VIA picks up Harald Welte

PRESS RELEASE
July 24, 2008


VIA Contracts Harald Welte as Open Source Liaison

Appointment of recognized Free Software developer and advocate will enable
VIA to ensure close collaboration with Open Source development community
and optimize drivers and documentation

Ottawa, Canada, July 24, 2008 - Today at the Ottawa Linux Symposium, VIA
Technologies, Inc., a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor
platforms, announced that it has contracted Harald Welte, recipient of the
prestigious Free Software Foundation's "2007 Award for the Advancement of
Free Software," as the company's Open Source Liaison.

In this role, Harald will be responsible for helping refine VIA's Open
Source strategy to optimize its support for Linux across all the components
of its x86 processor platforms, including its highly-successful VIA C7(TM)
processor line and the new VIA Nano(TM) processor, as well as accompanying
chipsets, graphics, and networking chips.

In addition, Harald will assist VIA to develop drivers that are in line
with the standards and best practices of Linux kernel development, enhance
the quality and public availability of VIA documentation, and improve
interaction with the Open Source development community.

"We are delighted that Harald is joining us in this extremely important
strategic position," commented Richard Brown, Vice President of Corporate
Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. "With his rich experience in Open Source
software development and outstanding reputation in the global community,
Harald will play an invaluable role in enabling us to implement our
Strategic Open Source Driver Development Initiative."

"This is an exciting time to be working with VIA as the company steps up
its Open Source efforts," commented Harald Welte. "I look forward to
working with the company's management and R&D teams to make sure that
they not only better understand the needs of developers but that they also
build a productive and high quality relationship with the community."

The beta version of the VIA Linux Portal is located at http://linux.via.com.tw; Open Source
developers are also free to contact Harald by email at
HaraldWelte@viatech.com.

About Harald Welte

Born in 1979, Harald Welte has been highly active in the Open Source
Community for over ten years, focusing on kernel, driver, bootloader,
networking/communications and security areas. In addition, Harald has also
taken a leading role in enforcing GNU licensing as the founder of the
gpl-violations.org project.

Harald has been involved in a number of free software projects, including
OpenMoko, where he is Lead System Architect, and the netfilter/iptables
project. In recognition of his efforts, Harald was presented with the
highly prestigious "2007 Award for the Advancement of Free Software" by the
Free Software Foundation.

About VIA Technologies, Inc.

VIA Technologies, Inc is the foremost fabless supplier of power efficient
x86 processor platforms that are driving system innovation in the PC,
client, ultra mobile and embedded markets. Combining energy-saving
processors with digital media chipsets and advanced connectivity,
multimedia and networking silicon enables a broad spectrum of computing and
communication platforms, including its widely acclaimed ultra compact
mainboards. Headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, VIA's global network links the
high tech centers of the US, Europe and Asia, and its customer base
includes the world's top OEMs and system integrators. www.via.com.tw