The Open Group is commemorating the 40th anniversary of the UNIX operating system with the launch of the UNIX License Plate World Tour photo contest and the chance to win a free laptop. As the owner of the UNIX trademark, The Open Group works closely with the IT industry to further the development of standards compliant systems by evolving and maintaining the Single UNIX Specification.

As part of the UNIX License Plate World Tour photo contest, The Open Group will be giving away official UNIX "Live Free or Die" license plates to the first 40 people who register for one online at http://www.unix.org/40years/. UNIX license plates are also available for purchase at http://www.opengroup.org/bookstore/catalog/n900.htm. In addition, all UNIX fans are invited to submit a photo from around the world of their "traveling" UNIX license plates to the UNIX@40 Photo Contest. All photos will be evaluated by a panel of judges for creativity, humor, and location for a chance to win a free laptop running a UNIX operating system. To participate in the contest, please send an email with the picture attached and the name of the city or location where it was taken to uniximages@unix.net no later than January 6, 2010 23:59 GMT. To view the stream of submitted photos, please visit http://www.flickr.com/groups/unix. The winner will be notified via email and publicly announced at The Open Group Seattle Conference on February 1, 2010. For a full list of contest rules, please visit: http://www.unix.org/40years/.

"For its excellent stability and scalability features, Fujitsu's SPARC-base servers with UNIX are one of the best-selling systems during Fujitsu's 55-year old history in computer development," said Shigeru Seko, General Manager of Enterprise Server Business Development, Fujitsu. "The longevity of UNIX as a platform is a testament to both its original developers in 1969 and to the developers who continue to use it to create flexible, scalable systems that serve as the foundation for most technologies and businesses today."

"Since its creation in 1986, IBM's AIX operating system has been based solely on UNIX, a platform that continues to withstand the test of time," said Satya Sharma, IBM Fellow and CTO, Power Systems. "IBM's continued involvement in The Open Group and our contributions to the UNIX Standard further validate our commitment to advancing the goal of interoperability between systems. It's no surprise that UNIX adoption continues to grow even after 40 years of successful development."