Linux Curriculum Announced

PRESS RELEASE — 17 February 1999

GBdirect, specialists in Linux, Unix, Internet and Extranet development, announced today the launch of a specialist Linux training curriculum.

Dates have already been set for the one-day Strategic Overview course for purchasers and decision makers who need to know how Linux can reduce their overall IT spend and management costs, as well as for the three-day "Care and Feeding of a Linux System" for those who want to get up and running quickly. The one-day Strategic Overview will be held at venues in London, Leeds and Edinburgh in April this year. Details of the other available courses may be found by following the links at the bottom of this page.

The three day course is currently scheduled for 7th-9th April in London, jointly organised with LinuxIT (www.linuxit.com, tel: 0117 9058718), distributors of software for Linux systems.

Linux is a low-cost (in essence, free), highly reliable operating system which runs on PC and other computer hardware, providing a powerful and flexible platform which is now widely seen as a potential threat to Microsoft's dominance in many areas. GBdirect have been working with Linux since its arrival in 1993, and prior to that, other Unix-like systems since 1978.

Mike Banahan, Managing Director of GBdirect and a well-known figure in the Unix/Linux community said,

"The tide is turning in favour of Linux. It's an excellent solution for many businesses, combining remarkable robustness with an unbeatable price and first-rate support. Our customers have been asking us for training and development services, so we have announced this curriculum in support of customer demand."

"We plan to supplement the curriculum with additional specialist courses in the near future and welcome enquiries of any nature."

The curriculum currently consists of a range of courses designed to meet the needs of strategic decision-makers through to implementors and administrators.

Notes to the Editor

Linux is a software system which is a free-of-charge version of Unix, the workhorse of many commercial and industrial companies, both large and small. Figures from IDC show that Linux alone has 17% of the commercial 'server' market and is growing at a rate of 200% per year. It is now widely viewed as offering a threat to Microsoft NT in the server market and is expected by some to become a threat to the Windows desktop within the next two years. It is legendary for its stability and robustness as well as its low management overhead and total-cost-of-ownership. Included with Linux in the free package are a windowing system, web server, file and print sharing, email and a host of other services.

For more information and background on Linux, call GBdirect on 0870 200 7273.