“Microsoft asked a court on Thursday to stop a Linux start-up from using a name the software giant contends infringes on the Windows trademark. The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant filed a motion with the U.S. Court for the Western District of Washington against Lindows, which is developing a version of the Linux operating system that will run popular applications written for Microsoft’s Windows OS. Microsoft contends the company, which plans to formally release its product next year, purposely is trying to confuse Lindows with Windows.” The story is at CNet|News. In related news, the Editor-in-Chief of NewsForge and Linux.com wrote yesterday that he decided his web sites will not report on Lindows because he believes that the Lindows product is pure… vaporware. OSNews have recently contacted the Lindows CEO for an interview with some important questions on the Lindows product, its development & licencing, but we have not heard back. Update: The Lindows CEO, Michael Robertson, replied to our request for an interview, read on.Mr Robertson replied:
“We’re not really prepared to talk about the technical side of our product. That will come with version 1.0.”
For your interest, these are the questions we sent for the interview:
1. Will Lindows be completely open source as the GPL dictates or you will keep ‘closed’ some of your work?
2. What are the main differences between Lindows and another user friendly Linux distros, like Mandrake or SuSE?
3. WindowsXP was released recently and it seems that it solves a lot of the issues found in the Windows9x codebase. How Lindows will be able to compete with this, reportedly best ever, version of Windows?
4. If a user wants to upgrade to a brand new hardware device, and a kernel compilation is required, how a Lindows (and non-Linux experienced) user is going to handle this? Is Lindows going to handle drop-in upgrades from time to time, the way Microsoft and Apple do for their products, or a more technical approach will be required by the user?
5. Does Lindows uses the RPM or apt-get standards to install new software, or it uses its own format and way to do so?
6. Will there be a version of Lindows that installs as a bootable image file within a Windows partition, or will it require its own partition?
7. You were the founder of mp3.com, so I can’t help thinking that your product may be somewhat “multimedia-oriented” than server-oriented. If so, the standard kernel that is used on Lindows will be patched against low latency and preemptiveness?
8. How was the feedback so far? Were enough users and press interested in your product?
9. What is exactly your main target market? Home users, businesses, developers or something else?
10. When the users should await a public version (beta or final) of Lindows?
I think Lindows is a very cool name although it does sound like windows.
Perhaps they can call it Lintel (Linux and Windows on Intel). Since Intel doesn’t have an OS, the probably wouldn’t give them a hard time.
Their very nice website claims that a preview release is due this month…
http://www.lindows.com/lindows_products.php
If this OS does what it claims to do and is resonably priced, it should be a bit hit!
ciao
yc
Lindows was:
A)nothing but vaporware
B)going to hurt Linux software development
C)hurt the Linux community when its lowquality product hit the shelf and lied to the customer about how it could run windows software realy well(I do not see how since Wine is not even that good at running it)
A)nothing but vaporware
Duh! Until they release it!
B)going to hurt Linux software development
How is it going to hurt Linux software development to have a Linux distro that is stable, easy to install and run and provides decent compatibility with Windows applications? Having Windows application compatibility lets users move to Linux without having to IMMEDIATELY buy/download new software. This protects their current investment and reduces the learning curve to start using Linux.
C)hurt the Linux community when its lowquality product hit the shelf and lied to the customer about how it could run windows software realy well(I do not see how since Wine is not even that good at running it)
How do you know it is LOW QUALITY if it hasn’t been released yet? Also, they talk about the FACT that NOT ALL Windows applications will work with it, but they indeed to address the compatibility issue for mainstream applications they MOST people are likely to use.
Let’s just wait and see what the product turns out to be, before we start complaining about something that no one, except the people at and involved with Lindows.com, knows anything about.
Well, I don’t care for MS at all, but . . .
Linows, on top of sounding dumb IMNSHO, could confuse customers (though, I don’t believe thats their intention). And if you don’t think it would confuse users, then you’ve obviously never worked in computer related sales (oh, the stories I could tell . . .).
Of course MS is not one to complain, something called “Stinger” comes to mind. What about “Word”, was that an infringement on “Word Perfect”? I’m sure we can all think of others, but Lindows should seriously consider changing the name anyways, just out of respect to stupid consumers.
When you e-mail a CEO with questions for a news site, can you try to use full sentences and proper grammar?
>When you e-mail a CEO with questions for a news site, can you try to use full sentences and proper grammar?
<P>
No, I can’t. This is the best I can do based on the knowledge of the english language I have so far. And it hasn’t stop other CEOs or Linus or IBM people or Apple people emailing back. If my grammar stops Mr Robertson, then, he is the one who is losing, as OSNews has evolved immensely and gets thousands of page views every day from people who fit exactly in his “customer” base.
I respect anyone who puts out the effort to use more than one language. Here’s an idea: if Eugenia wishes, she could email to me (or someone else who is a native english speaker) any potentially incorrect english-writing and I (or that someone else) could offer correction. Just to be nice and help out. How’s that?
I personally think it is a good idea to conduct business in the language you know the best, but that does not mean others cannot help correct the mistakes made in a second or third language before conducting business with it. That also does not mean we cannot be thankful for the efforts put out by those who DO make efforts at languages other than their native language.
Lindows just sounds like an easy to use linux with wine…
A native english speaker does not necessarily speak nor write english correctly
I can appreciate people who speak several languages.
