To: lwn@lwn.net From: Kai Staats <kstaats@terraplex.com> Subject: Altivec TERRA SOFT SOLUTIONS ANNOUNCES ALTIVEC TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT IN BLACK LAB LINUX The Supercomputer Comes to Linux! LOVELAND, Colorado -- 23 March 2000 -- Terra Soft Solutions, Inc., the leading developer of Linux solutions for PowerPC(TM) microprocessors, today announced full development support for Motorola's AltiVec(TM) technology, also known as the "Velocity Engine" in the Apple Macintosh community. Black Lab Linux running on Motorola's MPC7400 PowerPC microprocessor, the first of the G4 family of microprocessors, enhances development of parallel solutions for desktop and embedded systems. "In working with Motorola, we were able to implement patches for the AltiVec technology and offer an AltiVec enabled Black Lab Linux kernel. PowerPC Linux developers may now enjoy 150-300% increase with some Linux applications running in excess of 10 times [1,000%] their normal performance," states Troy Benjegerdes, software engineer for Terra Soft Solutions, Inc. Black Lab Linux offers the GCC compiler with support for the AltiVec C and C++ extensions, as well as Linux kernel run-time support for AltiVec enabled applications offering a native development environment. Developers may accelerate their applications on MPC7400 microprocessors running linux to unprecedented performance levels. "AltiVec technology provides a quantum boost in vector processing capability and software performance for the PowerPC architecture in a variety of desktop and embedded markets," added Kalpesh Gala, Motorola's AltiVec technology product manager. "Motorola was pleased to provide architecture and tools support to the Terra Soft development team for an AltiVec enabled linux." With compilers enabled for AltiVec technology developers of custom DSP, image processing, scientific computation, and encryption software can take advantage of 128 bit vector processing unit for dramatic performance improvements. Terra Soft customers General Dynamics, University of New Mexico High Performance Computing Center, and Northrop Grumman Corporation are already putting Black Lab Linux on G4 hardware to the test. About Terra Soft Solutions, Inc. Terra Soft Solutions, Inc. is a leading developer of innovative technologies for PowerPC Linux. Champion Server, their flagship product, has boosted viability of Linux for PowerPC in a wide range of server applications. Black Lab Linux provides an advanced Linux distribution for development, parallel computing, and embedded systems. For more information, please visit http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com and http://www.blacklablinux.com/ Press Contact: Kai Staats, CEO Terra Soft Solutions, Inc. 970.278.9243 kstaats@terraplex.com Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. PowerPC is a trademark of IBM Corp. Motorola is a registered trademark and AltiVec is a trademark of Motorola. Apple, Macintosh, and Velocity Engine are registered trademarks of Apple Computer Inc. All other names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.