Linuxcare and Sun Partner to Deliver Enterprise Services for StarOffice on Linux

Combination Endows Sun's Breakthrough Office Suite with Enterprise-Class Services

August 31, 1999 -- Linuxcare, Inc., the first company to offer comprehensive Linux technical services to the Global 1000, announced today that it had reached agreement with Sun Microsystems, Inc. to provide a range of enterprise-class services for Sun's recently acquired StarOffice productivity suite on Linux.

"Sun's adoption of StarOffice is an astute move that will be warmly welcomed by Linux users in the enterprise," said Fernand Sarrat, President and CEO of Linuxcare. "Not only does it put significant muscle behind a superb suite of productivity applications, it significantly extends StarOffice's capabilities into the thin-client space. Collaborating with Sun to deliver a complete Linux productivity solution represents a positive step forward in an expanding relationship that will bring significant benefits to enterprise Linux environments."

"We're pleased that Linuxcare will offer market-leading Linux services for Sun's StarOffice for Linux," said Gene Banman, Sun Microsystems' Vice President and General Manager of Information Appliances and Application Software. "Among other positive effects of the acquisition is increased support for StarOffice in the Linux community. Linuxcare and Sun are committed to providing the highest-quality customer experience with Linux solutions in the enterprise."

Under the agreement, Linuxcare will provide a comprehensive suite of enterprise services for StarOffice on Linux. These will include end-user and developer technical support; custom development; enterprise integration, migration and roll-out; and customized training. These services build upon Linuxcare's renowned Linux technical support, professional services, training, and product certification. Linuxcare supports all leading versions of Linux, including those from Caldera, Debian, Red Hat, SuSE, TurboLinux, UltraLinux, and others.

Offering tightly integrated word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, a database interface, and more, StarOffice has become a preferred productivity solution for Linux users. Sun's acquisition brings some exciting advancements to the StarOffice platform. First, StarOffice will be available as a free download, with source code available royalty-free for non-commercial use (commercial software developers pay a royalty to Sun). Second, StarOffice will be available in a "Portal" version, enabling users to access its functionality over the Web through a Java-enabled Web browser. Both versions will be fully supported on Linux, Solaris and Windows NT. These steps signal Sun's increasing commitment to the goals of the Open Source movement.

About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
 
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision, "The Network Is The Computer" has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ: SUNW), to its position as a leading provider of hardware, software, and services for establishing enterprise-wide intranets and expanding the power of the Internet. With more than $11.5 billion in annual revenues, Sun can be found in more than 150 countries and on the World Wide Web at http://www.sun.com.

About Linuxcare, Inc.
 
Linuxcare, Inc. is the leading provider of Linux services-including technical support, professional services, education, and product certification-for Global 1000 companies. Linuxcare supports all major distributions of Linux on all major platforms, offering a variety of programs including 24x7 enterprise-class telephone support. With funding from Kleiner Perkins and others, Linuxcare is working with numerous major technology companies. The company hosts http://www.linuxcare.com, the world's leading online technical-support resource for Linux. Founded in 1998, Linuxcare is headquarters in San Francisco, Calif. The company can be reached at 888-LIN-GURU (+1-415-354-4878) and at http://www.linuxcare.com. Japanese information regarding Linuxcare services is now available through jpinfo@linuxcare.com.