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Talk With Michael Robertson
Lindows CEO Michael Robertson is vilified by many Linux advocates. At the same time, he is probably drawing more attention to desktop Linux than anyone else in the world. Is he evil? Or is he just a typical American businessman trying to make it big (for the second time; before Lindows, he founded -- and later sold -- MP3.com)? One thing is for sure: Unlike many CEOs, he'll give a plain-talk answer to a straight question. We'll send 10 of the highest-moderated questions submitted here by Slashdot readers to Robertson tomorrow, and run his answers, unedited, as soon as he gets them back to us.
In you opinion, is the future of the linux Desktop based on KDE or Gnome? Any reason why Lindows chose KDE? What improvements in KDE would you like to see?
The war with islam is a war on the beast
The war on terror is a war for peace
Mr. Robertson: your campaign seems to have the momentum of a runaway freight train. Why are you so unpopular?
Questions:
Q. The main reason someone would buy LindowsOS is to run Click N Run. However, browsing through its aisles, we see some very old versions of the software presented there. Gnumeric and other apps haven't been updated for a year or so. Additionally, lately we don't see much new software on CnR. Any insight on that?
Q. Is work being done to unify the looks of KDE and Gnome? Also, the last time I checked, Lindows was only coming by default with Gnome/GTK+ of the 1.4 era. Any plans to upgrade?
so tell me why I should be interested in it rather than just making a dual boot Linux/Windows machine.
This Space Intentionally Left Blank
how can an OS completely dedicated to emulating another OS would ever be popular?
if copying Windows is your focus, isn't your OS already second-rate by design?
(-1, Raw and Uncut is the only way to read)
Love him or hate him, he's putting Linux in the news. Thats a Good Thing (tm).
I was able to install Redhat 9 on my parents computer this weekend because they started with conversation with "What's this Lindows thing?"
Unlike many CEOs, he'll give a plain-talk answer to a straight question.
Who wants to take bets that he'll give self-affirming, buzzword-laden, market-speak answers?
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
Lindows has made many inroads to desktop acceptance, despite the gripes the open source community has had with the concept.
That said, where do you see a break even point for Lindows financially?
Also, what is the reasoning in not allowing binary downloads? I would never consider shelling our cash for a GPL based product I had never test driven.
What one thing do you think can happen to make Linux a more desirable desktop over microsoft right now? Is there one feature or item or event that would 'convince' everyone to give Linux a try (minus 'bomb Redmond')?
Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
Hes done more for the community than IBM has. He personally funds alot of the Linux on the Desktop movement, while IBM is busy focused on business.
Honestly, I'd like to thank Michael Robertson for doing what hes doing, most people wouldnt give their own money to make Linux a success.
I dont see anyone else doing this. Millions of dollars to KDE, hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Xbox project, and many other things.
If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac
my.mp3 was a great idea, and it should have survived in its earlier form
now it's just not the same to pay for everything, or to have most albums locked out
and it can't be grouped together with other p2p services like napster, kazaa, etc, because it wasn't really a useful tool for piracy
I remember a report that documented many of the security features that really helped to prevent piracy in the my.mp3 system
we know you aren't necessarily in the mp3 business currently, but do you have any plans or ideas to build a system like the old my.mp3?
Not having viruses is one of the upsides of Linux. Why do you sell a virus scanner for linux. Shouldn't you be presenting the lack of viruses as one of the reasons to switch?
The war with islam is a war on the beast
The war on terror is a war for peace
Mr. Robertson,
What are your plans (if any) for helping support the rest of the linux community. If more contributions were made back to the OSS community, then I think people would come to respect Lindows much more. Of course, as a corporation, you are totally entitled to do what you want to do. But this is an area where many feel the best strategy is to not get ahead at the expense of others, but to extend a helping hand back to the community that gave you life.
Is this how Lindows is going to continue to work in the future? I think this is one "feature" of Win9x that would really be better to leave in the past.
Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken - Tyler Durden
What do you think of the situation going on in the Xfree86 development community? Will Lindows be able to compete with OSX anytime soon in terms of quality.
Lindows is good right now, but the quality is behind and that extra quality which OSX has, is exactly what Linux is missing. When Linux gets quality, eye candy, or whatever you call it, the masses will come along.
Games mostly work, Alot of the important applications work. All Lindows needs is to simply be better at first glance than Windows.
If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac
How much thought and time did you put into the name "Lindows"? Seriously. Power to you and all that you're doing, but the lack of creativity in the name is blinding.
Marketing Linux to the mass market is a good thing. However it seems to me that the name you have chosen for the product is awkward at best and will only slow down potential adoption. Naming products is an important part of effective marketing, especially in the consumer market. Lindows sounds cheesy and is no longer relevant to the product since you switched emphasis from being a Linux/Windows combination. Have you considered changing the name?
