macintosh OS-X
(R).

This new version is the first major change in GRASS functionality since
GRASS 4 was released several years ago.  Notable improvements include
support for floating point and null values.  Users can opt to use a new
windowing interface based on Tcl/Tk on those platforms supporting X
Windows.

A successful series of beta and pre-releases of GRASS 5 over the last
two
years has shown the software sufficiently stable to justify a wider
audience
release in the view of developers and users alike.

"This release was long in coming, because the GRASS source code base
is huge." explains the team coordinator Markus Neteler. "In the last few
years GRASS also completely changed the development model adopting an
open
volunteer driven process and fully going the Free Software way."

"This is a milestone release." reveals Professor Helena Mitasova of
North Carolina State University. "Markus Neteler has successfully
coordinated many developers to undertake this huge endeavor."
Professor Mitasova views GRASS 5.0 as a unique 
geospatial research environment which encourages experiments and
innovation.


Mike Thomas wrote:
> 
> Some suggested mods to the press release:
> 
> ==============================================
> Trento, 4.9.2002
> DRAFT _NOT_ _FOR_ _DISTRIBUTION_
> 
> First Stable Release - GRASS 5 Free Geographic Information System.
> 
> Today the GRASS Development team led by Markus Neteler
> released the first stable version (5.0.0) of the well known GRASS
> Geographic Information System.
> 
> Grass 5 is free software, the sources of which can be found on grass.itc.it
> and several mirrors along with further information.   In addition to
> traditional Unix platforms such as Linux, Solaris and IRIX, Grass 5 also
> runs under Microsoft Windows (R) and Apple Macintosh OS-X (R).
> 
> This new version is the first major change in GRASS functionality since
> GRASS 4 was released several years ago.  Notable improvements include
> support for floating point and null values.  Users can opt to use a new
> windowing interface based on Tcl/Tk on those platforms supporting X Windows.
> 
> A successful series of beta and pre-releases of GRASS 5 over the last two
> years has shown the software sufficiently stable to justify a wider audience
> release in the view of developers and users alike.
> 
> "This release was long in coming, because the GRASS source code base
> is huge." explains the team coordinator Markus Neteler. "In the last few
> years GRASS also completely changed the development model adopting an open
> volunteer driven process and fully going the Free Software way."
> 
> "This is a milestone release." reveals Professor Helena Mitasova from the
> North Carolina State University. "Markus Neteler has successfully
> coordinated many developers to undertake this huge endevour." Professor
> Mitasova views the new GRASS 5.0 as a geospatial research environment which
> provides solid core functionality and encourages experiments and innovation.
> 
> Contact information:
> 
> Europe:
>  Markus Neteler <neteler at itc.it>
>  (Requests in German, English)
>  ...
> 
> North America:
>  Helena Mitasova
>  ...
> 
> ==============================================
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Bernhard Reiter" <bernhard at intevation.de>
> To: "grass5 developers list" <grass5 at grass.itc.it>
> Sent: Wednesday, September 04, 2002 6:20 AM
> Subject: Press release draft (was: [GRASS5] GRASS 5.0.0 to be released now)
> 
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