Innovative Product Launches Take Center Stage at Next Week's LinuxWorld Conference & Expo in Boston.

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- Linux Users Will Gather in Boston to Learn about New Products, Developments in the Open Source Marketplace

IDG World Expo, the leading producer of world-class tradeshows, conferences and events for technology markets around the globe, today provided a preview of the new product announcements expected at next week's LinuxWorld Conference & Expo(R), as well as a first look at the event's top attractions. Linux users from around the globe will arrive at Boston's Hynes Convention Center next week to examine the latest products and solutions, hear about new developments in the industry, and learn best practices from some of the most active users of Open Source technologies.

LinuxWorld Conference & Expo runs February 14-17, 2005 at the Hynes Convention Center. The LinuxWorld exhibit floor opens on Tuesday, February 15 at 10:00 a.m. Exhibit hall passes are free on or before February 13, 2005 - passes cost $35.00 after February 13, 2005. Register for free exhibit hall passes at http://www.linuxworldexpo.com.

The LinuxWorld exhibit floor will feature key companies driving the future of Linux and Open Source, including AMD, BakBone Software, Computer Associates, HP, IBM, Intel, Novell, Oracle, Pogo Linux, Red Hat, Sun Microsystems, Sybase, VERITAS, Yosemite Technologies and many more. LinuxWorld also provides a forum for new companies entering this space.

Companies who have scheduled press conferences at the event include:

Tuesday, February 15 - HP, Novell, IBM, Oracle, Red Hat, Innovation Data Processing.

Wednesday, February 16 - Akibia, Gupta, Xandros, Prentice Hall PTR, Kirix.

Thursday, February 17 - Coraid, Veritas, Opengear.

Companies who have given a sneak preview of product announcements they plan to make at LinuxWorld Conference & Expo include the following:

ALACOS (booth 1417) will announce two new products: Linux Migration Agent Network Server Edition simultaneously migrates multiple desktop computers from Windows to Linux using a centralized, programmable server. Thin Client Migration Agent simultaneously migrates multiple fat client systems to thin client systems using a centralized, programmable server.

ARKEIA (booth 920) will announce the release of its fully integrated backup solution for Netline Internet Service's Open-Xchange Server. Arkeia backup for Open-Xchange Server is a modular solution that enables the hot backup of the LDAP server and the PostgreSQL database as well as Open-Xchange specific data. The backup solution is compatible with Arkeia Network Backup and Arkeia Server Backup products.

CORAID (booth 924) will introduce EtherDriveT, a new low cost Ethernet appliance specifically designed to meet the networked storage needs of the Linux and Open Source server market. Coraid developed the Open Standards based ATA-over-Ethernet (AoE) protocol which it implements in its EtherDrive Storage Blade products.

KIRIX (booth 833) will release a new tool for the Linux desktop that enables users to interact with data with remarkable speed and flexibility. Their new product, Kirix Strata, is a dynamic database application that combines the instantaneous computational abilities of a spreadsheet with the capacity of a database management system.

MAKAU TRAINING (booth 1423) will announce new courses: Linux Professional Institute (LPI) Certification 101 and 102 teaches the basics of administering a server running the Linux operating system, providing students with the instruction necessary to prepare them for the LPI Level 1 certification or the Level 1 Sair Linux and GNU certification. Red Hat to SUSE Migration course covers the procedural differences an IT professional familiar with Red Hat Enterprise server will need to know to migrate to SUSE Enterprise Server.

OPENGEAR (booth 122) has developed console management and KVM over IP solutions for small and mid-sized enterprises. The CM family of console servers enable IT managers to securely manage their IT assets from anywhere in the world. These feature rich, aggressively priced console servers are available in 8, 16 or 48 serial ports.

SCALIX (booth 1806) will announce a new version of its messaging platform, making corporate email administration visual and easy. Scalix 9.2 improves email administrator productivity by bringing the convenience and simplicity of anytime, anywhere point-and-click functionality to email server installation, monitoring and management.

SOLINUS (booth 1817) will announce the first availability of the Linux version of its MailFoundry network appliance. The product features a 500% improvement in throughput over previous versions at the same price point.

TATUNG (booth 818) will introduce a new high-performance blade server TUD-4010/BS4110 that accommodates up to 10 independent dual low power consumption AMD(R) opteron(TM) processors in a single 4U form factor chassis and supports up to 200 processors in a single 42U height rack.

VERSORA (booth 124) will announce Progression Desktop, an enterprise-ready tool that automatically migrates items from Windows desktops to Linux desktops. Also to be introduced, Progression DB is a powerful server management tool that migrates databases from Microsoft SQL Server to databases running on Linux including MySQL, Ingres r3 and PostgreSQL.

WHAM ENGINEERING & SOFTWARE (booth 731) will extend its Focal Point Analysis Suite and Silhouette Java Profiling functionality to Linux Applications to optimize the scalability, availability and performance of applications through innovative analysis of Unix kernel-based metrics. This same functionality is now available for all Linux applications giving development organizations the ability to benchmark UNIX and Linux applications with a common set of measurements.

