A press release from Mandrakesoft

Moreno Valley, CA; Paris, France; October 27th, 2004 - Mandrakesoft announced today the release of Mandrakelinux 10.1 Official, the latest version of its leading Linux Operating System. Notable new features include extended support for mobile devices, better hardware compatibility, and major application upgrades. Following a successful "Community" release, 10.1 Official will be the basis for a large part of Mandrakesoft's range of products. The value-added packs (Discovery, PowerPack and PowerPack+) are available now for pre-orders and through the Mandrakeclub on-line service. Prices start at EUR 44.90 / $49.90.

Mandrakelinux was designed, from the start, with the goal of turning Linux into something that would appeal to the largest possible number of people. The latest version, Mandrakelinux 10.1 Official, does not stray from that path. Hardware support has seen much progress - Mandrakelinux will now run on a larger number of configurations and support more devices. The rising demand for mobility has been taken into account, with several improvements in that area. Better ease-of-use, new software, and changes in the system's underlying technology, complete the picture. Mandrakesoft will integrate this new technology into a coherent commercial offering that features quality documentation and many on-line services.


* Improved Hardware Support and Extended Mobility

A lot of work has gone into extending the (already wide) range of compatible hardware. Mandrakelinux's renowned hardware management software now detects and automatically configures a large number of devices - from USB storage devices to network printers.

Mandrakelinux 10.1 Official features out-of-the-box support for Intel®'s Centrino® Chips, an extremely widespread mobility solution on laptops. Laptops themselves are better supported, with Mandrakelinux being the first Linux OS to enable easy advanced power management. Wi-Fi users will be delighted to learn that roaming is now a feature - Mandrakelinux will detect and remember access points. And it is now possible to use BlueTooth devices with your Mandrakelinux PC - which concerns many cell phones and PDAs.

* A Better User Experience

Mandrakelinux 10.1 Official carries both Gnome 2.6 and a very stable KDE 3.2.3 (with KDE 3.3 being offered as an option), two excellent desktop environments. Other notable new versions of software include a new version of the Mozilla web browser and the Gimp image editing program. The configuration and administration tools are now more complete and even easier to use.

The technical infrastructure has also changed quite a bit. This new version is based on a more recent, fine-tuned kernel, a new compiler and a new device manager. Mandrakelinux's package management software (urpmi), now in version 4.5, does its part to make the system more coherent as a whole.

All those new pieces have been thoroughly tested through the recent release of Mandrakelinux 10.1 Community. Specifically made for advanced users of Linux, the Community release helped make Official as stable a release as possible.

"Our new release scheme is starting to show its full potential", said François Bançilhon, Mandrakesoft CEO. "10.1 Community was quite a successful product - many people use it, and the feedback they gave us really helped us polish 10.1 Official. This release will be one of quality and continuity in innovation - better parts and a better whole."

* A sound basis for new products

Mandrakesoft will release three new products based on Mandrakelinux 10.1 Official: Discovery, PowerPack and PowerPack+. The three packs include documentation and various services:

- Discovery is a very good way to get started in Linux: it is simple, lean, and well documented. It includes a user manual, and one month of support for EUR 44.90 / $49.5
- PowerPack is a Linux OS for advanced desktop use. It is incredibly complete (6 CDs, thousands of applications) and fit for multiple uses (development, multimedia, etc.). It includes two months of support and two manuals are included (EUR 79.90/$84.90)
- PowerPack+ lets users set up small and home networks quickly and simply. It has all the desktop capabilities of PowerPack, plus advanced server features. PowerPack+ features a full groupware solution. It includes three months of support, five phone support incidents and two manuals (EUR 199.90/ $229.90).

All will benefit from new features in Mandrakelinux 10.1.

* Availability

Mandrakelinux 10.1 Official packs will be available for retail worldwide in mid-November. They can be ordered now from Mandrakestore, our E-commerce platform.

Mandrakeclub members have download access to Mandrakelinux 10.1 Official.

- Standard Members and above: Immediate access to Mandrakelinux 10.1 Official "Download": three Install CDs plus a fourth 'Extra applications' CD
- Silver Members and above: Immediate access to Mandrakelinux 10.1 Official PowerPack CD ISO images - 6 CDs or one DVD.
- Gold Members and above: Immediate access to Mandrakelinux 10.1 Official PowerPack+: three Install CDs plus five additional CDs of extra applications. This offer includes the Kolab groupware server.
- Corporate Club Members have download access to all Mandrakesoft products, including Mandrakelinux 10.1 Official packs.

Public access to Mandrakelinux 10.1 "Download" will follow in a few weeks.

For more information, see :
http://www.mandrakesoft.com/products/101

* About Mandrakesoft

Mandrakesoft is the publisher of the popular Mandrakelinux operating system, one of the most full-featured and easy to use Linux systems available. The company offers its enterprise, government and educational customers a complete range of GNU/Linux and Open Source software and related services. Mandrakesoft products are available in more than 120 countries through dedicated channels and also from Mandrakestore.com, the company's online store. Number 1 in several countries, Mandrakesoft has won many awards for quality and technical innovation. "Born on the Internet" in late 1998, Mandrakesoft has offices in the United States and France. Mandrakesoft is traded on Paris Euronext March Libre (ISIN Code: FR0004159382/MLMAN; Reuters code: MAKE.PA) and the US OTC market (stock symbol MDKFF).

http://www.mandrakesoft.com