The latest on LindowsOS

[CSFM]

Here is the latest update on the LindowsOS. As many of you know I have been in frequent contact with Michael Robertson over the past few months.

He is calling out to the computing community to help him with his court case against Microsoft. I thought I would post this here and let you guys get in contact with them with any input you may have.


Lindows.com: Help Us With Our Defense Against the Microsoft Lawsuit

Dear Lindows.com Friend,

Some of you have asked about information on the trademark dispute with Microsoft Corporation, so here's a quick update and even a way that you can help us if you are so inclined.

Microsoft is complaining that our use of LindowsOS (TM) and Lindows.com (TM) will cause confusion between our product and Windows XP Professional or Windows XP Home.

We don't think people will confuse our products because they're very different and that the true reason Microsoft is attacking us is because of what our product does and not because what it is named.

Also, we feel obligated to disclose to you that we were compelled to disclose your email address to Microsoft during the discovery process as well as the content of many of your messages sent to us. We were not happy about doing this, but we had little choice. We have received assurances from Microsoft that they will not use or disclose your address for any purpose beyond this case.

Here's how you can help. We are composing a list of the many hundreds of products named "Windows Something" or "Something Windows" or even variations on the word windows, which are not from Microsoft. We know there are many, many products that fit this characterization and we could use your assistance to help us create this list. We are looking for hardware products, software products, products for any operating system and even operating systems themselves.

You can help us generate this list at www.lindows.com/list in three different ways:

1. By submitting titles which can be added to our list by filling out this simple form www.lindows.com/listform

2. Send in printed materials which use the term "window(s)" generically such as software boxes or complete manuals to our offices, the older the better:

Lindows.com, Inc.
Attn: Legal Info
4350 La Jolla Village Drive Suite 450
San Diego, CA 92122

3. Email us at userpoll@lindows.com with any digital photos or scanned images from such products that you may own.

Please note: We MUST receive these by 24th January, 2002 to review them in time for inclusion in our legal case.

Thanks for any assistance you can provide us.



CEO of Lindows.com

michaelr@lindows.com

To comment on Michael's Minutes, email comments@lindows.com

Add Lindows.com to your favorites list and stay tuned to find out more.

It's nice to be nice!

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

interesting....i dont see Lindows really going anywhere, but hey, i'm all for fighting the man, especially MS

too bad i cant think of anything for their list.

 

[CSFM]

I think MS are giving him a helping hand by taking him to court... Publicity is not cheep! And if MS want to give it to him for free... well good on them! I think if this OS is good... it will do well. I am going to give it a go. I am quite keen to get it into my hands... and onto a PC!

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

<< I think MS are giving him a helping hand by taking him to court... Publicity is not cheep! And if MS want to give it to him for free... well good on them! I think if this OS is good... it will do well. I am going to give it a go. I am quite keen to get it into my hands... and onto a PC! >>



good point about the publicity, if this gets on TV at all it should help them quite a bit. Actually after posting my message up there i though of WindowFX and WindowBlinds, and went and submitted them

 

[CSFM]

Yeah... nice work. When you think about it there are loads of programs that use the Windows name in their title. With that in mind you would think that this court case will have no real leg to stand on. But we all know that the US government has it's hand in the lap of MS... so it will be interesting to see the outcome of the case.

 

[wildwildwes]

Man, I would love to see them succeed but they've really got their work cut out for them. It's gonna be a huge task to get to where they need to be in the way of compatibility and I don't expect enough people to pay $100 for what's percieved as a free OS.

I love what they're doing, but i'd be terrified to invest in them.

A search on cnet returns lots of stuff with windows in the title.

http://download.cnet.com/downloads/1,10150,0-10000-103-0-1-7,00.html?tag=st%2Ecn%2E10001%2Dron%2Esbsr&qt=windows&cn=&ca=10000

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

<< Yeah... nice work. When you think about it there are loads of programs that use the Windows name in their title. With that in mind you would think that this court case will have no real leg to stand on. But we all know that the US government has it's hand in the lap of MS... so it will be interesting to see the outcome of the case. >>


well i have a hard time telling exactly where the federal government stands vs. MS. i wouldnt say they have their hand in their lap, but then again i think they let them off too easy. ho hum.

i dont think MS has much of a case and really this lawsuit is just them flexing their monopolistic powers once again.

 

[CSFM]

I don't realy have a problem with buying their operating system... I am hoping that it will work... I have a fw test beds to try it out on... so I can install and un-install the thing as many times as I like. I am hoping it is good though.

I am in Australia... from my point of veiw, all I see is a government that has let MS get far too big for our own good. Then when they have a chance to take them down a peg... they let them go. ho hum... I hope and prey that this LindowsOS is the begining of the end of the Monopoly of MS world wide. It has to start somewhere!
I hope that a few other software manafacturers have the balls to take on the OS market as well. It would be great for all computer users and for the Tech. world if there was 5 or 6 viable choices in the OS market place.

Hip, Hip, hooray for the battlers of the world!

 

[bot2600]

I dont see how this list is going to help. These programs are made to run ON WINDOWS. Microsoft going to bring up that fact and the fact that Lindows is made to run without Windows. All those other programs need to be added TO Windows... big difference.

Bot

 

[CSFM]

Thats not what the case is about though... Microsoft are saying that their will be consumer confusion brought on by the name Lindows, and that they are trying to use the Windows trademark to score easy sales... they are not contesting what the software does... just the name they are using. The fact that there are hundreds of software packages out there that use the Windows name without Microsoft ever saying a word to them is quite relevent... it shows that Microsoft really don't care about the name but the fact that they are building an operating system that will be in direct competition with Windows... so what MS are saying is that they don't want competition!

