LinuxForce Selected To Help Develop Program With The Franklin Institute

[publicvoice@LinuxForce.net]

  LinuxForce, Inc.  Latest News -- 21 October 2003

  For Immediate Release
  Date: October 21, 2003
  Contact: Chris Fearnley
  Phone: 610-734-1900
  E-mail: press@LinuxForce.net
  Web: http://www.LinuxForce.net

  LinuxForce And The Franklin Institute Online Announce The Development
  Of A New Web-Based Program In Conjunction With The U.S. Centennial Of
  Flight Commission

  The 2003 Flight Forecast Program Will Empower Teachers And Educate
  Children About The Wright Brothers And Weather Forecasting

  Philadelphia, PA -- 21 October 2003 -- LinuxForce today announced
  that it was selected by The Franklin Institute Online (www.fi.edu) to
  develop the Web-based applications powering the 2003 Flight Forecast
  online educational program. The Franklin Institute, the U.S. Centennial
  of Flight Commission and LinuxForce have developed the 2003 Flight
  Forecast as a national competition that challenges K-12 students
  to predict weather conditions for December 17, 2003 at the Wright
  Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina where
  thousands of people will gather to mark the 100th anniversary of the
  Wright Brothers' first flight on December 17, 1903.

  "We are proud that the U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission chose
  The Franklin Institute to develop the national 2003 Flight Forecast
  program.  Our longstanding technical partnership with LinuxForce gave
  me the confidence I needed to trust that the LinuxForce team could
  develop the Web-based applications for both teachers and students to
  participate. The goal, of course, is to enable teachers, nationally, to
  engage their students with science and history in an exciting new way,"
  stated Karen Elinich, Director of Educational Technology Programs for
  The Franklin Institute Science Museum. "We chose LinuxForce for this
  critical project because they have the expertise to conceive, develop,
  and implement the online information management, registration tools and
  database platform that we needed to meet our goals," continued Elinich.

  "Since I was a child, I have always admired the Wright Brothers'
  accomplishments, and I think that this is a very valuable educational
  exercise to teach America's kids about the Wright Brothers and weather
  forecasting," stated Chris Fearnley, President of LinuxForce. "This
  software application project for the 2003 Flight Forecast competition
  has been a labor of love, and I am extremely proud to have been able
  to work on this exciting software development project to complement
  the efforts by The Franklin Institute and the U.S. Centennial of Flight
  Commission to commemorate the Wright Brothers' first flight." continued
  Fearnley.

  About The Franklin Institute Science Museum
  For more than 176 years, The Franklin Institute Science Museum has
  been as much a part of the Philadelphia landscape as the Liberty Bell
  and Independence Hall. Situated on the prestigious Benjamin Franklin
  Parkway leading into Center City Philadelphia, the Institute attracts
  nearly 850,000 visitors every year to enjoy an exciting array of high
  tech, interactive exhibits. The Institute is the most frequently
  visited museum in Pennsylvania, and the third most-visited tourist
  attraction in the Philadelphia area. As the custodian of the Wright
  Aeronautical Engineering Collection, The Franklin Institute has a long
  history of preserving and celebrating the legacy of Orville and Wilbur
  Wright. For more information, please visit The Franklin Institute
  Online at http://www.fi.edu.

  About the 2003 Flight Forecast Program
  Registration for the 2003 Flight Forecast program is available
  through the U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission Web site
  (www.centennialofflight.gov). Teachers may register their students
  for the contest from September 26, 2003 to November 3, 2003. Forecast
  predictions may be made by individual students, teams, or entire classes
  between November 3, 2003 and November 17, 2003. Once on the Web site,
  teachers will find activities and information to help their students
  explore aviation and meteorology. Forecasts will be collected in three
  grade groupings K-4, 5-8 and 9-12 with the complexity of the forecast
  increasing at the higher grade levels. Forecasts must be submitted
  online no later than November 17, 2003, and prizes will be available
  for the most accurate forecasters within each grade group.

  About the U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission
  The U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission was created by Congress to
  expand national and international interest in the commemoration of
  the centennial of powered flight. The Commission is coordinating a
  national outreach campaign and advising the President, Congress and
  federal agencies on the most effective ways to encourage and promote
  national and international participation in 2003. Its members include
  the director of the National Air and Space Museum, the administrators
  of NASA and the FAA, the presidents of the Experimental Aircraft
  Association and First Flight Centennial Foundation of North Carolina,
  and the chairman of Inventing Flight: Dayton 2003. More information
  about the Commission can be found on the U.S. Centennial of Flight
  Commission Web site at http://www.centennialofflight.gov.

  About LinuxForce Inc.
  Headquartered in Philadelphia, LinuxForce offers the market a wide range
  of software solutions and outsourced systems administration services.
  LinuxForce provides its corporate, academic and non-profit clients with
  computing solutions built upon open source software including Linux and
  Debian GNU/Linux. LinuxForce builds Internet (Web-based) and Intranet
  software, custom Linux and X11 applications, and systems software.
  LinuxForce's Remote Responder is a suite of products which provide
  outsourced Linux systems management services. LinuxForce is a leading
  advocate of the Debian GNU/Linux operating system. In addition to
  Philadelphia, LinuxForce has offices in Irvine, California and Boulder,
  Colorado. LinuxForce's clients include The Franklin Institute Science
  Museum, AIG, Chester County InterLink, The Philadelphia Sportswriters
  Association, and The Constitutional Walking Tour of Philadelphia.
  LinuxForce was established in 1995 and incorporated in 1999. For more
  information refer to www.LinuxForce.net or call 610-734-1900.