Eugenia probably speaks three or more languages. (Greek, French and English)
ciao
yc
>>Lindows just sounds like an easy to use linux with wine…
It’s probably better integrated. The UI is probably more refined.
ciao
yc
I almost should of predicted this when i heard about lindows about 3 months ago. But as i see on lindows.com they seem to have a good presentation that their going to be a “desktop” operating system based on the linux kernel (probably kde gui). An hearig the smack that microsoft gave to the embedded linux, in their emedded xp add, i’d think that this is more than just the name. course that’s obvious.
the way i look at this is. if lindows actually becomes an easy desktop os. then microsoft would only have light competition. thought there’s also the fact that the creaters of lindows are trying to make all windows programs work under linux. that could be the biggest punch.
but as all linux users know that wine can be run under any linux operating system. but i’d guess that these guys would be putting more into making wine work better, and to make the interface look easier to use.
What a stupid name, it is a disgrace to both Windows and Linux. Though I am not a fan of Microsoft and/or Windows by any means, go Microsoft and rid this ridiculous shame to the computing industry!
my 2 cents (probably not worth much though ha ha)
>> “We’re not really prepared to talk about the technical side of our product. That will come with version 1.0.”
Preview release is expected this month.
When is 1.0 expected?
ciao
yc
“It’s probably better integrated. The UI is probably more refined.”
Well, that would be nice but I don’t think it would be worth a hundred dollars…
would be a Lindows package that I could pop into my Mandrake installation, much like how I have WINE installed now. I’m perfectly happy with Linux Mandrake and I don’t want to deal with another distro (except Smoothwall on the firewall and Debian on the laptop). I’d pay a modest fee for such a package and online updates.
There you go, free market research 🙂
Who’s working on this? Michael Robertson and his friend from MP3.com aren’t really technical people — educated yes, technical no. It’s telling that the remaining executive described in their investor info is not a technical or financial person but a Vice President of Marketing.
IMHO This is a 1% business. Regardless of what’s been said to Lindows investors, my guess is that Robertson and co. are taking a 1 in 100 chance that other agencies will independently make WINE work really well, and that if this company, like MP3.COM has the right name at the right time, it will make a lot of money despite not necessarily having any special skills or resources.
Microsoft have targetted the right asset here. It’s obvious that even if Robertson has spent some VC’s money on programmers to do proprietary WINE extensions, most of his hope is tied to the Lindows name. The “Windows” trademark is weak (that’s a technical term) because it is also an English word, and one that describes a class of related products. However it is registered and is easily strong enough for a direct competitor to be forbidden from using similar words.
No Koka-Cola, no Logotech mouse, no Sowni CD player. Confusing names are forbidden in the same market. Lindows is one character different
from Windows and is in direct competition. Microsoft’s lawyers could win that case with their eyes closed.
My guess? The Lindows name goes to Microsoft out of court, and Robertson gets even MORE free press from this “unfair” tactic even though he must have foreseen it from the beginning. In the rush to cover “bully boy Microsoft” the press will mostly skip reports that Lindows is late, useless or just vapour.
Bill Gates would sue a ham sandwich. Remember when he sued a two-man consulting company called Pacific Micro Software Engineering over “trademark infringement?” This case will go nowhere except to achieve their usual goal of bankrupting the competition by forcing them to incur high legal fees.
Ever notice that the Microsoft name only has a “TM” and not a registered trademark symbol? That is because you can’t trademark the English language (at least in the US. More MS sabre rattling.
Doug, first off, all you had to do was look at a Microsoft logo and see that it does in fact have a registered trademark symbol next to it… yes, that’s what that little R with the circle means.
Second, you don’t know dick about trademark law. Yes you can trademark English words, just so long as they don’t directly describe the product it marks (for example, trademarking the word Hammer for the hammer you sell). Look around… obviously English is valid to be trademarked, or half the trademarks you see wouldn’t be around. (Sun Microsystems, Home Depot, Target, Burger King, and so on…)
Regardless, Lindows is a stupid name. It’s like coming out with a carbonated beverage called Mepsi. If Lindows.com didn’t want to “incur high legal fees”, they shouldn’t have named their product so similar to their competitor’s product.
I’m not expecting much from the guy who was behind the mess they call mp3.com, which is good for nothing more than spam now. They promised to promote indie music and now they just spam their own members with the same Top 40 crap that clogs the radio, plus “special offers” spam from their advertising pimps.
“Doug, first off, all you had to do was look at a Microsoft logo and see that it does in fact have a registered trademark symbol next to it… yes, that’s what that little R with the circle means.”
I meant to saw “Windows” not “Microsoft.” My mistake there. Notice that “Windows” is not registered; they can’t register it. It is a single English word.
“Second, you don’t know dick about trademark law.”
And just what do you know about it? If you are a trademark attorney, and you have factual information to share, please do. Just keep the personal attacks to yourself. Grow up. Do you talk like that face-to-face with strangers? If you did, I’m sure your broken nose would never heal.
“Regardless, Lindows is a stupid name.”
Very much so, but that has nothing to do with Microsoft suing them.
How many languages can you speak (and write) with flawless fluency? If it’s not more than one then shut the f**k up! Just my two cents worth;)
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ITs like having OJ in charge of the battered women’s shelter.
I do know something about trademark law, it’s my job, and under any modern trademark law, which is the case of USA Trademark Act, Microsoft shouldn’t be entitled to use the word alone ‘Windows’ as a trademark for a Windowing System.
Go to lindows.com and read the PTO registration refusal documents, this is not at all surprising. And althought I am not crazy either for the technical merits of the Lindows we know so far (it’s still a beta), I am profoundly greatful to Lindows and specially to its CEO Michael Robertson, for standing tall against the bully. Kudos to you Mr. Robertson!
The Newsforge.com announcement about ‘pure vaporware’ really puzzles me, words are written down and we shall have time to remember them and to question the weird Newsforge.com ‘vaporware standards’.
I wish good to Lindows, I’m confident that Right shall be done so they can lawfuly use the Lindows trademark.
Eugenia, don’t listen to the Webster troll. Keep on the good work with such a great news website. Regards from Spain.
I meant ‘grateful’, Webster troll.