10/09/2002 — OAKLAND, CA - October 9, 2002 - Just weeks after SUSE Linux first achieved LSB Certification, SUSE Linux is now certified for the latest product. SUSE Linux 8.1 met the stringent requirements of LSB Certification, bringing the total number of certified Linux distributions to seven. LSB, a workgroup under the Free Standards Group, standardizes the core functionality of Linux and the suite of GNU tools, giving Linux-based software the opportunity to reach a wider market and allowing application developers to concentrate on increased functionality. LSB was created through a collaboration of community developers, Linux distribution companies, ISVs and system vendors.

Certification is not a profit center for the Free Standards Group. It was designed to give users and developers the highest confidence that whatever LSB Certified Linux software they work with meets the highest possible adherence to the standard. Standards for Linux ensure that all LSB Certified applications will work with any LSB certified platform - making deployment on any system, large or small, much easier. Information on certification can be found at www.freestandards.org/certification.

"Standard compliance is of our outmost interest to avoid the fragmentation of Linux into incompatible derivatives,"" said Holger Dyroff, General Manager Americas of SUSE Linux Inc. "Certification gives our customers assurance that SUSE Linux 8.1 meets the highest possible adherence to the LSB standard."

The LSB encompasses much more than a written standard. The LSB written specification, test suite, sample implementation and developer tools combine to create an invaluable tool for Linux.

About the Free Standards Group
Supported by industry leaders, the Free Standards Group is an independent, vendor-neutral, non-profit organization dedicated to accelerating the use and acceptance of open source technologies through the development, application and promotion of standards. Headquartered in Oakland, Calif., the Free Standards Group fulfills a critical need in the open source development community to have common behavioral specifications, tools and APIs, making development across Linux distributions easier. More information on the Free Standards Group is available at www.freestandards.org.

About SUSE Linux SUSE Linux is the international technology leader and solutions provider in Open Source operating system software. SUSE's unique expertise in Linux and its largest development team worldwide dedicated to Open Source software has contributed to the recognition of SUSE as the most complete Linux solution available today. SUSE Linux is a privately held company focused entirely on supporting the Linux community and Open Source development. For further information, please check www.suse.com. SUSE is a registered trademark of SUSE Linux AG. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners. The original release can be found here: www.freestandards.org

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Jasmin Ul-Haque
Novell, Inc
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E-mail: juh@novell.com