06/21/2004 — WALTHAM, Mass. - June 21, 2004 - Novell's SUSE Linux products provide a low-cost, high-quality solution for many non-profit and community service organizations, proving to be an easy-to-use and stable alternative to the high costs and instability of Microsoft's Windows operating systems.

Most of the computers at the Computer Learning Center in Fairfax County, Va., were donated by Fairfax County and could not maintain the enormous code included in Windows ME. The computers ran very slowly, causing frustration among staff and students. "Even though we have a cable modem, the computers were just too slow and problematic," said Subroto Mukerji, site director of the Computer Learning Center. Once SUSE Linux was installed on all the machines, the center's children were able to access games, programs and Web sites rapidly and without system crashes. "SUSE LINUX always seems to work. It never crashes as much as Windows 98, ME and 2000 do," Mr. Mukerji said.

Tina Thomas is pastor of the Bethlehem and Gassaway United Methodist Churches in South Carolina. In an attempt to modernize church operations, Tina and her husband, George, purchased a Wal-Mart PC with Windows XP, but compatibility problems arose with their version of Microsoft Office. "Her computer was crashing all the time, like on Saturday night when she was finishing her sermon for the next morning," Mr. Thomas explained. Ms. Thomas was initially afraid to try Linux, but after her husband installed SUSE Linux, every document opens smoothly in OpenOffice.org, regardless of the program in which it was created. "We are indebted to the open source software community for helping us keep our church communities running smoothly," Ms. Thomas said.

Running SUSE Linux, Paul Mundell, national director of canine programs at the Canine Companions for Independence in Santa Rosa, Calif., created custom applications using third-party software such as SAS to calculate breeding values for dogs that are trained as companions for people with disabilities. According to Mr. Mundell, the SUSE Linux environment makes customization quite easy with its package integration and updating, allowing him to concentrate on the productivity software instead of the operating system. With its 99.99 percent uptime and superior performance on the IBM Intellistation M Pro, Mr. Mundell believes SUSE Linux was the most cost-effective choice for a flexible and stable programming environment.

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