The Free Standards Group and Open Source Development Labs Collaborate on Enterprise Linux Standards

SAN FRANCISCO and BEAVERTON, Ore., Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- The Free Standards Group (FSG), a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing and promoting open source software standards, and the Open Source Development Labs (OSDL), a global consortium dedicated to accelerating the adoption of Linux in the enterprise, today announced a collaboration to accelerate enterprise adoption of the Linux Standard Base (LSB) with new services to support software vendors developing applications for Linux.

"At OSDL, we realize a standard for Linux is an essential component of Linux's continued success in the enterprise," said Stuart Cohen, CEO of OSDL. "The Free Standards Group is leading that standard with the announcement of LSB 2.0. We are pleased to work with the FSG to further extend and test the standard in enterprise settings. Our two organizations are united behind one goal -- accelerating the adoption of Linux."

The two organizations already work closely with Linux distribution and independent software vendors. FSG partnered with OSDL on a new open project called the OSDL Working Set that aims to identify and quantify the most commonly-deployed packages with Linux in enterprise production environments. FSG also helped create the conference program for the upcoming January, 2005 OSDL Enterprise Linux Summit in Burlingame, California. At this Summit, FSG will conduct a tutorial on developing LSB 2.0 compliant applications.

"OSDL has a four-year track record of helping make Linux more enterprise-ready," said Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Free Standards Group. "We are thrilled to partner with them on bolstering support and services behind standards for Linux. Their facilities, staff and knowledge of enterprise Linux will only make the LSB more powerful and more accessible to Linux software vendors."

With this announcement, the two organizations are combining some efforts to further the adoption of Linux. OSDL will provide infrastructure and outreach support staff to software vendors who are writing LSB-compliant applications for Linux.

The Free Standards Group will work with OSDL to capture their feedback and enterprise requirements for future releases of the specification. In addition, OSDL and FSG will work together in Europe, Asia/Pac and the Americas to expand memberships of both organizations. About the Linux Standard Base (LSB)

The LSB is developed and maintained by the Free Standards Group (FSG), a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing and promoting open source software standards. The next version of the specification offers an answer to the most pressing issue facing Linux today: fragmentation. A large assortment of industry leaders have pledged their support to the new standard and the Free Standards Group to prevent this from happening. The LSB is supported by the majority of the Linux Community including AMD, Conectiva, Dell, HP, IBM, Intel, Mandrakesoft, Miracle Linux, Novell's SUSE LINUX, Progeny, Red Flag, Red Hat, Sun Wah Linux, Thizlinux, and Turbolinux. The FSG has developed LSB along with a number of tools and test suites to facilitate the creation of a standard Linux. About the Free Standards Group

The Free Standards Group is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the use and acceptance of free and open source software by developing and promoting standards. Key Free Standards Group projects include the Linux Standard Base (LSB), OpenI18N, LANANA and the new Accessibility Workgroup. Supported by leaders in the IT industry as well as the open source development community, the Free Standards Group fulfills a critical need to have common behavioral specifications, tools and ABIs across Linux platforms. More information on the Free Standards Group is available at http://www.freestandards.org. About Open Source Development Labs (OSDL)

OSDL -- home to Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux -- is dedicated to accelerating the growth and adoption of Linux. Founded in 2000 by CA, Hitachi, HP, IBM, Intel and NEC, OSDL is a non-profit organization at the center of Linux supported by a global consortium of Linux customers and IT industry leaders. OSDL sponsors industry-wide initiatives around Linux in telecommunications, in the enterprise data center and on corporate desktops. The Lab also provides Linux expertise and computing and test facilities in the United States and Japan available to developers around the world. Visit OSDL on the Web at http://www.osdl.org/ . NOTE: OSDL is a trademark of Open Source Development Labs, Inc. Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. Third party marks and brands are the property of their respective holders.