Windows or Linux? Why not both?

South San Francisco, CA — June 27, 2002 — In published reports this week Red Hat Linux has made it clear that it is once again focusing on the desktop market, and others are likely to follow. Acronis, a leading developer of software that allows PC users to run Microsoft Windows® and Linux operating systems on a single PC, is very supportive of the move, and says that it is long overdue.

The South San Francisco-based company has long extolled the belief that computer users interested in both operating systems or in sampling Linux should not have to choose between the two; instead they should be able to run them both on a single machine.

"It's like telling someone with a two-car garage that they can only have one car in it at a time," said Dennis Burke, business development manager at Acronis. "For too long it has been an 'either/or' proposition — Windows or Linux — but with products like Acronis OS Selector, computer users can have both operating systems on the same machine, if they so choose, at little extra expense."

Acronis has developed Acronis OS Selector, the only dedicated multi-boot and partitioning software available that supports all major file system formats for Windows and Linux, including exclusive Red Hat Linux Ext3 and the Mandrake and SuSE Linux ReiserFS files systems. The software makes it possible to select the desired operating system when booting up, including XP, ME, and all other Windows versions.

"Windows users cannot be expected to go cold turkey over to Linux — we believe they will need a multi-boot system until they get used to the Linux equivalents, such as using Star Office on Linux instead of Microsoft Office, or using Evolution on Linux instead of Microsoft Outlook, or even Mozilla on Linux instead of Microsoft Internet Explorer," said Burke. "We believe users will be more inclined to try Linux, and Linux applications running on their desktop, if they know they can boot back into Windows if Linux does not meet their expectations or needs."

Acronis also believes Linux publishers would be wise to aggressively promote multi-booting as a land bridge to full Linux conversion. Acronis has recently entered into early-stage marketing partnerships with several Linux operating system companies to help promote the strategy. According to 2001 U.S. sales data, Microsoft owns 97 percent of the desktop operating system market compared to the less than three percent owned by all Linux versions combined.

"To begin to cut into this lop-sided figure, Linux developers need to place their products on more desktops so more users can become accustomed to the platform and begin to learn it, and as a result, more application developers will write programs for it," said Maxim Tsypliaev, president of Acronis. "And what do you think scares the folks in Redmond more, Linux completely converting hordes of Windows users or the fact that PC users can have a choice of operating systems when booting up? We think the latter as it is here today and much more real."