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From: Russ Foster <russ@slashtco.com>
To: Aaron.Stenhoff@macmillanUSA.com
Subject: Leading Open Source developers join SlashTCO 
Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2001 12:46:12 +0000

Hello there,

Please find below a press release concerning SlashTCO's appointment of
the co-authors of SmoothWall - Richard Morrell and Lawrence Manning.
Richard is available for interview from next week onwards. To arrange
an interview, or for further information, please phone me on +44 (0)
118 9566 116 or fax +44 (0) 118 9566110.

Regards
Russ Foster
--



Leading Open Source developers join SlashTCO

SlashTCO is pleased to announce that Richard Morrell and Lawrence
Manning, two of the leading figures in the UK Linux movement, are
joining the staff of SlashTCO Limited.

Richard will join SlashTCO as Development Director and will spearhead
the Company's campaign to get the "Total Cost of Ownership" message
across to IT organisations.  Back in 1997 he founded WebDynamics, one
of the first Linux services companies in the UK, subsequently working
for Linuxcare before moving on to become part of the European
Operations at VA Linux, where he continued to work with some of the
most influential characters in the Open Source space. Richard is tasked
with the growth of the development and revenue opportunities under the
SlashTCO umbrella, whilst building on relationships with companies and
corporations looking to use Linux and Open Source technologies.

"The popularity of Linux does not yet match the invoiceable
perception in the commercial fee paying and revenue generating
circles" said Richard.  "SlashTCO, by watching and learning from
the painful and costly attempts of other companies who have dipped
their toes in the water of offering Linux services, aims to deliver a
highly professional and commercial range of services and solutions. 
These are designed to attract the commercial customer as well as
relationships with the channel and development community"

"Richard brings a wealth of expertise and experience to
SlashTCO" said Duane Mayes, CEO of SlashTCO Ltd.  "We are
extremely pleased to have him on board and see him as a key member of
the management team.  We look forward to utilising Richard's vast
technical and business expertise, particularly in respect of Internet
and e-commerce applications, to enable us to promote our TCO message
and pursue our aggressive growth strategy."

Lawrence has over 15 years programming experience and holds an honours
degree in Computer Engineering. He has been involved with numerous Open
Source projects including the Linux kernel development.

Richard and Lawrence will continue to work on a number of Open Source
projects, including the SmoothWall Firewall, where Richard is the
Project Manager and Lawrence the Chief Designer/Programmer.  SmoothWall
has been phenomenally successful, with over 265,000 worldwide downloads
in the five months since first release.  SmoothWall has featured in
traditional press and online media since its launch with over 300,000
copies having been distributed via Windows and Linux magazines all over
the globe.  Released under the "General Public License" (GPL) it
illustrates the true potential of the best Open Source Ideal;
protecting SOHO, home and corporate users alike.  SlashTCO is to
sponsor the further development of the SmoothWall product, much of
which will now take place at SlashTCO's headquarters in Reading,
England.

ABOUT SlashTCO

SlashTCO Limited runs the SlashTCO.com web site, which acts as a
one-stop resource for the investigation of Open Source solutions for
business.  SlashTCO provides consultancy and training services,
including Linux Professional Institute (LPI) certification in the UK. 
SlashTCO aims to work as a facilitator for the best development talent,
regardless of location, to work on projects not just in the UK but
worldwide.  Slashing the Total Cost of Ownership by working smarter.

http://www.slashtco.com/
http://www.smoothwall.org/

PRESS CONTACT:

Russ Foster
Email: russ@slashtco.com
Tel.: +44 (0) 118 9566116