Thursday September 23 2004:

Funded by French Ministry of Defense, to be CC-EAL5 Certified

Paris, France September 23rd, 2004 An industrial consortium consisting of Bertin Technologies, Surlog, Jaluna, Mandrakesoft, and Oppida, all major European players in security, operating system, and certification technologies, has been awarded a 7 million euro, 3 year contract by the French Ministry of Defense. Under the contract, the consortium will develop a Linux based multi-level security operating system solution meeting Evaluation Assurance Level 5 of the Common Criteria (CC-EAL5). CC-EAL5 guarantees an outstanding security level for an operating system, and satisfies major security requirements in both commercial as well as defense and government applications.

Security is a major concern in todays embedded and networked computer systems, desktops and servers alike, said Philippe Demigné, chairman, Bertin Technologies. We are very proud to have been chosen by the French Ministry of Defense to manage this challenging project and to enrich operating systems with innovative security features. Our security architecture is the cement of the project. It binds together each partner's expertise. Bertin Technologies will be responsible in particular for CC-EAL5 evaluation.

Consortium partners envision that hardware partitioning and virtualization technology will play a key role in designing future open operating system security solutions.

Jaluna, the operating system experts that recently introduced innovative technology allowing multiple operating system instances to share the same embedded system hardware, is responsible for the system development. Jalunas vision has been validated by the choice of Jaluna/OSware" as the software foundation for the project, said Michel Gien, CEO, Jaluna SA. We are very happy to contribute our well known operating system expertise towards such an ambitious goal.

Mandrakesoft will contribute and adapt its Linux operating system, and manage the Open Source community around the future results of the project. The project will be released under an open-source license following completion. Mandrakesoft's share amounts to 1 million euros. Such a project makes the most of the Open Source development model, commented François Bancilhon, CEO, Mandrakesoft. It will leverage the power of Open Source, first by reusing a good deal of preexisting software, and second, by letting the community survey and improve the code. Mandrakesoft is naturally proud to lend its skills to such a project it is our most important to date and a major milestone for the company, he added.

Surlog will instrument and monitor software development processes to insure that the very high certification level required by the project can be achieved. "The ambitious objective of a certification at CC-EAL5 level for an operating system is a true challenge that can be achieved by expanding approved techniques, methods and tools for dependability and safety with those of security", said Marie Catherine Monégier du Sorbier, CEO, Surlog SA. Our tools and recognized expertise in building, monitoring and auditing complex software development processes in critical systems will be key to achieve such a high level of security certification.

Evaluation against the ISO 15408 Common Criteria standard will be performed by Oppida, one of the very few organizations accredited by the French National Security Agency to perform information technology security evaluation. Certification against a recognized international standard is essential for users to trust the operating system they rely on for their operation, said Hervé Hosy, CEO, Oppida SA. This is precisely Oppidas core expertise. We will perform regular evaluations of project intermediate results until the ultimate CC-EAL5 evaluation.

The scope of the certified Linux-based multi-level security solution that will be developed by the consortium goes far beyond military utilization. It is intended to address the industrial market at large, as well as telecommunication and enterprise systems. Major industry players worldwide will be invited to join the project as associates, and express their requirements and interact with the development team.

This will be a world first for an operating system solution of such a wide scope and we are proud to be at the heart of such a challenge, concluded Philippe Demigné, chairman, Bertin Technologies.

About Bertin Technologies

Bertin Technologies Group formed in 1999, capitalizes on the scientific and technological assets of the former company Bertin & Cie, created more than 45 years ago by the brilliant engineer, Jean Bertin. Today, the group consists of Bertin Technologies Company and its three subsidiaries, a2b technologies, Ellipse Pharmaceuticals, and SPIBIO. The main objective of our Group is to combine creativity, expertise and efficiency in day-to-day activities, in order to serve the interests of our clients with innovative added value.
http://www.bertin.fr

About Surlog

Since 1993, Surlog SA has been an independent laboratory, specializing in the evaluation of system and software dependability and safety. Surlog SA intervenes with industrial clients and safety authorities in the railway, nuclear, space, defense and energy fields.

