New York-based Xandros has extended the Enterprise Linux Challenge program in response to the reaction, which it said surpassed its expectations. The offer to try out Xandros Business Desktop 3.0 for free has now been extended to September 30.
I see the response as yet another sign that the Linux desktop is poised for mainstream adoption, said Andreas Typaldos, CEO of Xandros. The challenge is really on our side, to get our software into the hands of corporate IT managers.
The offer is free to enterprise IT managers in exchange for them filling out a questionnaire enabling Xandros to identify future requirements for the Business Desktop Linux package. The challenge was only thrown down in early June, coinciding with the release of version 3.0 of the product.
Xandros is a desktop Linux specialist but began to target the enterprise opportunity for desktop Linux in January 2004. With version 3.0 it is claiming to have introduced seamless compatibility with Windows servers, as well as domain authentication support for Windows 2000 and 2003.
The product includes Sun Microsystems Inc’s StarOffice, Xandros Anti-Virus and Xandros Firewall security features, and a bundle is available with the xDMS Xandros Desktop Management Server for mass deployment.
