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