Based on a set of competencies, methods and tools for the analysis, evaluation and control of system and software dependability, Surlog SA offers its knowledge and its mastery of the various standards in quality and safety of system and software (including CEI 61508, CENELEC 50128, CEI 880, DO 178B, GAMT 17).

In order to optimize its evaluation missions, Surlog SA has developed its own tools: for safety software static analysis (tool APRLS), for identification of the functional paths of a component, evaluation of the test coverage, identification of unit, integration and validation test cases (tool AGFL: Software Analysis by Functional Graph), for the audit of the software integrity level and its development process (tool Audit_Sd).

www.surlog.com
About Jaluna

Jaluna develops and markets value-added software components and solutions that allow multiple application environments, including the operating system to co-exist and interoperate on the same hardware. This brings legacy application migration, real-time, availability and security to Linux-based network equipment and appliances.

Founded by Sun Microsystems Chorus team members, with a wealth of experience in developing and deploying real-time and high availability solutions, Jaluna paves the way for the development of current and next generation network infrastructure and connected devices.

www.jaluna.com
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 Marché Libre (ISIN Code: FR0004159382/MLMAN; Reuters code: MAKE.PA) and the US OTC market (stock symbol MDKFF).

mandriva.com
About Oppida

Founded in 1998, Oppida delivers a full range of consulting services in the field of information systems security. From advisory in organization to security audits and application of security controls, through awareness and education of users, Oppida is offering a full set of solutions for securing information and communication systems.

Oppida is officially authorized as an Information Technologies Security Evaluation Facility: laboratory of evaluation for security products (firewall, cryptology tools...) accredited by the COFRAC and authorized by the Central Directorate for Information Systems Security (DCSSI, French National Security Agency) to evaluate security tools and systems

www.oppida.fr

Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other names mentioned are trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.

Press Inquiries
Mandrakesoft
Gaël Duval
Tel: +33 1 40 41 00 41
press at mandrakesoft dot com
Bertin Technologies
Elie Znaty
Tel: +33 1 39 30 62 81
press at bertin dot fr
Surlog
Marie Catherine Monégier
Tel: +33 1 40 83 00 00
press at surlog dot com
Jaluna
Michel Gien
Tel: +33 1 39 44 74 00
info at jaluna dot com
Oppida
Eric Dehais
Tel: +33 1 30 83 27 95
press at oppida dot fr

Thursday September 16 2004:

Mandrakesoft is proud to announce the release of its newest and most advanced operating system to date: Mandrakelinux 10.1 Community. The enhanced usability, hardware support and performance make this release a milestone on the way to widespread Linux adoption.

Mandrakelinux 10.1 Community is designed for those who want the best and latest software and want it as soon as possible. The release of Community is soon to be followed by the release of a rock-solid Mandrakelinux 10.1 Official, on which Mandrakesoft's range of products for home users will be based.

Strong emphasis on hardware support

Hardware support is an area where Mandrakesoft's products are generally recognized to be superior. This new release includes many advances in that respect, and especially in support for mobile devices. Mandrakelinux now officially supports IntelTM Centrino® chipsets, Wi-Fi roaming and BlueTooth devices. Users now have access to the full scale of mobility applications under Linux - from easy wireless networking to PDA and smartphone synchronization. But Mandrakesoft's commitment to Linux mobility does not stop there. Mandrakelinux 10.1 Community also sports enhanced laptop support. Mandrakelinux thus becomes the first Linux distribution to include advanced yet user-friendly power management.

Real usability implies, for an operating system, that hardware should be detected and configured automatically whenever it is both possible and sensible to do so. This has always been Mandrakesoft's policy. Mandrakelinux has seamless hardware detection, including automatic detection of network printers thanks to state-of-the-art CUPS support - another Mandrakelinux asset.

