White-Box PC Makers Pre-Install Novell’s SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop

WALTHAM, Mass. – Oct. 25, 2006 – Novell today announced it has signed agreements with four white-box PC manufacturers who will globally distribute PCs pre-loaded with SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 from Novell. European manufacturers ETegro Technologies, MAXDATA and Transtec along with U.S.-based R Cubed Technologies will sell notebooks and/or desktop computers with SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 already installed, giving customers around the world simplified access to a complete desktop computing solution that dramatically reduces costs, improves end-user security and increases workforce productivity.

“We share a commitment with Novell to give our customers the right options to help them meet their business objectives,” said Nathan Rockhold, president of R Cubed Technologies. “Pre-loading SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 on our PCs and laptops is a natural move, as the market recognizes the advantages of Linux on the desktop and businesses decide to migrate to those advantages.”

These partnerships come on the heels of Novell’s recent announcement with Lenovo regarding the industry’s first Linux-based ThinkPad mobile workstations, which will run SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10. Additional SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 agreements with major hardware vendors are currently in the works.

Roger Levy, Novell vice president and general manager of Open Platform Solutions, said, “Market demand for desktop operating system alternatives is really starting to take off, and these new partnerships will help meet that demand. White-box builders sell millions of PCs and are a crucial part of the growing spread of Linux on the desktop. We’re very pleased with our new partners, and we’re working with more than a dozen others to further expand the availability of SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 and bring the benefits of desktop Linux to the widest possible market.”

SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop delivers ease of use and several innovative new features including three-dimensional desktop graphics, integrated search and a fully compatible office productivity suite through the Novell edition of OpenOffice.org 2.0, all at a list price that’s a small fraction of the leading proprietary operating system and office suite alternatives. SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop is suited for complete desktop replacements, retail point of service solutions, thin-client deployments and engineering workstations.

PCs pre-loaded with SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 are now available directly from ETegro Technologies, MAXDATA, R Cubed Technologies and Transtec. Canadian customers may purchase the pre-loaded PCs online from R Cubed Technologies. For more information, visit http://www.etegro.com, http://www.maxdata.com, http://www.shoprcubed.com and http://www.transtec.co.uk.

For more information on SUSE Linux Enterprise offerings from Novell, see http://www.novell.com/linux. Information about Novell’s program for Linux system builders can found at http://www.novell.com/partners/technology/systembuilder.html.

About Novell

Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) delivers Software for the Open Enterprise™. With more than 50,000 customers in 43 countries, Novell helps customers manage, simplify, secure and integrate their technology environments by leveraging best-of-breed, open standards-based software. With more than 20 years of experience, 4,700 employees, 5,000 partners and support centres around the world, Novell helps customers gain control over their IT operating environments while reducing costs. More information about Novell can be found at http://www.novell.com.