HP to sell Mandriva systems in Latin America

Wednesday January 18 2006

Mandriva selected by HP as "Preferred Linux Partner for Latin America;" 
Mandriva Linux 2006 optimized and certified for HP machines

January 18th - Mandriva, publisher of the popular Mandriva Linux 
operating system, today announced a new partnership with HP to 
distribute HP computers pre-loaded with Mandriva Linux 2006 to 37 
countries in Latin America.
As part of the agreement, Mandriva has been named the "Preferred Linux 
Partner for Latin America" and Mandriva Linux 2006 has been optimized 
and certified for HP machines. The companies will work together on 
sales, support and marketing in all Latin American territories, 
including Brazil, Argentina and Mexico.

The partnership has already started to take effect. The first pre-loaded 
machines - one targeted to the consumer market and one for the 
enterprise - are shipping in Brazil. HP and Mandriva have been 
collaborating for several months to certify various system 
configurations and optimize performance, as well as expand language 
support. Technical support will be offered in both Spanish and 
Portuguese for all of Latin America.

"HP has worked successfully with Mandriva on several products in the 
past. This new agreement marks our continued confidence in Mandriva", 
said Sherry Elrod Manzano, Head of the Personal Solution Center Latin 
America for HP.

"Mandriva's partnership with a leading OEM like HP is a testament to the 
quality of the Mandriva Linux operating system," said François 
Bancilhon, Mandriva's CEO. "The new agreement for Latin America 
validates Mandriva's strategic investment in Brazil, through the 
acquisition of Conectiva. Latin America will be an area of growth for 
Mandriva moving forward."

About Mandriva
Mandriva, formerly known as Mandrakesoft, is the publisher of the 
popular Mandriva Linux operating system, one of the most full-featured 
and easy to use Linux systems. The company offers its enterprise, 
government educational customers a complete range of GNU/Linux and Open 
Source software and related services. Mandriva products are available in 
more than 120 countries through dedicated channels and also from 
Mandrivastore.com, the company's online store. "Born on the Internet" in 
late 1998, has offices in the United States, France and Brazil. Mandriva 
is traded on Paris Euronext Marché Libre (ISIN Code: FR0004159382/MLMAN; 
Reuters code: MAKE.PA) and the US OTC market (stock symbol MDKFF).
Press Contact: Kadjo N'Doua press at mandriva.com / + 33 1 40 41 67 67 
http://www.mandriva.com

About HP
HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and 
institutions globally. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure, 
global services, business and home computing, and imaging and printing. 
For the four fiscal quarters ended Oct. 31, 2005, HP revenue totaled 
$86.7 billion. More information about HP (NYSE, Nasdaq: HPQ) is 
available at http://www.hp.com.
--