LINUX PROFESSIONAL INSTITUTE PLANS LINUX DESKTOP CERTIFICATION
INITIATIVE
SAN FRANCISCO, August 6, 2003 - The Linux Professional Institute (LPI), (www.lpi.org),
the premier international professional certification program for the Linux
community, is planning a Linux desktop certification initiative to seek
support and prospective partnerships to build a community/commitment to meet
the market demand for the Linux desktop.
"We are taking a community lead by calling for volunteers and others to step
forward to help develop a Linux desktop certification program," says LPI's
president Evan Leibovitch. "The desktop is ready for primetime even in
professional environments. It's not just a hacker's toy anymore.
Companies and users are ready to teach and use it and we believe a
certification program targeted to the desktop is going to help."
Adds Marcelo Marques of LPI's Brazil affiliate, "Open source, especially on
the desktop, has the potential to turn IT in many countries from an import
industry to an export one. But open source cannot meet its potential
in any country without combining the raw technology with a planned system of
education and professional certification."
"The developing world is far more interested in achieving self-sufficiency
as opposed to being "dependent" economies," adds Marques. "Linux
technology offers an inexpensive source of software and provides the
building blocks for any country to provide the necessary infrastructure for
a homegrown IT industry, far less reliant on foreign sources of technology
than is currently
the case."
"Linux desktop education and certification are crucial for infrastructure
development in least developed countries, where Linux has the real
capability to dramatically change lives," adds Leibovitch. "In
countries where the salary for an IT worker can be $100 or less, open source
techniques truly do level the paying field, offering the opportunity to turn
economic drain into an
economic gain."
LPI's mandate is to design and deliver a certification program from within
the Linux community, using both volunteer and professional resources. LPI
has delivered over 30,000 Level One and Level Two certification exams
globally since the program's inception in just over two years.
About Linux Professional Institute
The Linux Professional Institute (LPI) develops professional certification for the Linux operating system independent of software vendors or training providers. Established as an international non-profit organization in 1999 by the Linux community, LPI develops accessible, internationally-recognized certification programs which have earned the respect of vendors, employers and administrators. LPI's activities involve hundreds of volunteers and professionals throughout the world in many different capacities, and the group encourages active public involvement through mailing lists and its website at www.lpi.org. LPI's multi-level program of exams is administered globally through Pearson VUE and Prometric testing centers. LPI's major financial sponsors are Platinum Sponsors Caldera International (NASDAQ:CALD), IBM (NYSE:IBM), Linuxcare, Maxspeed, SGI (NYSE:SGI), SuSE Linux AG and TurboLinux as well as Gold Sponsors Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HWP) and Wave Technologies.
Contact:
Sheldon Rose
Sacke & Associates Inc.
sheldonr@sackepr.com
416-543-6441
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