Superior usability and performance

Mandrakesoft's main focus in Linux development has always been usability. To this end we have developed a unique set of configuration tools that save Mandrakelinux users most of the hassles of system administration. It also makes Community an efficient system to work with for advanced users because they do not have to edit configuration files, but they can if they want to. Also for those users, 10.1 Community brings many improvements to the Mandrakelinux suite of development tools, with new versions of GCC (a C, C++, Java and Fortran compiler), Kdevelop (an advanced IDE) and GDB (a debugger).

To ensure an optimal desktop experience for users, Mandrakelinux 10.1 Community carries both KDE 3.2.3 (KDE 3.3 will be available as an optional install) and GNOME 2.6. These two popular choices are Linux's friendly face. All the power of a Unix environment is now just a few clicks away. Other notable software upgrades include new versions of Mozilla (a browser and email suite), OpenOffice.org (an office suite), Evolution (PIM software), and the GIMP 2.0 (an image manipulation program) by default.

There are also many changes under-the-hood - but that does not make them any less important. Mandrakesoft's own package managing system, urpmi, now in version 4.5, retains and accentuates its lead in power and user-friendliness. And thanks to a new C compiler and a fine-tuned kernel, Mandrakelinux 10.1 Community makes for a snappy desktop and a high-performance server. Users keen on all things 'advanced' need not look any further.

"The wonderful thing about Linux is how fast and how regularly it keeps on improving, while other systems stagnate or even regress. We pride ourselves on being one of the forces behind that. This new release shows how far Mandrakesoft's continued commitment to an open development process can bring our products." declared François Bancilhon, Mandrakesoft's CEO.

Availability:
Mandrakelinux 10.1 Community is available:

• Immediately as a download for Mandrakeclub Members and contributors. Additionally, ISO images which contain KDE 3.3 and commercial applications such as Acrobat® Reader®, Real PlayerTM, NVIDIA® Drivers and others, are available for "Silver" and above Club members. Join Mandrakeclub to download Mandrakelinux 10.1 today: http://www.mandrivalinux.com/en/club/

• Immediately as a DVD set which includes KDE 3.3 and commercial applications such as Acrobat® Reader®, Real PlayerTM, NVIDIA® Drivers and more. The 10.1 Community DVD set can be pre-ordered now exclusively from Mandrakestore

• Following the initial release, a download edition of Mandrakelinux 10.1 Community will be made available on a number of public FTP mirrors

Please refer to our product page for more information.

Mandrakelinux 10.1 Official

Mandrakelinux 10.1 Official will be available in November, as part of the complete range of Mandrakelinux 10.1 Official retail packs which include support, printed documentation and new Mandrakesoft services and tools. Official retail packs include:

• Discovery, your First Linux Desktop

• PowerPack, the Ultimate Linux Desktop

• PowerPack+, the Linux Solution for Desktops and Servers

• Mandrakelinux 10.1 for x86-64, the latest technology available to everyone

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).

Press Inquiries :
Gaël Duval press at mandrakesoft dot com
https://mandriva.com

Monday September 13 2004:

The New Linux Standard will deliver compatibility for Mandrakesofts customers

Moreno Valley, CA; Paris, France September 13, 2004 Mandrakesoft today announced a pledge of support for the newly announced Linux Standards Base (LSB) 2.0. By supporting the LSB, Mandrakesoft announces the intent to certify to the standard, thereby delivering interoperability between its value-added version of Linux and application software written to the standard. Most importantly, it ensures Linux will not fragment and will continue to be the fastest growing operating system in the industry.

The Linux Standard Base is developed and maintained by the Free Standards Group (FSG), a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing and promoting open source software standards. The next version of the specification offers an answer to the most pressing issue facing Linux today: fragmentation. A large assortment of industry leaders have pledged their support to the new standard and the Free Standards Group to prevent this from happening. The Standard is supported by major players in the Linux Community including IBM, Hewlett-Packard, AMD, Dell, Intel, Turbolinux, Progeny, Red Hat, Sun, Novells SUSE LINUX, and Conectiva, as well as Mandrakesoft. The FSG has developed LSB along with a number of tools and test suites to facilitate the creation of a standard Linux.

