Winners of Product Excellence Awards Announced at LinuxWorld Conference & Expo
Sandy Dawkins

08/04/2004 - Awards recognize the best products and services on the exhibit floor

FRAMINGHAM, MA – August 4, 2004 – IDG World Expo, the leading producer of world-class tradeshows, conferences and events for technology markets, has announced the winners of the LinuxWorld Product Excellence Awards. Presented in a ceremony held yesterday afternoon at LinuxWorld Conference & Expo®, the awards recognize the best products and services showcased on the exhibit floor at this week’s event. LinuxWorld Conference & Expo runs through Thursday, August 5 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

The LinuxWorld Product Excellence Awards were managed in conjunction with LinuxWorld Magazine, and winners were selected by a panel of judges comprised of respected industry experts. Divided into 13 product categories, the awards represent major areas of innovation in the Linux and open source community.

“The winners of the LinuxWorld Product Excellence Awards represent the best that open source has to offer,” said Warwick Davies, group vice president, IDG World Expo. “With the help of LinuxWorld Magazine and our experienced judges, we have selected the most innovative and effective solutions for users of Linux and open source. We applaud the developers of these solutions for their hard work and dedication to innovation.”

The “Best of Show” award, which recognizes a product deemed by the judges to be an important advancement and a major step forward for Linux in the marketplace, was presented to the Mozilla Foundation for Mozilla FireFox.

Additional award winners included:

Best Data Backup or Storage Solution
Storix, Inc: System Backup Administrator

Best Database Solution
Voltaire: TerraGrid DBScale

Best Open Source Solution
Mozilla Foundation: Mozilla FireFox

Best Utility/Grid Computing Solution
Topspin Communications: Topspin Utility Computing Solution, featuring VFrameT software suite

Best Security Solution
Novell: Novell Nsure

Best Productivity/Business Application
Sun Microsystems: StarOffice and Migration Tools

Best Messaging Solution
Stalker Software: Communigate Pro v4.2 Real-Time Communication

Best Application Development Platform or Tool
Red Hat: Red Hat Application Server

Best Systems Management Tools
Novell: ZENworks Linux Management

Best Embedded Solution
Trolltech: Qtopia Phone Edition

Best Clustering Solution
Red Hat: Red Hat Global File System

Most Innovative Hardware Solution
Rackable Systems: Rackable Systems Scale Out Server Series

Best Integration Solution
Novell: exteNd Suite 5.2

The LinuxWorld Product Excellence Award judges included: Kevin Bedell, editor in chief for LinuxWorld Magazine; Bill Claybrooke, industry analyst at New River Linux; Gary Hein, vice president and service director for Application Platform Strategies at the Burton Group; Sam Hiser, marketing project co-lead for OpenOffice.org; Dee-Ann LeBlanc, Linux author, consultant and trainer; Robin "Roblimo" Miller, editor in chief for OSDN; Paul Nowak, CIO for the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE); Brian Proffitt, managing editor for Linux Today, LinuxPlanet and JustLinux; Stacey Quandt, industry analyst at Quandt Analytics; Bill Roth, senior technical evangelist at E.phiphany; Doc Searls, senior editor for Linux Journal; Leon Shiman, president of Shiman Associates and member of the Board of Directors for X.org; John Terpstra, mentor on the Samba Project; James Turner, senior editor for LinuxWorld Magazine; Maria Winslow, open source business analyst; and John Weathersby, executive director of the Open Source Software Institute.

For more information on LinuxWorld Conference & Expo, visit www.linuxworldexpo.com.

About LinuxWorld Conference & Expo
LinuxWorld Conference & Expo is the premier event exclusively focused on Linux and open source solutions. As the world’s most comprehensive marketplace for open source products and services, LinuxWorld provides business decision-makers with information and resources to implement Linux and open source solutions into business infrastructure and enterprise networks. For more information or to register for the event, visit the LinuxWorld Conference & Expo Web site at www.linuxworldexpo.com, or call (800) 657-1474. For exhibiting opportunities, please contact Frank Netherwood at (508) 424-4860 or Frank_Netherwood@idg.com or John Yurewicz at (508) 424-4852 or John_Yurewicz@idg.com

About IDG World Expo
IDG World Expo (www.idgworldexpo.com) produces technology-focused tradeshows, conferences and events for professionals seeking world-class education, peer-to-peer networking and one-stop comparison shopping. As the leading technology event management company, IDG World Expo leverages its experience and knowledge of technology-focused events and conferences, enabling technology companies to capture the attention and loyalty of influential buyers. IDG World Expo's portfolio of conferences and events includes Macworld Conference & Expo , LinuxWorld Conference & Expo , Bio•IT World Conference + Expo , Portable Power Conference & Expo , Wireless Sensing Solutions™, Context™ and RoboNexus. IDG World Expo is a business unit of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research and event company.

About IDG
International Data Group (IDG) is the world's leading technology media, research, and event company. A privately-held company, IDG publishes more than 300 magazines and newspapers including Bio-IT World, CIO, CSO, Computerworld, GamePro, InfoWorld, Network World, and PC World. The company features the largest network of technology-specific Web sites with more than 400 around the world. IDG is also a leading producer of more than 170 computer-related events worldwide including LinuxWorld Conference & Expo , Macworld Conference & Expo , DEMO , and IDC Directions. IDC provides global market research and advice through offices in 50 countries. Company information is available at http://www.idg.com.

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Contact:

Sandy Dawkins
MS&L
+1.617.437.7722
sandy.dawkins@mslpr.com