Slashdot Mirror
Lindows becomes Lindash
Daveh writes "The Register is reporting that 'The operating system Lindows is now available as Lin---s (pronounced: Lin-dash) in those countries where Microsoft has blocked the availability of the desktop Linux distribution. The new name complies with a recent Amsterdam court ruling (PDF), the San Diego company says.' There are a few new sites to reflect the name change, including Lin---s.com and Lindash.nl."
This is infantile. If you are being forced to change your name, just do it. Having a name like Lin---s.com is just plain dumb. The graphic on the one site is hangman with D,O,W remaining.
Other programs have had to do this before and at least they had the decency to come up with something more original. I suppose when you start out with something as unoriginal as Windows/Lindows they what do you expect?
It truly is sad to think that Microsoft can block distribution of a particular flavor of Linux. I guess when you can't win in the free marketplace, you resort to sleazy underhanded tactics such as this.
Cases like this boggle the mind. Now all they had to do was change their name to something (albeit strange) catchy, and they get even more free publicity. Windows on the other hand, continues to foster its bully image and ends up really not accomplishing too much at all.
What a waste of everyone's time and money.
It just shows how much money Microsoft has wasted to punish this company.
it was likely done to reflect the domain name being they can't register Lin _ _ _ s.com. As for MS beating up on the competition, I wonder why they haven't gone after typohosting companies such as microspft.com, or microsift.com ... They're pretty much riding the MS pompouslarity bandwagon. So the argument would either be... They would lose in court being neither microsift nor microspft have anything to do with computing, nor do they have anything to do with micro*anything. Nor does Lindows to an extent. Oh well money talks
MoFscker
Just change 'Lindows' to something else. It sounds corny enough as it is and makes an otherwise pretty good distro come across as a Windows knockoff.
Rmedins me of tihs sotry...
# fuser -v
#
Truly, it is the name made by geeks for geeks.
Why is it that some geeks, who are supposed the intellectually elite, come up with the most stupid ideas ever? I say some, because that would be an insult to me and the rest of the minority of the geek population.
Michael Robertson is as much interested in the fight with MS as the future of his company, which he is using as a vehicle. I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing - Lindows is privately held, after all, so he can do what he likes, and I respect his convictions. What Robertson really would like to see, I think even *more* than the success of Lindows, would be for a US court to strip Windows of trademark protection.
I think what they're doing is right on. Lindows tried protesting M$'s ridiculous assertion (that it can trademark a word common in the English language and in computing circles *before* there was ever a Microsoft Windows(tm)) in the courts. Now they can continue their protest of this ridiculous ruling via their new name... and they rightly should protest. The European ruling is idiotic.
The US courts are more reasonable, and likely won't let Microsoft pull words from the English language/computing circles like European courts have. Lindows is a great marketing name for a linux desktop solution, combining linux, a term the average joe may be unfamiliar with, with windows, a term most people use in reference to their computer everyday (not M$ Windows(tm), but those little boxes people are used to dealing with on their desktops in *any* OS environment, when they are instructed to "close the window" etc.). Trademarking the word "windows" is like trademarking the words "mouse" or "cursor".
I don't know much about the distro or the company... but I give them props for their name. Marketing wit is something the linux community can always use more of.
I hate MS, but I hate what Michael Robertson is doing more. Lindows, the name, implies 100% compatibility with Windows programs. Therefore, it does dilute the windows trademark. Even worse, it doesn't deliver on that compatibility because of a previous lawsuit MS filed.
Sigh, someone is gonna burn, even if it is just my moderator points.
This is further proof that MS should have just let this one go. This is again front page news on slashdot, which they may not care about... I also bet that this is news in any of those countries (which lindows wouldn't have had)... plus all of the tech journals in the US and Europe, plus it'll probably second page news on many sites and papers... AND it's one more reason all of the geeks have to hate Microsoft for being a big dumb bully.
Microsoft has from the beginning of this, given Roberson(SP?) (Lindows CEO) more free advertising opportunities than his product could have ever given him.
