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Seagate Ships PC OS Pre-Loaded On Popular Hard Drives

Seagate, a leading hard drive maker, and Lindows.com, a leading desktop Linux company, jointly announced the availability of LindowsHD, a copy of LindowsOS pre-loaded on specific Seagate 40-GB capacity Barracuda 7200.7 hard drives.

Computer manufacturers of all sizes can purchase the 40-GB Barracuda hard drives pre-loaded with LindowsHD in the United States through well-known distributors Bell Microproducts Inc or Synnex Information Technologies Inc for no added premium over hard drives delivered with no operating system at all. "Whitebox" manufacturers, who supply 55 percent of computers built today, can save up to $100 per computer. The program is initially available through December.

These pre-loaded Barracuda hard drives can help system builders to reduce production time and labor costs because they can be plugged into any Intel-compatible PC, auto-detecting the hardware and properly configuring themselves for optimum performance with no additional set-up required. The overall cost savings will empower manufacturers to offer affordable desktop computers to take advantage of the rapidly growing value segment of the PC business, as well as lay the groundwork for entering into emerging markets.

"Seagate is strongly committed to proactively bringing unique opportunities to our channel customers by partnering with innovative developers like Lindows.com," said Brian Dexheimer, Seagate executive vice president of Sales, Marketing and Customer Service. "Pre-loading LindowOS can help System Builders do business in completely new ways by dramatically shortening integration time and lowering costs."

"Our affiliation with Seagate will save computer manufacturers millions of dollars in software costs, allowing them to compete aggressively for cost-conscious consumers," said Michael Robertson, chief executive officer of Lindows.com Inc. "Seagate is providing a superior product that in combination with our operating system will change the balance of the PC ecosystem."

The English-language version of LindowsOS 4.0, pre-loaded on the Seagate Barracuda hard drives, is a complete and easy-to-use operating system tailored for desktop computers. It offers the power, stability and cost-savings of Linux with the ease of a windows environment, delivering a full suite of Internet-ready programs, multimedia playback, peripheral support for printers, digital cameras, scanners and more, as well as Microsoft networking support. Instant access to more than 1,800 additional software programs is also available from LindowsOS' "Click-N-Run" Warehouse, including Microsoft office file-compatible software programs that read and write .doc, .xls, and .ppt documents. Read more about LindowsOS 4.0 at www.lindows.com/40.