press release

Prentice Hall PTR and HP Publish "The Business and Economics of Linux and Open Source"

First Management Book to Chart Course for Linux and Open Source in the Enterprise

Prentice Hall PTR, one of the nation's top computer science publishers, and HP (NYSE:HPQ) today announced the publication of The Business and Economics of Linux and Open Source by Martin Fink, vice president and chief technology officer for HP's Business Critical Systems and Enterprise Linux and vice president of the Open Source Development Lab. The Business and Economics of Linux and Open Source is the first book to offer managers a guide to the role of open source in a corporate environment and how to use it for competitive advantage.

"The adoption of open source and Linux has grown tremendously," said Fink. "With the transition, there are a number of issues associated with intellectual property, technology, profitability, human resources, collaboration and others that are important to understand. Businesses need to know how to navigate a new set of processes to manage the effects of mixing open source and non-open source environments within their organizations."

Linux and open source have gained a foothold in corporate environments - largely due to the cost savings, flexibility and other business value open source can bring. The Business and Economics of Linux and Open Source is an objective, realistic manager's guide to using Linux and open source technology for competitive advantage. Fink rises above the hype and controversy to provide readers with an accurate assessment of the benefits, costs, and risks of open source in an organization. Writing strictly from the manager's viewpoint, Fink covers every step of the Linux and open source project lifecycle, and every crucial issue -- from licensing to collaborating with the open source community of developers. Coverage includes:

• Assessing the costs, benefits, and risks of pursuing Linux and open source initiatives
• Open source licensing: avoiding the minefields
• Managing Linux and open source projects in an enterprise
• Assessing the size, breadth, and capabilities of the open source community
• Building strong, positive, synergistic relationships with external open source communities
• The crucial role of Linux standards
• Integration, development, deployment, migration, coexistence, support, and training
• Understanding the difference between the Linux kernel and the Linux operating system
• Understanding and choosing Linux distributions
• How the open source paradigm impacts commercial software developers
• Open source business models: what it takes to make a profit from open source technology
• Applying the open source development methodology in a corporate setting

About the Author

Martin Fink is the vice president and chief technology officer within HP's Business Critical Systems Global Business Unit. In this capacity, Fink is responsible for HP's Enterprise Linux development activities. Most recently, Fink was general manager for HP's Linux Systems Division, where he led the Linux and open source strategy across the company for more than two years. Fink is also vice president of the board of directors for the Open Source Development Lab, a global consortium of industry leaders dedicated to promoting Linux and Linux-based programming for enterprise and carrier-class environments. He graduated from Electronics Engineering at Loyalist College in Ontario, Canada. Fink is also co-inventor on a patent related to online e-commerce. He currently resides in Fort Collins, Colorado.

The Business and Economics of Linux and Open Source by Martin Fink, Prentice Hall PTR/HP Books 2003. ISBN: 0-13-047677-3. 272 pp. $29.99

Editors and media: For complimentary review copies, permission for excerpts, art or interviews with the author, please contact Kevin Jurrens of Garfield Group PR at 215-867-8600 x273 or kjurrens@garfieldgroup.com.

About Prentice Hall PTR

Prentice Hall Professional Technical Reference (PH PTR) (www.phptr.com) is the most respected source of computer science and engineering books and software for technical professionals featuring products developed and authored by the world's leading technology developers. PH PTR is a unit of Pearson Technology Group, the world's largest provider of consumer and professional computer, information technology, engineering and reference content. Pearson Technology Group is an operating unit of Pearson Education, the world's leading educational publisher.