SAN DIEGO, Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- In a nationwide effort to help provide students with affordable computers, Linspire, Inc. today launched a new, low-cost licensing program for schools who wish to install a Linux desktop operating system as an alternative to the more expensive Microsoft Windows operating system. Through the program, educators will be able to sign up for single copies or per-unit volume license packs of Linspire at special educator rates. Educators who are interested in the program and would like to receive a free evaluation copy of Linspire should visit http://www.linspire.com/education.

"Desktop Linux is less expensive for schools to buy and less expensive for IT administrators to upgrade," said Kevin Carmony, CEO of Linspire, Inc. "It's easy to install and easy for teachers and staff members to learn, and it's safe from the plague of viruses and spyware. Desktop Linux is the next-generation operating system that students today will grow up using."

Linspire provides a complete, stable operating system for students, teachers and administrators alike. It includes all the applications critical to students and educators - including a full file-compatible office suite, Internet browser, email client, graphics and photo editing programs, and Web filtering programs -- in an easy-to-use, familiar environment. Using Linspire's unique CNR (Click and Run) software download tool, administrators will be able to quickly and easily manage applications across an entire school, load applications on multiple workstations with one mouse click, and remotely designate which computers in the network get which applications.

"We tested a number of Linux distributions and chose Linspire to run our laptop computers as it had the best support for laptop hardware and the installation process was fast and simple," said Steve Kossakoski, Assistant Superintendent for Technology and Research at the Great Bay eLearning Charter School in Exeter, New Hampshire. "Linpsire's GUI is easy to use and there has been little or no training required for teachers or students."

The Linspire Education Program was developed as a direct response to the successful deployment of desktop Linux machines in one-to-one student computer initiatives such as the Indiana Access Program. This program aims to provide each high school student in the state with an individual desktop Linux computer for instructional use in each classroom they visit during the day -- a potential 300,000-unit deployment over the next several years.

Educators and IT administrators in Indiana who chose the Linspire operating system as part of the Indiana Access Program have found students make the transition to Linux easily: "We put our students in a room with Linspire, just to see how they would adapt after using Microsoft Windows," said Scott Back, Technology Coordinator for Shelby Eastern Schools, outside Indianapolis, Indiana. "Guess what? They figured it out right away without any training or special help. They were using Linspire."

"I've toured the schools and seen for myself that it doesn't really make a difference to students what operating system they're using as long as it can perform how they need it to," Carmony added. "Students should learn computer skills -- not be trained on applications that only run on one specific operating system. The reality is that we have no idea what kind of computers these kids will use when they get out of school -- why not branch them out now?"

More information on the Linspire Education Program is available at http://www.linspire.com/education. System builders or vendors who are interested in partnering with Linspire to help provide complete Linspire machines to schools should send an email to edu@linspire.com or visit http://www.linspire.com/education for more information.

For more information, please contact: Heather MacKenzie Linspire, Inc. 858-587-6700 x263 858-587-8095 (Fax) pr@linspire.com About Linspire

Linspire, Inc. (http://www.linspire.com/) was founded in 2001 to bring choice into the operating system market. The company's flagship product, the Linspire operating system, is an affordable, easy-to-use Linux-based operating system for home, school, and business users. Linspire pioneered CNR (click and run) Technology, which allows Linspire users to download and install thousands of software programs with just one mouse click. The more than 2,000 software titles available in the CNR Warehouse (http://www.linspire.com/cnrservice) include full office and productivity suites, games, multimedia players, photo management software, accounting tools, and more.

Linspire, CNR and CNR Warehouse are trademarks of Linspire, Inc. All other marks herein may be property of their respective owners.

Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link. Kevin Carmony http://profnet.prnewswire.com/ud_public.jsp?userid=10004897

CONTACT: Heather MacKenzie of Linspire, Inc., +1-858-587-6700, ext. 263,
or fax, +1-858-587-8095, pr@linspire.com

Web site: http://www.linspire.com/cnrservice

Web site: http://www.linspire.com/education

Web site: http://www.linspire.com/