Francois Bancilhon, Mandrakesoft CEO said, "We are pleased to offer our support to the Linux Standard Base and the Free Standards Group. Given the dire consequences of fragmentation, the standards are a key ingredient to the success of Linux. By supporting the LSB, Mandrakesoft assures its customers that its value-added version of Linux will interoperate with their computing infrastructure and will continue to be open and standards-based. In addition to supporting the efforts of LSB in certifying runtime environments, Mandrakelinux 10.1 will assist ISVs in building LSB certified applications."

"We are pleased to see the support for the LSB from Mandrakesoft," said Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Free Standards Group. "Their participation is crucial to the standards and ultimately Linuxs success. We applaud their proactive vision and their actions to safeguard the openness and interoperability of Linux."

The Linux Standard Base specification contains a base set of Application Binary Interfaces (ABIs), libraries and interoperability standards. It also includes test suites, development environments, sample implementations and developer documentation. More information on the standard can be found on the FSGs Web site and in a press release announcing the specification issued at LinuxWorld.

LSB 2.0 features the revision of the core specification to support modules that are built on the foundation of the core LSB. This will accommodate future growth, as Linux standards for different vertical markets, for example, are developed as extensions to the core LSB. LSB 2.0 also introduces an ABI for C++ -- a long-awaited feature. The LSB 2.0 also incorporates updates to many of the specifications and implementations underlying the LSB, such as the Single Unix Specification.

Finally, LSB 2.0 introduces support for new architectures, including PPC64 and AMD64. Other CPU architectures supported by LSB 2.0 include IA32 and IA64 architectures, as well as PPC32, S390 and S390X.

In addition to providing a written specification, LSB 2.0 includes a wide range of tools for Linux, such as test suites, a development environment, a sample implementation and developer documentation.

About the Free Standards Group

The Free Standards Group is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the use and acceptance of free and open source software by developing and promoting standards. Key Free Standards Group projects include the Linux Standard Base (LSB), OpenI18N, LANANA and the new Accessibility Workgroup. Supported by leaders in the IT industry as well as the open source development community, the Free Standards Group fulfills a critical need to have common behavioral specifications, tools and ABIs across Linux platforms. More information on the Free Standards Group is available at www.freestandards.org .

About Mandrakesoft

Mandrakesoft is the publisher of the popular Mandrakelinux operating system, one of the most fully-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 Marche Libre (ISIN Code: FR0004159382/MLMAN; Reuters code: MAKE.PA) and the US OTC market (stock symbol MDKFF).
https://mandriva.com
Press Inquiries
Gaël Duval press at mandrakesoft dot com

Thursday August 26 2004:

Not available in this language

Thursday August 26 2004:

Not available in this language

Thursday August 26 2004:

Not available in this language

Thursday August 26 2004:

Moreno Valley, CA; Paris, France - August 26th 2004 : GlobeTrotter, a new product by Mandrakesoft based on the LaCie Mobile Hard Drive designed by FA Porsche, is set to change the way users think about mobile computing. GlobeTrotter is a USB mobile hard drive loaded with a specially tuned version of Mandrakesoft's award-winning Mandrakelinux operating system. Combined with the power and unique design of LaCie hardware, GlobeTrotter allows users to turn any computer into their personal Linux desktop - for just 219 dollars (199 euros).

GlobeTrotter is perfect for those with serious capacity and power needs. Unlike CD-R's and USB keys that only store data, or laptops that are heavy and expensive, the GlobeTrotter offers a complete work environment in one cost-effective, lightweight package. All it takes is simply plugging the GlobeTrotter into the USB port of the host PC and turning it on. The host computer is not modified in any way. And when the job is done, the GlobeTrotter can be taken to a different workstation with up to 40GB of a user's data including applications and personal settings.