LinuxWorld Conference & Expo attendees can also network with their peers and obtain valuable education at a wide variety of informative conference sessions, special events and forums. These include:

Keynotes: Attendees will hear keynote presentations from Jack Messman, chairman and CEO of Novell, Inc.; Martin Fink, VP Linux, HP; John Swainson, President and CEO-Elect, Computer Associates; John Patrick, President, Attitude LLC and former VP, Internet Technology, IBM; and Marten Mickos CEO, MySQL.

Technology Showcase: The inaugural Technology Showcase offers over 10 hours of complimentary Linux and Open Source educational sessions by industry experts over three days and will take place on the exhibit hall's main stage beginning at 10:15 a.m. each day. It will give Expo attendees a taste of the world-class training that takes place in the Conference portion of LinuxWorld. The Showcase will be highlighted by technology gurus from Slashdot and SourceForge.net on Wednesday, February 16.

Free Linux Certification: The Linux Professional Institute (LPI), the premier Linux certification organization worldwide (http://www.lpi.org/), will offer free Linux certification testing. Each day of the conference at 1:00 p.m., LPI will be conducting the LPI 101 exam in Room 205. The proctored exams are free to all conference delegates, and a special discounted price of $25 is also offered to all exhibitors and exhibit hall attendees. All candidates must pre-register at the LPI Web site for an LPI ID number at https://www.lpi.org/en/register.html. Exam candidates should bring valid photo identification and their LPI ID number to the exam lab.

The Golden Penguin Bowl: The infamous geek trivia game returns with host Jeremy Allison of HP. Contestants include Open Source industry personalities Dave Berlind, Don Marti, and Andy Oram representing the media, and Maria Winslow, Jonathan Eunice and Stephen O'Grady representing the industry analysts.

X.org Event: The X.Org Foundation (www.x.org), responsible for the X Window System Standard for the Open Desktop, will hold the second in a series of international developers meetings at HP's Cambridge Research Labs on Saturday and Sunday, February 12-13. Leading community developers will meet to review and consider the future of this Critical Technology. Visit http://freedesktop.org/wiki/Software_2fXDevConf for conference schedule and information. X.org experts will also be present at LinuxWorld (booth 1) to discuss the future directions of X.org, the current organization and to answer technical questions. HP is an executive-level sponsor of X.Org.

Birds-of-a-Feather Meetings: Meet and discuss current issues with like-minded open source professionals during these informal meetings. Choose from more than a dozen topics ranging from "Windows to Linux Desktop Migration" to "Slashdot: Hanging out with Cmdr. Taco."

.Org Pavilion: This section of the LinuxWorld exhibit floor features non-profit organizations keeping the spirit of Open Source alive around the world. Participating organizations include X.org, Debian Project, Ether Boot Project, Linux Test Project, Oregon St. Open Source Lab, GNOME Foundation, LTSP, OSDL, ObjectWeb, OpenOffice.org and many more.

LinuxWorld Product Excellence Awards: These awards recognize product and service innovations by LinuxWorld's exhibitors. Winners will be announced in a ceremony on the exhibit floor on Tuesday, February 15 at 4:30 p.m.

Conference Program: LinuxWorld provides a comprehensive educational experience for the entire spectrum of Open Source users and enthusiasts, including corporate and IT executives, directors, administrators and developers.

For more information or to register for the event, please visit www.linuxworldexpo.com.

About LinuxWorld Conference & Expo

LinuxWorld Conference & Expo is the premier event exclusively focused on Linux and Open Source solutions. As the world's most comprehensive marketplace for Open Source products and services, LinuxWorld provides business decision-makers with information and resources to implement Linux and Open Source solutions into business infrastructure and enterprise networks. For more information or to register for the event, visit the LinuxWorld Conference & Expo Web site at www.linuxworldexpo.com, or call [phone]. For exhibiting opportunities, please contact John Yurewicz at [phone] or [e-mail] or Frank Netherwood at [phone] or [e-mail].

About IDG World Expo

IDG World Expo (www.idgworldexpo.com) produces technology-focused tradeshows, conferences and events for professionals seeking world-class education, peer-to-peer networking and one-stop comparison shopping. As the leading technology event management company, IDG World Expo leverages its experience and knowledge of technology-focused events and conferences, enabling technology companies to capture the attention and loyalty of influential buyers. IDG World Expo's portfolio of conferences and events includes Macworld Conference & Expo(R), LinuxWorld Conference & Expo(R), Bio--IT World Conference + Expo(TM), Wireless Sensing Solutions(TM), Syndicate(TM), RoboBusiness and RoboNexus. IDG World Expo is a business unit of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research and event company.

About IDG

International Data Group (IDG) is the world's leading technology media, research, and event company. A privately-held company, IDG publishes more than 300 magazines and newspapers including Bio-IT World, CIO, CSO, Computerworld, GamePro, InfoWorld, Network World, and PC World. The company features the largest network of technology-specific Web sites with more than 400 around the world. IDG is also a leading producer of more than 170 computer-related events worldwide including LinuxWorld Conference & Expo(R), Macworld Conference & Expo(R), DEMO(R), and IDC Directions. IDC provides global market research and advice through offices in 50 countries. Company information is available at http://www.idg.com.