Andover.Net Acquires Slashdot
ACTON, MA-June 29, 1999 - Andover.Net (www.andover.net), the award-winning online IT network dedicated to servicing the builders of the Internet, today announced the acquisition of Slashdot, the leading community Web site for Linux and open source news and resources. Leveraging Andover.Net's financial and technical capability, Slashdot plans to expand its news and commentary serving its community of open source enthusiasts. Rob "CmdrTaco" Malda and Jeff "Hemos" Bates will continue their creative control of the site as well as providing direction for other Linux efforts at Andover.Net. As a result of the acquisition, Andover.Net now has 2,500,000 unique visitors and 35,000,000 page impressions per month.
"I'm looking forward to having the resources available to expand Slashdot according to my wants for a Geek news site," said Slashdot founder Rob Malda who will join the Andover.Net Board of Directors as a result of the acquisition. "This will allow me to bring people in to focus harder on certain aspects of Geek News (and actually pay them), and free me up to concentrate on the areas of the job that I enjoy most. Andover.Net realizes that the future success of Slashdot is linked to holding on tightly to our original creative vision."
Slashdot (www.slashdot.org) is the largest online community for open source developers, providing news, "Weblog" commentary, information, and reviews. A leading source for open source news on the Red Hat Web site (www.redhat.com), Slashdot will continue to foster community and offer the open source industry's most insightful and progressive news that nerds can use. Slashdot will immediately benefit from Andover.Net's technical infrastructure, including bandwidth and hardware, as well as the added marketing resources to ensure Slashdot's leading role as the town hall of open source revolutionaries.
"Andover.Net is thrilled to have found a partner with the clarity of vision and the commitment to open source community. Together Andover.Net and Slashdot will serve over 2,500,000 unique visitors per month, technical leaders who today are driving the direction of the Internet. Site designers and developers, programmers, sysadmins, net consultants, and the other IT pros will find Andover.Net and Slashdot to be their most valuable resources for building the net," said Bruce Twickler, president and CEO of Andover.Net.
Ultimate Resource for the Open Source Community
Slashdot and Andover.Net's rapid growth in visitors and traffic (estimated at over 35 million page impressions) reflects the growth and the needs of the people who are building the Internet, particularly open source development such as Linux. According to International Data Corp., Linux shipments grew 212 percent from 1997 to 1998. Andover.Net users agree-recently polled, 82% said they have considered or are considering switching to Linux and 66% think Linux will eventually overtake Windows NT. Slashdot's focus on open source development and Linux is complemented by Andover.Net's offerings, including:
Andover.Net and Slashdot are fully supported through advertising, ensuring editorial integrity in its open source and IT community, news, commentary, and tools. Slashdot is ranked #33 in the Hot100 Tech site ranking and #1 in the Hot100 Online Magazine ranking. Slashdot and Andover.Net users spend more time on the sites, using e-Tools online and taking advantage of the wealth of technical resources. Visitors spend an average of eight hours a month on Andover.Net sites, compared to Amazon's 12 minutes per month. As a result, advertisers like Gateway, IBM and Compaq, have a captive, repeat audience bringing companies the opportunity to go beyond the banner and utilize more effective, information-based display and sponsorship ads.
About Slashdot
Slashdot (www.slashdot.org) is the largest online community for open source developers, providing news, "Weblog" commentary, information and reviews. Founded by Rob "CmdrTaco" Malda in 1997, Slashdot fosters community and offers the open source industry's most insightful and progressive news that nerds can use. Slashdot, the number one open source news provider for Red Hat's Web site, is located in Holland, Michigan. Slashdot can be found at www.slashdot.org.
About Andover.Net
Andover.Net (www.andover.net) is the award-winning online IT network dedicated to servicing the builders of the Internet. Andover.Net includes a unique combination of IT news and reviews; resources for IT buyers & programmers; and e-Tools for Web builders. Andover.Net also provides advertisers with the most effective online advertising programs for targeting people building the Internet. For the latest news, reviews and resources visitors go to AndoverNews (www.andovernews.com). This site also includes Slashdot (www.slashdot.org) the leading site for open source programmers; The IT Managers Journal (www.itmanagersjournal.com), providing news and advice for IT managers; the Internet Traffic Report, providing Internet performance data every 15 minutes; and TechSightings, reviews of the Web's best sites. IT buyers and programmers download products at DaveCentral (www.davecentral.com) which provides over 6,000 free downloadable Internet software products for Windows; FreeCode (www.freecode.com), where users can easily view and use free code; and Slaughterhouse (www.slaughterhouse.com), that provides free downloadable Windows software. MediaBuilder (www.mediabuilder.com) is the online Web-building resource with over 10,000 free images and unique e-Tools. Serving a total of 2,500,000 unique visitors per month, Andover.Net is headquartered in Acton, Mass.