View source for FreeGEM

{{Short description|1999 windowing system}}
{{Refimprove|date=November 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020|cs1-dates=y}}
{{Infobox software
| name                       = FreeGEM
| logo                       =
| screenshot                 = Gem1.png
| caption                    = [[OpenGEM]] showing hard disk and CD-ROM icons (to the right)
| collapsible                =
| author                     =
| developer                  = [[Caldera Thin Clients]]
| released                   = {{Start date and age|1999|df=yes}}
| latest release version     =
| latest release date        =
| latest preview version     =
| latest preview date        =
| programming language       =
| operating system           = [[DOS]]
| platform                   =
| size                       =
| language                   = [[English language|English]]
| genre                      = [[Windowing system]]
| license                    = [[GNU General Public License|GPL-2.0-only]]
| website                    =
}}

'''FreeGEM''' released in 1999 is a [[windowing system]] based on [[Digital Research]]'s [[GEM (desktop environment)|GEM]] which was first released in 1985.<ref name="PCMech"/> GEM stands for "Graphics Environment Manager".

==Overview==
FreeGEM is the [[free software]]/[[open-source software|open source]] version of GEM developed after Caldera Thin Clients released the GEM code under the terms of the [[GNU General Public License|GNU GPL-2.0-only]] free software license in April 1999.<ref name="Jemmett_1999"/> Caldera Thin Clients owned the source code to GEM through [[Caldera, Inc.|Caldera]]'s purchase of the remaining Digital Research assets from [[Novell]] on 23 July 1996,<ref name="Leon_1996_Caldera"/> who had acquired Digital Research in June 1991.<ref name="Scott_1991"/><ref name="BW_1991"/>

FreeGEM code works on almost every version of [[DOS]], and runs on almost every [[IBM compatible PC]]. One can download all the FreeGEM binaries and source code in one package through the OpenGEM SDK. The OpenGEM SDK also contains language bindings, documentation, and compilers. There are additional FreeGEM resources available through John C. Elliott's GEM website.

OpenGEM is a popular FreeGEM distribution. Other distributions include Owen's FreeGEM Distribution.

==OpenGEM==
'''OpenGEM''' is a non-[[computer multitasking|multitasking]] [[16-bit]] [[graphical user interface]] (GUI) for [[DOS]]. It is an extended distribution of FreeGEM that includes features of the original [[Digital Research]] [[GEM (desktop environment)|GEM]].

OpenGEM is intended to provide a simple to install and use GUI system and windowing framework for the [[FreeDOS]] operating system.

Caldera Thin Clients (later known as [[Lineo]]), who owned the source code to GEM through [[Caldera, Inc.|Caldera]]'s purchase of the remaining Digital Research assets from [[Novell]] on 23 July 1996,<ref name="Leon_1996_Caldera"/> released the source to GEM under the terms of [[GNU General Public License|GPL-2.0-only]] in April 1999.<ref name="Jemmett_1999"/> OpenGEM was developed by Shane Martin Coughlan in collaboration with the FreeGEM Developer team, and is [[free software]] released under the terms of the [[GNU General Public License|GPL-2.0-only]]. OpenGEM versions 3 through 6 are hosted on SourceForge and on the FreeDOS website.

OpenGEM has not been actively developed since 2008 but is feature-complete as a basic GUI and includes a full SDK for future third-party development or extension.

=== Compatibility ===
OpenGEM works with [[FreeDOS]] Beta 9 and above, [[DR DOS 5.0]] and above, [[MS-DOS 3.3]] and above, [[PC DOS 3.3]] and above, [[REAL/32]], and [[DOSBox]] 0.65. OpenGEM will function on [[Windows 95]], [[Windows 98]], [[Windows 98SE]], and [[Windows ME]]. It is not known to work with [[Windows NT]], [[Windows 2000]] and [[Windows XP]] or later.

