SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 10/13/09 -- The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux, today announced new, exclusive benefits for individual members, including employee purchase pricing from Dell, HP and Lenovo, and the opportunity to secure a Linux.com email address for life.

Beginning today, Linux Foundation individual members can get up to 40 percent off of Lenovo devices and standard employee purchase pricing from Dell and HP. Dell also offers a best price guarantee to Linux Foundation members. These benefits can translate into hundreds or thousands of dollars for those who purchase their devices as part of this program.

Existing members that would like to ensure their Linux.com email address is permanent and not dependent on Linux Foundation membership renewal can elect to secure it with a one-time $150 fee. New members who want the same benefit will pay a total of $249 for the first year's membership and the lifetime benefit. Linux.com email addresses allow members to publicly represent their support for Linux and to demonstrate their community participation.

Students can also now become members with a student-class membership for $25 annually. Students find value in Linux Foundation events and online resources and help to drive the adoption of Linux among up-and-coming developers and IT managers. The Linux Foundation wants to encourage participation in the Linux community among this important group of future developers.

"Our individual members are the heartbeat of the Linux Foundation and we will continue to find ways to extend special benefits to them," said Jim Zemlin, executive director at the Linux Foundation. "Perks like the employee purchase discounts from Dell, HP and Lenovo and lifetime Linux.com email addresses are unique things we can offer to sustain support for Linux."

By becoming a member of the Linux Foundation, developers and users are helping the organization that employs Linus Torvalds and supporting programs that promote and protect Linux. Individual membership helps connect developers, IT administrators, and business executives with unique information, tools and events that help to advance their careers and stay current with the Linux platform.

The annual membership fee for individuals is $99, which pays for itself quickly with just one of the discounts offered exclusively to Linux Foundation members.

Other discounts and benefits available to individual members include:

--  30% discount on the Linux Foundation's LinuxCon and Japan Linux
    Symposium events;
--  20% discount on registration fees for Linux Foundation training
    courses;
--  35% off O'Reilly books and e-Books;
--  35% off No Starch Press Publications;
--  15% off subscriptions to Linux Journal;
--  $10 off every $40 order on ThinkGeek.com;
--  a free Linux Foundation t-shirt for proclaiming support for Linux; and
--  a weekly "Linux Briefing Book" in the form of an exclusive email with
    highlighted news and analysis to keep users well informed.
    

To join the Linux Foundation and to see a full list of benefits and discounts, please visit our membership page: http://www.linuxfoundation.org/about/join/individual

About the Linux Foundation.

The Linux Foundation is a nonprofit consortium dedicated to fostering the growth of Linux. Founded in 2007, the Linux Foundation sponsors the work of Linux creator Linus Torvalds and is supported by leading Linux and open source companies and developers from around the world. The Linux Foundation promotes, protects and standardizes Linux by hosting important workgroups, events and online resources such as Linux.com. For more information, please visit the Linux Foundation website (www.linux-foundation.org).

Trademarks: The Linux Foundation and Linux Standard Base are trademarks of The Linux Foundation. Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds.

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