Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2000 12:18:31 -0400 From: Dan York <dyork@linuxcare.com> To: dan@lpi.org Subject: LPI Linux certification project announces expanded incentive program LINUX PROFESSIONAL INSTITUTE LINUX CERTIFICATION PROJECT EXPANDS INCENTIVE PROGRAM Exam 102 to be offered free or discounted to qualified participants FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 12, 2000 TORONTO, Ontario: The Linux Professional Institute (LPI) announces a major incentive program to help launch its second Linux certification exam, 102. Candidates taking the 102 exam between now and May 12 will receive a 50% discount off of its $100 regular price. And those who have already taken and paid for LPI's first exam, 101, may take the 102 exam at no charge. Candidates successfully taking exams 101 and 102 qualify for LPI Certification Level 1 (LPIC-1). "Our primary goal in the LPI program is to increase the number of people with demonstrated skills in Linux administration," said LPI director Evan Leibovitch. "This incentives program is designed to encourage as many people as possible to see how effective the LPI program is, and to reward those people who have been the first to take the 101 exam." Electronic mail will be sent to everyone who took the 101 exam giving them instructions on how to take the 102 exam at no charge. Others wanting to take advantage of the special $50 price can visit LPI's web site at http://www.lpi.org/102launch.html for more information. "As a non-profit community organization, our main goal is widespread acceptance of Linux certification and the LPI program," said LPI President Dan York. "This incentive plan is the type of plan our community has asked for." "SuSE's customers are asking for high quality professional training and a valid certification of international reputation. We commited ourselves as platinum sponsor to the LPI project in order to help our customers get a global, high-quality certification from a highly reputable and independent institution", said Roland Dyroff CEO of SuSE Linux AG. "We are confident that our customers will get a double benefit from the excellent Linux training we offer and the international certification from the LPI. We believe this new incentive program will help drive the acceptance of LPI's certification and encourage more people to certify earlier." "Congratulations to LPI for once again responding to the needs of the Linux community and Caldera OpenLearning students!" said Shelley Couch, director of OpenLearning for Caldera Systems, Inc. "Our global network of OpenLearning Providers stand solidly behind this industry certification and are confident in LPI's direction and forward progress. We support LPI, not only as a sponsor, but also as a global organization that embraces the power and positive impact of LPI's certification strategy. We urge our students to take advantage of this opportunity." The discount will also apply to 102 exams taken at the LPI Testing Center at Linux Business Expo, which takes place at Chicago's McCormick Center, April 18 to 20th. While the first 200 exams at the LBE Testing Center will be given free of charge, subsequent 102 exams will still qualify for the discount. For more information, visit the web page: http://www.lpi.org/lbechicago2000.html The 101 and 102 exams test candidates on basic Linux knowledge, and are delivered worldwide through VUE testing centers. Full details on the objectives of the exam, are located on LPI's website at http://www.lpi.org/ . While candidates must pass both 101 and 102 exams to obtain Level 1 certification, they can be taken in any order. About LPI... The Linux Professional Institute is a community project to develop professional certification for the Linux operating system. Established as a nonprofit organization focused on defining distribution-neutral and vendor-neutral certification standards, LPI involves a unique blend of hundreds of volunteers and professionals in many different capacities and encourages public involvement through mailing lists and its website of www.lpi.org. LPI's multi-level program of exams is administered globally through test centers operated by Virtual University Enterprises (VUE), a division of NCS. Major financial sponsorship of LPI is from Platinum Sponsors of Caldera Systems,IBM, Linuxcare, Maxspeed, SGI, SuSE Linux AG and TurboLinux as well as the Gold Sponsors Hewlett-Packard and Wave Technologies. More information can be obtained at http://www.lpi.org Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United States and other countries. "Linux Professional Institute" is a trademark of Linux Professional Institute, Inc. CONTACT: Dan York, Chair, Board of Directors +1-603-264-0129 (mobile) or +1-603-268-0691, dan@lpi.org Evan Leibovitch, Director of Marketing +1-416-998-3914 (mobile) or +1-416-410-9342, evan@lpi.org