Janus Software has announced the availability of Phoenix Object Basic, which the company says: …is a unique object-oriented RAD tool for Linux. It combines the expressive power of object-oriented languages like Python and Perl with the familiarity and ease of use of Visual Basic. Phoenix allows developers with Visual Basic experience to start developing for Linux without having to face a steep learning curve: Phoenix uses the familiar visual design paradigm and has a full implementation of the Basic language. The company expects to release its next preview at the end of October. Currently closed-source due to 3rd party licenses, the company plans to go open source in 2001. An example of the significance of this product: A recent demo at Houston Linux User’s Group of WordPerfect Office 2000 for Linux revealed the inability to use controls in an imported document that contained Visual Basic for Applications. Phoenix Object Basic in the future may potentially eliminate this problem.