The Free Standards Group Announces LSB Certification Program

Third-party Certification by The Open Group Will Ensure Highest Possible Compliance to the Linux Standard Base (LSB)

OAKLAND, CA -June 28, 2002-A mere six months after the initial release of the Linux Standard Base 1.1 (LSB 1.1), the Free Standards Group announced the launch of the LSB Certification program. LSB Certification will utilize an independent authority to verify whether a Linux distribution or Linux-based application is adhering to the community and industry developed standard.

LSB standardizes the core functionality of Linux and the suite of GNU tools, giving Linux distributions the opportunity to reach a wider market, while allowing application developers to concentrate on increased functionality. LSB was developed by a collation of community developers, Linux distribution companies, ISVs and system vendors.

"The Free Standards Group and its LSB Workgroup have been moving rapidly to make standards an integral part of Linux," said Scott McNeil, Free Standards Group executive director. "Corporate, government, enterprise and individual end users, as well as developers and ISVs can be assured that an LSB certified Linux distribution or program meets the highest possible adherence to the standard."

The Free Standards Group has contracted The Open Group to manage LSB Certification, ensuring neutrality, confidentiality and a proven, predictable process. Information on certification can be found at http://www.freestandards.org/certification.

"The Open Group is delighted to provide certification services to the LSB Certification program, which is vital to the continued growth of Linux," said Allen Brown, President and CEO of The Open Group. "The work that our members have done within the Linux community, and support for Open Source in principle and implementation, make our role in LSB certification a perfect fit with the experience and skills of The Open Group."

The LSB Certification program was not created to be a profit center for the Free Standards Group. Prices are kept to a minimum to encourage developers, ISVs and Linux distributions to become LSB certified. Prices for certification run between $400 and $3,000.

With LSB's full complement standards and testing capabilities and with the addition of the LSB Certification program, the Free Standards Group has created indispensable tools for Linux.

About the Free Standards Group

Supported by industry leaders, the Free Standards Group is an independent, vendor-neutral, non-profit organization dedicated to accelerating the use and acceptance of open source technologies through the development, application and promotion of standards. Headquartered in Oakland, Calif., the Free Standards Group fulfills a critical need in the open source development community to have common behavioral specifications, tools and APIs, making development across Linux distributions easier. More information on the Free Standards Group is available at www.freestandards.org.