Sailing over the event horizon
The best way to get anything to the public at large is to sell it at Walmart. Does Walmart have any plans to sell Lindows machines in stores, or will it stay on the website?
Will Lindows be an open company? When can we buy stocks? and how are they doing?
These are some good questions, it would also be nice to have a clue on where they are going with this. Redhat has some projections on what their roadmap is. I know Michael Robertson has alot of money, but he doesnt have infinite money.
Also what about a cheaper subscription service for college students? Lindows college edition which instead of $99, is alot cheaper or maybe even free.
If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac
A virus is not necessarily something that gets into your system through an executable or through your email. Many rootkits are detectable through a good scanning application. Call it a virus-scanner if you will...
I would probably like having such an application in the hands of a newbie so that if his system gets rooted, it gets fixed eventually instead of becoming a permanent spam gateway.
Do you really hope to compete with Microsoft, or are you more interested in making money with pre-loaded systems sold via retail?
Personally, I cannot see how you could convince someone to forgo the next Windows release in favor of Lindows.
The early pitch for Lindows was it was the Linux distribution that would run the major Windows applications. Later you stopped marketing it this way and instead decided to emphasise Click'n'Run and ease of use.
Why the change? Were the technical problems associated with Wine too great to overcome? Was it fear of legal action from Microsoft?
I would have thought there was a large potential market for Lindows as originally conceived. Why move away from that vision to something much less clearly differentiated from other Linux distributions?
Sailing over the event horizon
Dear Mr. Robertson,
Could you please update me on your efforts to patent your once-click-software-update solution?
If you are granted such a patent, do you plan on allowing the open source community free (beer/speech/both?) licensing?
"God is dead." - Frederik Nietzsche
How much would Bill have to pay you to get you to sell Lindows to him? I don't expect you to answer this question, but I am intriguied to know if offers have been made...
"If you're thinking what I'm thinking, you're right." -
Lindows is based off of the Debian code and uses apt-get to install software from the Click-n-Run repository.
What is in place to keep people from changing the apt-get sources from CnR to the Debian sources and install something like Synaptic (and getting newer, updated packages for free) instead of paying the $99/year (with a few execeptions)?
"Some things have to be believed to be seen." - Ralph Hodgson
The thing I hear over and over as to why people stick with Win-- is the relative lack of first run games. They're not talking about the free OSS games but rather major titles from the likes of EA and others. Is there anything you have up your sleeves to help convince these guys to port more games to Linux and I'm talking native ports, not WINE / WineX compatible ports. It seems that with the SDL toolkit, a lot of these DirectX games could be ported to Linux without a herculean effort. The world has changed significantly since Loki's stumble.
Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws-Plato
Well I asked this question before but I think if you want to market Lindows, you need to give it away to college students who cannot afford to buy it anyway. How about you go on a sorta tour, where you go to college campuses, you show Lindows, and you give out free CDs. Go from College to College for about a year, get students using Lindows on their laptops instead of Windows, Apple does this kinda thing with their Ibooks.
If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac
How wold you describe Windows emulation in Lindows today? What do you expect for it in a year or two? Do you still expect Windows support to be an important distinguishing feature for Lindows?
What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
Do you consider yourself the Ron Popeil of the computing world?
It seems to me that many Linux community members dislike you, but explaining why is difficult. I know it is not because of your success, albiet from the outside it may appear that way. Actually, we should like you. You have setup the prize money for hacking the x-box, you've allowed apt-get to work on lindows, and you have put Linux all over the headlines.
Unfortunately, people resent you for not providing a free download, and some hate the fact that your website is crawling with pictures of you.
Well, I went around my elbow to ask if you realize the linux community's distaste for you, and what you plan on doing to open up our hearts, minds, and wallets/purses?
In early marketing efforts Lindows focused on the ability to seamlessly run Windows application. Post launch product claims in this area are much more conservatively. When, if ever, will the majority of Windows applications run on Lindows?
Do you think the hostility toward Lindows that characterizes some members of the Linux "community" can be attributed to their desire that Linux remain a "geeks only" cult object?
-- Slashdot: When Public Access TV Says "No"
Linux is great, but nothing is perfect... what do you feel is linux's SINGLE greatest weakness at the present? (And no, I won't believe you if you answer "the fact that everybody isn't running Lindows").
Hindsight being 20/20 and all, what would you have changed at MP3.com while you were there to have kept the balance between musicians and listeners while keeping the music industry lawyers off your back? Additionally, now that you've moved on and can see the game from the outside, what advice would you give MP3.com and companies of its ilk in the current climate?
