Novell First to Promote Global Open Source Development in China Through openSUSE Project

BEIJING, LinuxWorld 2005, Aug. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Novell (Nasdaq: NOVL) today launched a dedicated Chinese language site for openSUSE*, the open source project for the Novell SUSE(TM) Linux distribution announced August 9, 2005. OpenSUSE will be the only fully localized project for a global Linux* distribution in China. OpenSUSE.org.cn will provide the active Chinese and Asian Linux development community a full-featured, easy to use gateway into the global open source community. As a result, the openSUSE project will benefit from Chinese and Asian developer contributions, improving SUSE Linux for users worldwide.

"Novell is committed to building a bridge between skilled programmers in China and Asia and the broader global open source community," said Dr. Sen Ming Chang, managing director, Asia, and vice president, Asia Pacific, of Novell. "No other global Linux vendor is making this sort of investment in the Chinese market and supporting the Chinese development community this strongly."

Novell will actively promote the openSUSE project in China. The site will be supported by the Novell China research and development center announced today. All content for the openSUSE project will be localized in Chinese, and hosted in China. A number of Novell's widely-respected Chinese Linux developers will actively contribute to the project and will facilitate Chinese community support for openSUSE.org.cn.

"Novell is increasing its investment in China, which we see as an important developer of, and market for, open source technology," said Rhonda O'Donnell, president, Novell Asia Pacific. "Customers ultimately benefit, as innovations contributed by China will drive improvements into our broad range of infrastructure solutions built on SUSE Linux."

For more information on the openSUSE project, please visit: http://www.opensuse.org. About Novell

Novell, Inc. is a leading provider of infrastructure software and services to over 50,000 customers in 43 countries. With more than 20 years of experience in data center, workgroup and desktop solutions, Novell's 6,000 employees, 5,000 partners and support centers around the world are meeting customer requirements for identity-driven computing and Linux solutions. By providing enterprise-class software and support for commercial and open source software, Novell delivers increased operating flexibility and choice at a lower total cost of ownership. More information about Novell can be found at http://www.novell.com . NOTE: Novell is a registered trademark and SUSE and openSUSE are trademarks of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries. *Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners