Gov announces new open source technology initiative by Oregon universities

Google Contributes $350,000 to Joint Oregon State, Portland State
University Program.
Governor Ted Kulongoski today announced the contribution of $350,000
by search technology leader Google Inc. to a joint open source
technology initiative of Oregon State University and Portland State
University.

With the grant, the universities will collaborate to encourage open
source software and hardware development, develop academic curricula
and provide computing infrastructure to open source projects
worldwide. The universities will also help provide a bridge between
Oregon's universities and Oregon's growing open technology industry.

"Oregon is home to many of the leading companies, institutions and
executives driving the global market for open source software and
hardware," Governor Ted Kulongoski said. "Google's support will
strengthen the leadership role of our universities in fostering the
next generation of open source technologies, projects and experts in
Oregon and enhance our aggressive efforts to bring jobs and investment
to Oregon's burgeoning open technology cluster."

Google's contribution demonstrates its continued commitment to
advancing open source software development. This summer, Google funded
a $2 million "Summer of Code" program, which gave grants of $4,500 to
more than 400 students performing work on open source projects,
including several hosted by the Oregon State University Open Source
Lab (OSUOSL).

"Google leverages open source software in its development efforts and
strongly believes in supporting the open source community," said Chris
DiBona, open source program manager at Google. "Supporting the
projects and institutions advancing open source software and hardware
helps ensure the continued success and advancement of open source
technologies. The teams at Oregon State and Portland State have done
great open source work in the past and we're excited to back their
joint efforts."

The new open source initiative will create a joint-university open
source technology center and organization in early 2006 to: design and
coordinate curricula across the Oregon University System; offer
student internships and expand its technology capacity for the growing
number of open source projects and communities it supports; further
the commercialization of open source innovations by facilitating
linkages to the region's network of venture capital firms, technology
companies and incubators such, as the Beaverton-based Open Technology
Business Center; and partner on key educational events, such as the
inaugural Government Open Source Conference (GOSCON) recently held in
Portland.

Ed Ray, president of Oregon State University (OSU), and Daniel O.
Bernstine, president of Portland State University (PSU), expressed
their appreciation to Google for its commitment to support innovation
and economic growth in Oregon, as well as for this sizable
contribution.

"Google's support to Oregon State University and Portland State
University signals their commitment to Oregon's knowledge economy and
we're pleased to welcome a new partner in our contributions to the
state's growing technology research and development industries," said
OSU President Ed Ray.

"Our universities are committed to strengthening teaching and research
to enhance the open source community and we will continue to provide
industry with well-prepared graduates," said PSU President Daniel O.
Bernstine.

Leading the university collaboration is Scott Kveton and Bart Massey.
Kveton is the Associate Director of the Oregon State University Open
Source Lab in Corvallis, which provides custom open source software
development and offers facilities hosting some of the world's largest
open source projects, including the Linux(r) operating system, the
Mozilla web browser and the Apache web server.

Massey, an Assistant Professor of Computer Science in the Maseeh
College of Engineering and Computer Science at Portland State
University, is a long-time open source developer and a leader in
academic open source research and teaching. Kveton and Massey will
coordinate with the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer
Science at OSU, also a recipient of funding from Google.

The Growing Open Source Industry

Open source software, including the Linux(r) operating system, is among
the fastest growing technology sectors. Developed using a
collaborative process often involving commercial vendors and
communities of enthusiasts and students, open source generally gives
users the rights to use, copy, modify and redistribute the software
created.

Increasingly, open source technologies are being used across the gamut
of computing systems, from desktops and servers to telecommunications
infrastructure and embedded devices. Analyst firm IDC estimates that
the Linux(r) hardware and software markets will grow to $38 billion by
2008, with annual growth rates topping 25%.

"Back in 1997, IDC anticipated the impact of open source technologies
and predicted the Linux operating environment would be a mainstream
choice by the end of 2004," said Dan Kusnetzky, IDC's VP of System
Software research. "Our survey data indicates this occurred even
earlier and by the end of 2003, this technology was found worldwide,
in organizations of all sizes and in every vertical market. This
partnership between Google and important research universities is yet
another indicator of the continued evolution and maturity of the Linux
and open source markets."

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