DevelopOnline Exec to Moderate Linux Tech Forum; Linux Technical Interest Forum to Benefit from ESC2001.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

TEMPE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 14, 2001

David Mandala, chief technology officer and vice president of engineering at DevelopOnline Corp., will moderate a Technical Interests meeting sponsored by the membership of the Embedded Linux(a) Consortium (Santa Rosa, Calif.).

Scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. PDT on Monday, April 9, 2001 at San Francisco's Grand Hyatt Hotel, the meeting is being held in response to mounting pressure for pre-standards activity in a number of key areas related to embedded Linux.

The open meeting is scheduled for the evening before CMP's annual Embedded Systems Conference begins on Tuesday, April 10, at The Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco.

The Embedded Linux Consortium (ELC) is registering delegates from the leading Linux software and hardware vendors who have interests in the huge embedded market segment. Media members and analysts are welcome to attend the meeting. Insignia Solutions, a member ELC company, is hosting the venue and the catering.

"David Mandala's moderating skills and technical background in Linux means that we can debate and offer opinions on pre-standards activities in an even-handed manner," said Murry Shohat, ELC executive director. "David will help move our growing community toward consensus objectives that provide equal access to the growing opportunities of embedded Linux."

Dr. Inder Singh, chairman of the ELC, will offer the opening remarks. A representative of the Open Group, a standards organization with extensive history with the Unix operating system, will provide an overview of the business structure necessary to pursue standards.

The Technical Interests format enables bona fide organizations or individuals to offer a Technical Interest proposal with a limit of three minutes speaking time, followed by a canvass of the audience to determine audience interest level.

The results will be reported in near real-time to the ELC membership at the organization's annual meeting (the same evening) for action. Access the organization's Web site at http://www.embedded-linux.org/techinterest.php3 for full details and RSVP information.

Registered key interests to date include:

-- Graphic Standards

-- Real-Time Definitions

-- Embedded Linux and the GPL

-- Documentation Standards

-- Hybrid Architectures

-- Development Tools and Environments

About David Mandala

David Mandala, DevelopOnline Corp.'s CTO/VP engineering, has been involved in the Linux community since 1994. He is the co-founder of BALUG (Bay Area Linux User Group). Prior to his DevelopOnline position, Mandala was senior engineering director at Linuxcare.

While at Linuxcare, Mandala taught a variety of programming concepts and Linux classes at local universities in Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay area. For more on Mandala, please see http://www.developonline.com/tellerp0v4/AboutDOL/Management#Dave.

About DevelopOnline Corp.

Headquartered in Tempe, DevelopOnline Corp. provides a Web-based open-platform (hardware and software) development site for electronic product development acceleration via e-collaboration.

The resources are dedicated to reducing the total cost of innovation by introducing foundational building blocks to the electronic design process via the Internet. By accelerating the design cycle time, DevelopOnline assists innovators in getting new electronic products to market much more rapidly.

Through its open environment, and multiple vendor alliances, DevelopOnline fosters creativity and defines the quickest path between innovators, the latest technology platforms and their target markets. With services launched in September 2000, the company currently employs 85 people.

About the Embedded Linux Consortium

Responding to the rising tide of interest in Linux for embedded applications, representatives from dozens of technology firms formed the ELC, a vendor-neutral trade association dedicated to advancing the depth, breadth and speed of Linux adoption in the enormous embedded computing market.

In its first 75 days, ELC membership grew to 75 (now at 120) companies. The ELC offers free membership to developers who demonstrate their participation in the Open Source code base of the Linux operating system. More details about the ELC are available at www.embedded-linux.org.

(a) Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. DevelopOnline is a service mark of DevelopOnline Corp.