New SOT Linux 2003 and SOT Office 2003 released - free
Autotalo, Helsinki, Finland, 4.6.2003
SOT has officially announced the arrival of the 2003 release of the company's popular SOT Linux and SOT Office products.
The new office suite and operating system, which is available in both Desktop and Server versions, are being provided
free to whoever wishes to make use of the software.
SOT's 2003 releases mark a shift in the company's philosophy towards a purely open source platform. All proprietary
software in earlier SOT Linux releases has been replaced in the new version with open source equivalents.
Mr Santeri Kannisto, Managing Director of SOT, explained the new approach as an issue of software freedom:
"With SOT Linux 2003, we have taken the time to craft a well-tested and stable Linux distribution that includes an
integrated office suite. Another of our primary goals with the new release has been to achieve a truly free GNU/Linux
distribution. The code and product are completely free, in both senses of the word- available at no charge, and free to
modify and distribute. SOT is a profitable software company with a focus on software projects and integrating GNU/Linux
into various systems. We don't need to rely on licenses, keys, patents, and other artificial limitations."
SOT Linux 2003 supports the English, Finnish and Russian languages. Security in the new release has been hardened,
making it ready to use for production servers. Other improvements in the new SOT Linux include full support for the
Linux Standard Base (LSB) version 1.2, a updated, well tested and coherent code base, and support for new hardware.
"I encourage people to copy, sell, distribute and generally exploit this excellent piece of software that's what we made
it for", said Mr. Henri Ranki, GNU/Linux Expert, SOT.
"The new SOT Linux and SOT Office products demonstrate our capabilities as a software house, and will provide the base
of our soon-to-be-released COTS product range. Future development of both products will continue as a co-operative joint
effort under the banner of the Linux Business Alliance."
SOT believes that a Linux distribution should provide a complete desktop environment, with all the tools for everyday
work and play. The new SOT Linux Desktop release incorporates the SOT Office productivity suite, designed to meet user's
word processing, presentation, and spreadsheet requirements, without the need to install separate office software. The
distribution is a "turn-key", pre-configured system that can be used right away.
About SOT
SOT is a software house, founded in Finland in 1991, with an extensive knowledge of GNU/Linux and Open Source. SOT has
been successfully deploying GNU/Linux and Open Source solutions for over 7 years, and has been an active participant in
the international GNU/Linux development effort, with its own SOT Linux distribution. SOT's mission is perfecting
GNU/Linux.
About Linux Business Alliance
The Linux Business Alliance (LBA) is a group of companies dedicated to the advancement of GNU/Linux and Open Source.
Through the co-operative design, production and distribution of quality GNU/Linux products, the LBA aims to promote the
adoption of GNU/Linux and strengthen the Open Source community. For more information, see the Linux Business Alliance
website at http://www.linuxalliance.org