Linus Torvalds' Keynote Address Draws Crowd of 6,200 At LinuxWorld Conference & Expo

Linus Torvalds' Keynote Address Draws Crowd of 6,200 At LinuxWorld Conference & Expo

$25,000 IDG/Linus Torvalds Community Award Presented to the Free Software Foundation

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 11, 1999--For the second time in six months, Linus Torvalds' keynote address drew a cast of thousands at LinuxWorld Conference & Expo, owned and managed by IDG World Expo, a business unit of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading IT media and information services company. More than 6,000 Linux devotees cheered as Mr. Torvalds took the stage and thanked his early supporters for providing the means to continue his development efforts while a student at the University of Helsinki.

The interactive keynote addressed issues surrounding the release of the Linux kernel 2.4 and future functionality of Linux - today's hottest operating system. Mr. Torvalds continued his address by opening the floor and fielding a wide range of questions from the enthusiastic crowd of Linux devotees.

The keynote address concluded with the official presentation of the $25,000 IDG/Linus Torvalds Community Award to the Free Software Foundation (FSF) for its continued support of the Linux community. To recognize the recipients of this show's award, Linus Torvalds was joined on stage by IDG's Chairman and Founder, Patrick McGovern. The award was accepted by the Free Software Foundation's Richard Stallman and Tim Ney. In response to receiving this prestigious award, Tim Ney said, "We are honored to be the recipient of the IDG/Linus Torvalds Community Award. The award not only recognizes the work that the Free Software Foundation and its community of programmers have accomplished over the last 15 years, but also acknowledges the worldwide expansion of free software."

In addition to last evening's address from Linus Torvalds, LinuxWorld Conference & Expo hosted keynote and feature presentations from Intel's Chairman Andy Grove and Sean Maloney, senior vice president of Intel and Jon "Maddog" Hall, executive director of Linux International. On Wednesday, August 11, 1999, LinuxWorld Conference & Expo will offer attendees the opportunity to hear from Larry Augustin, president and CEO of VA Linux Systems and Michael Prince, CIO of Burlington Coat Factory.

For More Information

For more information about the show, visit the LinuxWorld Conference & Expo Web site at www.linuxworldexpo.com.

About IDG World Expo

IDG World Expo, a business unit of IDG, is the World's leading IT media, research and exposition company. IDG publishes more than 290 computer magazines and newspapers and 700 book titles, and offers online users the largest network of technology-specific sites around the world through IDG.net, which comprises more than 240 targeted Web sites in 55 countries. IDG is also a leading producer of 168 computer-related expositions worldwide, and provides IT market analysis through 49 offices in 41 countries worldwide. For more information, please visit IDG's Web site at www.idg.com.