"LaCie is pleased to work with Mandrakesoft and help Mandrakelinux users easily transport their personal work environments from one place to the next," says Mathilde Bohrmann, LaCie Vice President of Research and Development. "LaCie's powerful technology and hardware, paired with Mandrakelinux, makes the GlobeTrotter a must-have for professional users on the go."

With Mandrakesoft's OS powering the device, the user is provided with the flexibility, security, ease-of-use and power of a state-of-the-art Linux system. Among the included software are the productivity suite OpenOffice.org, integrated personal information management software such as Kontact and Evolution, as well as full-featured development tools. To further ease the customer into their new system, GlobeTrotter comes with thirty days of web support, and membership to Mandrakeclub and Mandrakeonline for a month.

"Mobile computing is getting ever more popular with users worldwide - it is one of the fastest growing segments of the IT industry," says François Bancilhon, CEO of Mandrakesoft. "But the existing offer was lacking a device capable of carrying a full work environment but is not a computer in itself. GlobeTrotter is just that device."

Possible uses for GlobeTrotter include, among many others :

• People who are accustomed to working in a Linux environment and wish to carry it with them.

• People who need to use someone else's computer without altering anything.

• GlobeTrotter can be used as a sophisticated mobile media player.

• It can also be a powerful device for presentations and slide shows.

More information about GlobeTrotter is available here and here.
GlobeTrotter is available for purchase on Mandrakestore.

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).

Press Inquiries :
Gaël Duval press at mandrakesoft dot com
https://mandriva.com

About LaCie

Established in the United States, Europe and Asia, LaCie is the world?s leading producer of PC and Macintosh compatible storage peripherals. Through a specialized sales dealer network, LaCie offers innovative solutions for creative professionals in multimedia applications (graphics, audio, video, web design and digital photography). What differentiates LaCie is the design of its products and original creations by designers such as Philippe Starck, Porsche Design GmbH and Neil Poulton. LaCie is listed on the Paris Nouveau Marché (code 5431). www.lacie.com.

Press Inquiries:
Melissa Logan, 503-844-4578, [email protected]

Tuesday August 03 2004:

Not available in this language

Thursday July 15 2004:

Moreno Valley, CA; Paris, France - July, 15th 2004 - Mandrakesoft today announced the availability of a new update service aimed at helping corporates to keep their systems up-to-date: Mandrakeonline provides a wide range of valuable services for easily taking care of all updates on a range of Mandrakelinux systems, at a low cost.

Mandrakeonline combines advanced built-in Mandrakelinux updating capabilities with a unique online service which provides the following features:

 

Monday July 12 2004:

Moreno Valley, CA ; Paris, France ; July 12th, 2004 - HP has introduced the "441" solution, consisting of four keyboard-mouse-screens running on one computer. This economical and innovative concept ships with Mandrakelinux and is specifically targetted for the education market.

Built to meet school needs, the HP 441 desktop solution has a pre-installed Mandrakelinux operating system, productivity applications, educational software, and a custom graphical user interface. Mandrakelinux was choosen for its increased reliability and enhanced security to minimise the maintenance of the computer in the classroom.

The 441 can be used by 4 students at the same time, thus saving 50% of acquisition costs and 65% of maintenance costs. Each user can browse the Internet, send email, use educational software and run productivity and other applications.

The HP 441 computer, which comes pre-loaded with Linux and ready to run, was first introduced in South-African schools, and will be introduced later in several other developing countries.

"This 441 HP concept with Mandrakelinux is a proof that the IT TCO can be reduced by an important factor, for 0acquisition costs and maintenance costs as well", said François Bancilhon, CEO of Mandrakelinux.

Details about the HP 441 are available on:
http://h40058.www4.hp.com/products/desktops/441/techspec.html

Press contact:
Gaël Duval (press at mandrakesoft dot com)

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).

https://mandriva.com