== See also ==
{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}
* [[ViewMAX]]
* [[QEMU]]
* [[GEM character set]]

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="PCMech">{{cite web |title=GEM OS: The Other Windows |author=Roger |date=2003-09-25 |work=PCMech |quote=Today GEM continues to be developed as FreeGEM |url=http://www.pcmech.com/article/gem-os-the-other-windows/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080119003150/http://www.pcmech.com/article/gem-os-the-other-windows/|archive-date=2008-01-19|url-status=dead }}</ref>
<ref name="Leon_1996_Caldera">{{cite news |title=Caldera reopens 'settled' suit, buys DR DOS — Antitrust suit against Microsoft |author-first=Mark |author-last=Leon |series=News |date=1996-07-29 |newspaper=[[InfoWorld]] |publisher=[[InfoWorld Publishing Co.]] |volume=18 |issue=31 |issn=0199-6649 |page=3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jj0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA3 |access-date=2020-02-08 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200208123222/https://books.google.de/books?id=Jj0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA3&lpg=PP1&focus=viewport&hl=de |archive-date=2020-02-08}} [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Jj0EAAAAMBAJ/page/n6/mode/1up]; {{cite news |title=Caldera reopens 'settled' suit, buys DR DOS — Microsoft's response: lawsuit is 'ironic and sad' |author-first=Mark |author-last=Leon |date=1996-07-29 |newspaper=[[Computerworld New Zealand]] |issn=0113-1494 |id=CMPWNZ |volume=<!-- different from US issue --> |number=<!-- different from US issue --> |publisher=[[IDG Communications]] |url=https://www.computerworld.co.nz/article/519730/caldera_reopens_settled_suit_buys_dr_dos/ |access-date=2018-02-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823043437/https://www.computerworld.co.nz/article/519730/caldera_reopens_settled_suit_buys_dr_dos/ |archive-date=2018-08-23}} <!-- This article cannot be found in the US issue of Computerworld |issn=0010-4841 |volume=30 |number=31 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rrz6PIR7f0oC --></ref>
<ref name="Jemmett_1999">{{cite web |work=Deltasoft - GEM News |title=Caldera releases GEM under the GPL |date=April 1999 |author-first=Ben A. L. |author-last=Jemmett |url=http://www.deltasoft.com/news.htm |access-date=2016-11-07 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107145947/http://www.deltasoft.com/news.htm |archive-date=2016-11-07 |quote=[[Caldera Thin Clients, Inc.]] released the source code for [[Graphics Environment Manager|GEM]] and [[ViewMAX]] under the [[GNU General Public License|GNU Public License]] in mid April, following years of speculation over GEM's future. Caldera bought the GEM sources from Novell along with the DR-DOS in 1996<!-- correct: 1996, not 1997! -->, at the time noting that they may develop GEM into a platform for mobile computers and thin clients. However, these plans were dropped, and GEM was instead released into the open-source community.}}</ref>
<ref name="Scott_1991">{{cite news |title=Novell/DRI merger to reap better client management |author-first=Karyl |author-last=Scott |date=1991-07-29 |series=Networking |newspaper=[[InfoWorld]] |issn=0199-6649 |volume=13 |issue=30 |page=33 |publisher=[[InfoWorld Publishing Co.]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mVAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA33 |access-date=2017-01-21 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200209155946/https://books.google.de/books?id=mVAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33&redir_esc=y |archive-date=2020-02-09}}</ref>
<ref name="BW_1991">{{cite news |title=Novell and Digital Research sign definitive merger agreement |date=1991-07-17 |work=[[Business Wire]] |url=http://tech-insider.org/personal-computers/research/1991/0717.html |access-date=2017-01-24 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818133749/https://tech-insider.org/personal-computers/research/1991/0717.html |archive-date=2018-08-18}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
* [http://www.simpits.org/mailman/listinfo/gem-dev GEM Development mailing list] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303200316/http://www.simpits.org/mailman/listinfo/gem-dev |date=2016-03-03  }}
* [http://www.seasip.info/Gem/ John C. Elliott's GEM site]
* [http://www.deltasoft.com FreeGEM file site]
* [http://www.owenrudge.net/GEM/ Owen's FreeGEM Distribution]
* [http://www.freedos.org/software/?prog=opengem OpenGEM on the FreeDOS site]
* [https://github.com/shanecoughlan/OpenGEM OpenGEM on Github]
* [https://sourceforge.net/projects/opengem/files/opengem/ OpenGEM on the SourceForge site]
* {{sourceforge|opengem|opengem-sdk}}
* [https://github.com/niutech/FreeGEM-XM FreeGEM/XM on Github]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freegem}}

[[Category:1985 software]]
[[Category:DOS software]]
[[Category:File managers]]
[[Category:Free windowing systems]]
[[Category:GEM software]]
[[Category:Windowing systems]]