Free Standards Group Expands Management Team with Linux Industry Pioneer Arthur Tyde

¡VThe Free Standards Group ( FSG ), a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing and promoting open source software standards, today announced it has appointed Linux industry pioneer Arthur F. Tyde III to the position of chief technology officer. Tyde brings an impressive track record of Linux experience and accomplishment to the FSG including founding Linuxcare and the Bay Area Linux Users Group. He was recently voted among the 100 Smartest People by Smart Reseller and one of the 50 most important people in Linux. Tyde¡¦s experience supporting applications across multiple distributions and building the first Linux certification program make him uniquely qualified to provide technical leadership to the Free Standards Group.

The FSG also announced it has appointed Amanda McPherson as director of marketing. Mcpherson has a successful track record of creating awareness and demand for both open source and enterprise software, including membership in the core team that launched the Java programming language in 1995. She will concentrate on raising the visibility and communicating the benefits of the Free Standards Group. The build-out of the management team will provide the infrastructure necessary for the FSG to achieve its next stage of growth.

Art Tyde has a long history of successful Linux entrepreneurial accomplishments. As a founder of Linuxcare, Tyde created the first commercial services and certification provider for Linux. Tyde will lead all technical initiatives for the FSG, including improving its certification and testing offerings and working with ISVs, the open source community and systems and distribution vendors. Tyde has been featured in publications such as Network World and the Industry Standard, and is frequently quoted in the Economist, Internet Week, Computer World, Financial Times and various other publications. Tyde is also an internationally recognized authority on wireless networking and computer forensics. He currently sits on the boards of directors of Sputnik Inc. and SpecOps Labs Inc.

These appointments will enable the Free Standards Group to build on its recent accomplishments, which include:

,,X The appointment of Jim Zemlin as executive director in May of 2004

,,X The launch of LSB 2.0 with support from all major Linux distributions

,,X Significant ISV support from Oracle, VERITAS, BakBone and others for the LSB ( also announced today )

,,X Adoption of the LSB by the Chinese Government as the core of its emerging Linux standard

,,X An expanded membership and funding roster, now totaling 35 members

¡§It¡¦s a real coup to bring Art to the Free Standards Group,¡¨ said Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Free Standards Group. ¡§Art brings an incredible depth of experience with Linux. He¡¦ll immediately help us build out the specification and improve our testing and certification efforts and provide the technical leadership to continue improving the LSB for the future. Amanda¡¦s expertise in marketing will create the awareness that is absolutely critical to achieve momentum with an open standard. With this right combination of visibility and ability to execute, we¡¦ll be able to attain our goal of standardizing Linux.¡¨

¡§I have always been an advocate for the end user of Linux,¡¨ said Tyde. ¡§I absolutely believe that Linux will evolve into the defacto open standard for an operating system across all platforms. The Linux Standard Base is the key to safeguarding the future of Linux, both for end users and the community. I encourage all members of the community to join the Free Standards Group and help define the future of open computing.¡¨

Amanda McPherson has a successful track record of building, communicating and raising the visibility of technology brands. Most recently, she was director of marketing for Covalent Technologies, the leading provider of Apache Web server software. Previously, she served at two of the industry's largest public relations agencies ¡V Cunningham Communication and Burson-Marsteller ¡V where her work was recognized by industry awards from the Public Relations Society of America. At those agencies, she managed public relations, marketing and positioning campaigns for such clients as Sun Microsystems, Cisco, Corio, Novell, AlphaBlox and others. As a core member of the marketing team responsible for the launch of the Java programming language in 1995, she gained insight into the crucial role of marketing in the successful deployment of open technologies and standards. Prior to joining Covalent, she led business development efforts for venture backed software firm @TheMoment. A published author, McPherson graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in English from the University of California at Berkeley, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona.

The LSB helps software vendors target the Linux platform in a cost effective, low risk manner. This is crucial for the on-going success for Linux as it simplifies the development and porting of applications by ISVs. By supporting the LSB, application vendors can save millions of dollars by utilizing a clear set of standards in their development efforts. Distribution vendor support also ensures Linux will not fork and will continue to be the fastest growing operating system in the industry.

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 www.freestandards.org.

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