Keep it up Microsoft... one of these shots in the foot will keep you from walking!
Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor
to put a green bar over the letter S in their hangman game...
Trademark, not copyright, but you're correct.
All they want is the name changed, they're not trying to stop them from selling it.
Yes, it's a stupid name, however what I think many people here are overlooking is this statement from Michael Robertson:
"Any action from Microsoft to block Lin---s will show their true intentions are not to protect their trademark, but to eliminate competition and maintain their monopoly."
Basically he's bear baiting.
Kind of a cute idea and there is nothing wrong with rubbin their noses in it but how long until the name is "morphed" in to:
LinTRASH?
As gay as the name is, I think this is their way of protest. There are a million and one product names that sound similar to windows. Winamp, winfax, windildo. I think it's total 100% bullshit you can selectivly prosecute only those who have competing products. There's a computer repair company in my town called wintech. How MS can selectively sue trademark infringements based on their level of competition and say they aren't a monopoly with a straight face is beyond me.
Just because they use a Linux kernel does not mean that Lindows is somehow a "better" company. Lindows is run by weasels just like any other company, be it Microsoft, SCO, Sun, Borland or Novell. If you are a shareholder, this is good for you, if you are a thinking human being however, there is just no reason whatsoever to sympathize with them.
Programming can be fun again. Film at 11.
wintech doesn't claim to produce a competing product to what microsoft makes, and wintech doesn't have a website that claims their product is a replacement for windows, and wintech doesn't create a product made to look and work as much like windows as possible.
Thats the difference
Look at it this way. is lindows the victim of an unfortuneate naming coincidence ?
No. They're a linux distribution who's only reason for existance is to try and be as much like windows as possible, but not windows. And their name reflects exactly that purpose.
I'm sure you'll agree that i cant stard Fjord Motor Company, a car maker.
My opinions are my own, and do not necessarily represent those of my employer.
When you say that the name is "gay", do you mean gay as in "it makes me want to have sex with someone who has the same genital apparatus as me" or gay as in "I'm a bigot who thinks that it's ok to imply that 'gay==bad'"?
Just wondering.
Because of Microsoft Bill Gates is able to give lots of financial aid to charities. Should we therefore support Microsoft in everything it does?
Lindows helps support a few Open Source projects. I thank them. That doesn't mean we can't disagree with their vision of the future of desktop Linux. Lindows is a proprietary Linux whose goal is to get all of its users paying a monthly fee for its click-n-run program. If their model succeeds then the future of Linux is one more akin to what Microsoft offers than what backers of GNU have in mind. I'm not going to even say which one is right or wrong(although you could probably guess how I feel), but you can't blame someone for disagreeing with what Lindows represents.
If you wanna get rich, you know that payback is a bitch
Maybe it means "gay" as in "I'm already swearing, so why should I give a fuck about being politically correct?"
If the word "gay" has shifted from its original meaning, what's wrong with it shifting in meaning again?
What would you prefer anyway? "Dumb"? Oh no wait, that's mean to people who are unable to speak. "Retarded"? Well, that's insulting to those who are mentally impaired. "Lame"? I have a cousin with an artificial leg who'd like a word with you.
Alright, how about "double plus ungood"?
Some people still don't seem to get it. There is no operating system called windows, no product called windows, and certainly no trademark on the word windows for ANY use including operating systems or graphical windowing systems.
There is a series of operating systems put out by a company called Microsoft. It's called "Microsoft Windows", and people have nicknamed it due to it's monopoly err prevailance to simply "windows".
People think Lindows is similar to the nickname "Windows" and is a product line of the same type and therefore infringes. That's fine and dandy but you cannot infringe on a NICKNAME that isn't trademarked and furthermore is actually in the public domain and untrademarkable regardless.
If Microsoft had a trademark on windows, and the name lindows could confuse customers, then they'd have a case. But since they nor any other company can trademark the term, and the term is merely a nickname to begin with, lindows and windows can be confused all day long and there is STILL no valid case for Microsoft.