[LWN Logo]

Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1999 16:20:51 -0700
Subject: Advance: Sun Microsystems & Linuxcare partner
To: lwn@lwn.net

LINUXCARE AND SUN PARTNER TO DELIVER ENTERPRISE SERVICES FOR STAROFFICE ON LINUX

Combination Endows Sun's Breakthrough Office Suite with Enterprise-Class Services

SAN FRANCISCO--September 1, 1999--Linuxcare, Inc., the first company to
offer comprehensive Linux technical services to the Global 1000, announced
today that it had reached agreement with Sun Microsystems, Inc. to provide
a range of enterprise-class services for Sun's recently acquired StarOffice
productivity suite on Linux.

"Sun's adoption of StarOffice is an astute move that will be warmly
welcomed by Linux users in the enterprise," said Fernand Sarrat, President
and CEO of Linuxcare. "Not only does it put significant muscle behind a
superb suite of productivity applications, it significantly extends
StarOffice's capabilities into the thin-client space. Collaborating with
Sun to deliver a complete Linux productivity solution represents a positive
step forward in an expanding relationship that will bring significant
benefits to enterprise Linux environments."

"We're pleased that Linuxcare will offer market-leading Linux services for
Sun's StarOffice for Linux," said Gene Banman, Sun Microsystems' Vice
President and General Manager of Information Appliances and Application
Software. "Among other positive effects of the acquisition is increased
support for StarOffice in the Linux community. Linuxcare and Sun are
committed to providing the highest quality customer experience with Linux
solutions in the enterprise."

Under the agreement, Linuxcare will provide a comprehensive suite of
enterprise services for StarOffice on Linux. These will include end-user
and developer technical support; custom development; enterprise
integration, migration and rollout; and customized training. These services
build upon Linuxcare's renowned Linux technical support, professional
services, training, and product certification. Linuxcare supports all
leading versions of Linux, including those from Caldera, Debian, Red Hat,
SuSE, TurboLinux, UltraLinux, and others.

Offering tightly integrated word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, a
database interface, and more, StarOffice has become a preferred
productivity solution for Linux users. Sun's acquisition brings some
exciting advancements to the StarOffice platform. First, StarOffice will be
available as a free download, with source code available royalty-free for
non-commercial use (commercial software developers pay a royalty to
Sun). Second, StarOffice will be available in a "Portal" version, enabling
users to access its functionality over the Web through a Java-enabled Web
browser. Both versions will be fully supported on Linux, Solaris and
Windows NT. These steps signal Sun's increasing commitment to the goals of
the Open-Source movement.

About Linuxcare, Inc.

Linuxcare, Inc. is the first company to provide a complete solution for
Linux technical support, consulting, education, and product certification
for Global 1000 companies. Linuxcare supports all major distributions of
Linux on all major platforms, offering a variety of programs including 24x7
enterprise-class telephone support. With funding from Kleiner Perkins and
others, Linuxcare hosts www.linuxcare.com, the world's leading online
technical-support resource for Linux. Founded in 1998, Linuxcare is
headquartered in San Francisco, Calif. The company can be reached at
888-LIN-GURU (+01-415-354-4878) and at www.linuxcare.com. Japanese
information regarding Linuxcare services is now available through
jpinfo@linuxcare.com.

About Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision, "The Network Is The
Computer(tm)" has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ: SUNW), to its
position as a leading provider of hardware, software, and services for
establishing enterprise-wide intranets and expanding the power of the
Internet. With more than $11.5 billion in annual revenues, Sun can be found
in more than 150 countries and on the World Wide Web at http://www.sun.com.
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Linuxcare and the Linuxcare logo are service marks, and "At the center of
Linux" is a trademark of Linuxcare, Inc. Linux is a registered trademark of
Linus Torvalds. All other trademarks are acknowledged.