Error: PANTS NOT FOUND. Press <F1> to continue.
You have been accused of ignoring the Linux "community." Is it that you ignore them, or do you just find that too often getting involved with the "community" results in silly debates, in-fighting, and isn't productive?
Mark
If I am a corporation wanting to standardize on a Linux desktop then I will want to make a bet on a company that has staying power. You abandoned mp3.com when it was clearly not going to make any money, what reason do I have for believing you will not to the same again?
What do you think?
Have the folks at Lindows taken any interest in selling its Wal-Mart machines with native Linux game ports, such as those from LGP and sold by TuxGames?
How then do you see lindows competing with windows. Is it purely going to be on price or do you feel other things might be used to win the non-linux fans over to youre distro?
Are there any results available on customer satisfaction? MS has reasoned that computers sold without one their OSes preinstalled would instead be loaded with pirated versions. Have you got any figures available that could help to dispute this?
Good luck in court, hope you succeed where most others have failed.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Once it was released, it became clear that the reality was far short of the promises, and their marketing shifted accordingly. But as the name suggests, it was initially positioned as "Windows for free".
What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
When you started, you put a lot of effort into Wine, sponsoring things like WineConf. That didn't work out, but Wine improves constantly, as the latest releases of CrossOver and WineX show. Do you think you'll ever return to it someday, or are you disillusioned with the whole thing?
Microtel and Lindows have put togther some great deals for Wal-mart.com; How are slaes going? Will the Microtel + Lindows PCs ever make it to Wal-Mart store shelves?
Karma: The shiznight, mostly because I am the Drizzle.
Since the Lindows PCs have been selling for a while, your marketing and customer service folks must have gotten some kind of feedback from current or prospective users.
What are the things people ask for? What are some things general users would like to see in Lindows or Linux-based desktop distributions that aren't there yet?
According to my understanding, the source code to anything that's liscensed under the GPL must be available to the general public somehow (even if there is a fee for transferring it). Even though it is possible to gain access to Lindows binaries at this time, there is no way to gain access to the source of Lindows, at any price. How do you justify this?
Karma: Excellent (fuck, even in the future moderation doesn't work!)
How do you feel when hearing about the behavior of companies like Mandrake begging for money and Can you rule out the possibility to act the same when your business might go the same way?
In case this question gets moderated high enough, I'd like to see an answer which covers the differences of software developlemnt models like debian or microsoft compared to this in-between thing of Mandrake.
What ever possesed you to put up the bounty on the Xbox Linux project?
You say things that offend me and I can deal with it. Can you?
I once worked at a doomed dotcom in London. Shortly before it went titsup, we had a visit from someone calling himself Delon Dotson. He claimed to have be co-founder of mp3.com and to have a patent on SSL. In fact, he claimed he received a royalty for every SSL transaction, to which we smiled superciliously and said we doubted it, as we used OpenSSL ;)
Cut a long story short, we sent him packing. So, was this bloke for real? Or just a figment of our fevered boom-era brains?
For a while, Lindows was only available preinstalled on some WAL*MART computers. Why did you use this distribution strategy? Were you afraid of hardware compatibility issues, or did you think that preinstalled Lindows would be easier to sell?
Karma: Excellent (fuck, even in the future moderation doesn't work!)
Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken - Tyler Durden
In light of the overall negative reception you and Lindows have had amongst the /. community to date would you take this opportunity to pledge your intent to be a reasonably good citizen of the open source community? Please elaborate to the extent and/or limit you view this responsibility.
When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law he tore his robes.2Kings22:11
Bzzt. Wrong. Nobody has ever given "millions of dollars to KDE". In fact IBM has certainly had more tangible contributions to the project.
I'm not anti-Lindows or anti-Michael, but this is a gross overstatement. To the best of my knowledge a few thousand dollars were given to the KDE League; this is a far cry from "millions". We of course appreciate the contribution, but it's important to keep things in perspective. KDE has never had a donation of anywhere close to a million dollars from any party.
(And yes, I am a KDE developer.)
Your question suggests an attitude of Linux is impervious to viruses. This thought is VERY common amongst Linux enthusiasts. However this thinking, that Linux is impervious to viruses, could very well be the biggest problem that Linux has ever seen.
The fact is that viruses come in many forms. The more common ones today are of the worm variety and they usually target Outlook because it is the most pervasive mail client out there. But, because Linux has not yet seen a powerful worm or virus does NOT mean that it is impervious to them.
As more and more functionality is added to Linux mail clients the risk of a worm increases. Further, the Linux community is starting to standardize on fewer clients. Right now it is likely that 90% of the Linux users are using one of three mail clients Kmail, Evolution, or Mozilla Mail. This means that there is an increasing number of users for each/any of these clients and as the number grows it increases the likelyhood that one will be targeted for a worm.