 

[nortexoid]

this seems like a joke to me...no screenshots, no beta testers, no word of it anywhere on the planet as materialized...

additionally, they were "forced" into disclosing peoples' email addresses to MS?...haha - yeah right.

this michael robertson (your friendly neighbor) seems like he needs to be laughed at for something or some reason...i can't pin it down...

all this software might be, at least as i see it, is linux with some sort of built in virtual windows program that makes running win progs a native capability (or so it SEEMS)

where's bitboys at?

 

[CSFM]

this seems like a joke to me...no screenshots, no beta testers, no word of it anywhere on the planet as materialized...

If you had spent much time on this forum you would have seen that last week I posted the link to the screen shots... the operating system is not finished yet... so you can't get Beta copy's yet... you can join the Lindows research group and get a copy of it that way... and have some input into the final product.

additionally, they were "forced" into disclosing peoples' email addresses to MS?...haha - yeah right.

Remember... it's nice to be nice... no one likes a cynic.

this michael robertson (your friendly neighbor) seems like he needs to be laughed at for something or some reason...i can't pin it down...

Then why bother telling us?

all this software might be, at least as i see it, is linux with some sort of built in virtual windows program that makes running win progs a native capability (or so it SEEMS)

You say 'might be' and 'as I see it', yet you have just admitted that you have never seen any screen shots and that you really know nothing about it....?

 

[nortexoid]

i really do know nothing about it - nobody does, do they?

let's not take it personal - are u actively developing this software?...anyway, i wish to make others shed tears over text on the screen, so i'll apologize for doing so...are u ok?

back to this topic...i'd like to see some REAL info about lindows, and not PR stuffs...so if you could provide a link since u're actively developing it...or have some sort of odd liking to the software, CEO, or other unspecified relation to lindows...

where's the link to the screen shots at????

 

[CSFM]

Use the search button in this forum to look for my last thread that contained the link to the screen shot.

I am not shedding tears.... but you sound like an MS employee that has come here to be cynical and negative towards this guy... who is by the way actually trying to do something for you and I both by introducing an alternative to Windows... maybe he will spark some interest in other software companies and they will try their hand at writing an OS as well... who knows, this could be the small pebble at the top of the big mountain that starts the avalanche.

If it fails... it fails... at least it wont be through lack of trying. Can you put yourself in that boat?

If your not doing something to better the way we live... then what are you doing?

I have no ties with this company... I have asked serious questions as to the aim of this project and I have received amicable answers to them all.
If you look back at all of my previous threads on this topic you will see that I am in no way tied in with this company. I am in Australia for god sake... (view profile).

 

[nortexoid]

i already checked out those two lindows shots @ lindows...nothing awe inspiring...but anyway

the initiative is terrible...i see no serious reason to integrate the two operating systems when: 1) u can dual boot; 2) u any of the existing windows emulators for linux; 3) just run one or the other

moreover, i don't see it as step in the right direction for linux...the point of it is to be an ALTERNATIVE to windows - to get people away from windows...no have them nicely coincide in some half-assed partial open-source piece of work...at least, i don't think it should be.

it certainly sounds interesting anywya...but i believe the only people that would be interested in this product are those already running linux primarily or would like to and only need windows for windows exclusive apps. (in which case, they may not be using windows all that much in the first place, a reason why an emulator would most likely be more useful (however buggy it might be)).

i suppose it would be fun to tinker around on....who knows

 

[CSFM]

i suppose it would be fun to tinker around on....who knows

That's a better attitude! We will just have to wait and see.... I am just a it horrified that MS has slapped this poor guy with this court case.

 

[qeru]

since when does MS own the copyright for the word "WINDOWS"?
anyway, I'm not concerned on the name, lindows or winux is the same to me, as long as they will make it fully compatible.

 

[CSFM]

They own the trade mark.. that is their case... not much of leg to stand on, but I guess they don't really nee legs... when the have tenticals!

 

[n0cmonkey]

When the Lindows people issue a public apology for giving away personal information of the people that subscribed to the mailing lists and whatnot I will consider it again.

 

[BlvdKing]

I have a horrible feeling that Microsoft will throw as much money as they can at this lawsuit. In the end, Lindows could die not because of its merits, (or lack thereof) but from lack of capital from fighting against a company with almost unlimited resources and lawyer power. It's sickening how powerful MS is and how they decide what is best for consumers, not the consumers themselves.

 

[n0cmonkey]

<< I have a horrible feeling that Microsoft will throw as much money as they can at this lawsuit. In the end, Lindows could die not because of its merits, (or lack thereof) but from lack of capital from fighting against a company with almost unlimited resources and lawyer power. It's sickening how powerful MS is and how they decide what is best for consumers, not the consumers themselves. >>



Then hopefully Lindows will release the proprietary software's source they have so someone can continue what they have done.

 

[CSFM]

Just hope that MS and the legal system in your counrty don't turn this into a long drawn out case. Your legal system seems to not quite work the way it was intended to... lets just hope common sense prevails.

 

[Nickyct]

How come MS didn't sue AMD for Naming their CPU XP ?

 

[CSFM]

Good question. But it can be answered fairly easilly. Microsoft have the name "Windows" as a trademark. I am sure they didn't get the trade mark for the letters XP, otherwise there would be a few other companies that would have to answer to Microsoft.

 

[NorthenLove]

<< Good question. But it can be answered fairly easilly. Microsoft have the name "Windows" as a trademark. I am sure they didn't get the trade mark for the letters XP, otherwise there would be a few other companies that would have to answer to Microsoft. >>




No isn't it "Microsoft Windows" that is trademarked and not Windows. Linux distro's can freely use the word X "Windows" on their boxes ?? Just like you they have "Microsoft Office" trade marked but can't do anything about Sun's Star Office.



Do a search here.

http://tess.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=tess&state=gnbs24.1.1