The thermometer went up a few more degrees in the already hot world of embedded Linux today, as Linuxcare, Inc., a prominent provider of Linux technical services worldwide, announced its receipt of $32.5M venture capital (VC) funding and its subsequent acquisition of three Linux technology companies. Included in the trio of acquisitions is Prosa — the Padua, Italy consulting firm that has, among other projects, developed ET Linux, a port of Linux for embedded devices. Linuxcare also announced, today, that it has acquired the Puffin Group (Ottawa, Canada) and Cheek Consulting (Seattle, Washington).

The Puffin Group brings to Linuxcare high-level expertise with embedded technologies, such as network appliances, and a track record of success in porting Linux to new platforms. The “Puffins”, as their employees are affectionately called, are well-regarded leaders of the Open Source community. For example, the Puffin Group sponsors the Open Source Writer's Group (OSWG), an international collaborative effort that has produced a significant body of technical documentation for the Linux operating system. Cheek Consulting has achieved acclaim for its Web and CD-ROM knowledgebase of Linux technical information; Linuxcare plans to integrate the Cheek knowledgebase into the existing Linuxcare knowledgebase available at its website at www.linuxcare.com.

About Linuxcare, Inc.

Linuxcare, Inc. is a leading provider of Linux customer services, technical support, professional services, education, and product certification. Linuxcare supports all major distributions of Linux, leading Open Source software solutions, and Linux-based enterprise database applications, on all major hardware platforms. Linuxcare's nine “Global Centers of Expertise” include:

• Application porting
• Device-driver development
• Custom Linux distributions and applications
• Linux security audits
• Open Source strategy consulting
• Network management
• Performance optimization
• Parallel computing and clustering
• Web and email server offerings.

Linuxcare is dedicated to advancing the world standard for comprehensive Linux and Open Source technical services for corporations, original equipment manufacturers, software vendors and system integrators.

Linuxcare, Inc. is a leading provider of customer services for enterprise Linux environments, including technical support, professional services, education, and product certification. Linuxcare supports all major distributions of Linux, leading Open Source software solutions, and Linux-based enterprise database applications, on all major hardware platforms. With funding from Kleiner Perkins and others, Linuxcare counts Dell Computer, IBM, and Sun Microsystems among its strategic partners. The company hosts www.linuxcare.com, the world's leading online technical support resource for Linux. Founded in 1998, Linuxcare is headquartered in San Francisco, Calif.

 
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