Another misconception is that Linux users are restricted to user space, meaning that a virus or worm would not have systemwide access(theoretically). But, plenty of damage could be done from user space alone.
Here is a worm concept that could do great damage to Linux: The worm would spread via email. It could be a complex ELF or a java script or even a BASH script. The subject would be something like "Hey I can't get this script to work, can you help me? What Linux junkie could pass that up? You know full well that most are likely to open it. Once opened it then runs mailing itself to all your Linux friends. It then deletes all your files; rm -rf * Sure this wouldn't hurt the system as a whole but, you would certainly be inconvenienced if you were to lose all your files, no? And all this from user space, no root required.
Now, I'm sure that there will be many responses to this post explaining why this couldn't possibly happen but, the fact is that it is only a matter of time before it does. Now think of how devastating it would be to Linux if the equivalent of Melissa or Slammer were to be unleased on all those systems NOT running antivirus software.
My point is that Linux users need to get beyond the thought that Linux is impervious to viruses and worms and they need to start using antivirus software. There are numerous ones available for Linux including packages from the big Windows antivirus vendors.
The competing commercial distributions, Xandros and Lycoris, are offering their products at a lower price and their systems rival Lindows in many ways. For example, Xandros' partnership with CodeWeavers allows them to fullful the promise of running Windows applications out-of-the-box for the same price as Lindows without the ability to run Windows applications. Lycoris' open development community, their software gallery, their comparable deal with WalMart, and rebranding of OpenOffice position them squarely against Lindows, but again at a lesser price. What are you doing to compete with these distributions? What types of partnerships are you leveraging to sustain or enhance your revenue model beyond unit sales and recurring Click-n-Run sales?
Don't really want to see it turn into the William Shatner interview, now, do we?
I've been swashdotted -- Elmer Fudd
I very much welcome the promotion of Linux-preinstalled hardware by Linux Distros. This is vital, since most users don't want to install an OS (even when it has gotten incredibly easy to install Linux). They actually prefer a simpler solution: open the box, power on, surf the net. In particular, there is a great niche for affordable, Linux Laptops with no MS tax. Your Mobile PC looks promising, but it received some criticism for the use of a VIA processor, a low-power processor that is therefore considerably slower than an Intel/AMD processor of comparable clock speed. This is a valid option for people interested in long battery life. Nonetheless, there is a market for people who need more computing power. Are you working on a deal to sell a similar solution but with a more powerfull CPU ? Any other news in the hardware related arena that you could share with us ?
This is just wrong. Please don't waste a question on this. Do your research.
You don't understand the GPL, which says nothing about using the internet to distribute source code. Lindows.com is perfectly within the GPL - they distribute the source code to those that pay for the compiled binaries and choose to download it, which satisfies all the GPL requires. You just can't hold your source for ransom.
We don't need to bother Robertson with this crap, you can get the answers yourself at http://www.fsf.org/copyleft/copyleft.html or http://www.lindows.com.
If this were true Microsoft's anti-competitive practice would be a non-issue, as would marketing budgets and distribution networks.
Real economics isn't this simple.
:wq
What is your take on the whole Sco Unix lawsuit and how will it affect Lindows?
Why did Lindows choose to just tack .lindows and .cnr on the end of standard libraries names instead of just coming up with a whole seperate library for cnr and lindows and giving us legitimate versions of the libraries in question?
As a developer who doesn't want to pay for CNR it makes getting a -dev package really inconvenient.
Also, why did Lindows choose not to ship gcc as a standard component of the OS? Its the first Linux distro I've ever seen that didn't.
MP3 was a great concept; and brilliantly carried out. However, the endgame (selling, or selling out, depending upon your point of view) is not what folks are hoping for with Lindows .
My question is this: Is Lindows a repeat of MP3.com, a hot button concept to be developed and 'flipped' through a sale to corporate America? Or, is it different this time? Are you taking this one to the mat, with your convictions strengthened by your experience and wealth?
Put another way; Do you have a number (that you would sell for)?
Any sleight-of-hand, sufficiently advanced, is indistinguishable from technology.
Non of the free software / open source licences enforce a "payback" in any way to the software community, although it is the basis of our success. Specifically, what contributions have lindows made to make a _progress_ in the free software? What can we expect from a group that does only what is mandatory?
What feedback have you received from members of the general public who use Lindows? I would be interested to hear what the average person who bought a Lindows-loaded PC at Wal-mart and used it for a while had to say about it.
Does your company use Lindows for day-to-day (including non-technical) tasks?