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Lindows Agreeing to Change Name
xandroid writes "It looks like Lindows.com has thrown in the towel for the fight to keep its name: the Seattle Times reports that they 'would not continue a worldwide legal battle with Microsoft.' They will announce the new name next Wednesday, although a favorite is Lindos -- 'because it's the W that is causing all the problems'." Update: 04/07 19:37 GMT by S : This is worth clarifying - Michael Robertson is claiming "...the company will go by a different name outside the U.S. until it can win the right to use the Lindows name internationally."
because it's the W that is causing all the problems
So the name isn't going to be Winux - because problems with Ws.
I always kind of figured that Lindows would have to cave eventually. Microsoft is just too big and powerful to square off with over the name of a product, and I'm surprised that someone would create a name so obviously based on Microsoft's main product without considering the fact that the software giant would be almost forced to take legal action.
Instead of Lindos, how about Lindros? They could use the handsome face of the Canadian-born New York Ranger as their logo, but what slogan would they use? Maybe something about hacking?
You are in error. No-one is screaming. Thank you for your cooperation.
Enough like the old one to retain the brand recognition, and they can point out it is LindOS, if MS comes a-suing again. Of course, the question is "will it keep sucking?" ;)
From 2003, when Robertson (of Lindows fame) answered /. questions he said, "When we started Lindows.com we believed that software installation was extremely difficult for most users".
To me this shows that Robertson is making his money on the connection between Linux, Windows and Lindows; by bridging the gap between the ease of windows and the better systemic designs of Linux. Therefore without the perfect name, Lindows may vanish into obscurity; but is a name that important? I think so, I don't think so... it doesn't matter really, does it? What to call it? How about Easy-Linux? Lindos won't work either, because it's got DOS in it...
For a potential naming lawsuit.
to Linslash? Did taco threaten a lawsuit?
I also reply below your current threshold.
Lin----? (Pronounced ("Lindash"?
...why not just call it "Windos"? ;)
libertarianswag.com
Now these guys will want a piece of the action.
taken! (by Davidleeroth) Thanks Bingo Foo!
Strange- the American economy and international reputation has the same issue. Its that W. thats causing all the problems
No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!
That sounds great, linux dos, yeah, no lawsuits there.
Finally, a win for the little guy!
Hey freaks: now you're ju
The new name will now be:
Wierdows
Life is the leading cause of death in America.
Windows is really just DOS With Pictures.
And I was all about having Lindows go around and trick non-computer-savy consumers into buying their substandard product with their very similar, confusing name.
What ever happened to the old addage, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. If you don't want to join 'em, then trick everyone into thinking you're 'em." Damn you Bill Gates!
Your reality is lies and balderdash and I'm delighted to say that I have no grasp of it whatsoever. - Baron Munchausen
Er, I mean "o!"
"Prepare for the worst - hope for the best."
Is Lindos any better...I mean Microsoft could make a argument at LinDOS. Plus why would you want DOS in your name anyways.
Am I the only one who sees a connection with US politicians?? :P
DrkBr
Won't "Lindos" be just as scrutinized by Microsoft? After all, MikeRoweSoft was shot down, showing that a phonetic similarity is just as condemning as anything else.
Typos... that's just how I role.
Another variant to consider would be Lindous.
LinDOES
because WinCANT
geek n performer who performs morbid or disgusting acts, as biting off the head of a live chicken
Yeah... Microsoft sure couldn't have *ANY* objection to that...
All's true that is mistrusted
Someone give the entire company a moderation of "+1, Troll", thanks :)
Hate me!
Ok, How about Windux? or !Windows?
"For a successful technology, honesty must take precedence over public relations for nature cannot be fooled." -Feynman
don't choose "firebird" I think they will be okay
MS sues Lindos, claiming the sequence dos infringes on MS-DOS.
Lin-D'Oh!s
I think the new name should be NotWindows.
:)
How can they complain? Its obviously not windows, right?
DOS is dead, and no one cares...
If there's a Bourne Shell, I'll see you there
Strike W from Windows and you get INDOS, which is an accurate description of the product.
But it hardly matters really, Lindows is crap and sooner or later will vanish. Personnaly, I think Lindows is bad for Linux as far as gaining acceptance on the desktop or as a consumer OS.
"Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
Redmond will sue the bejeezus out of them because the last three letters of Lindos are DOS.
I recommend they call it "Artie" or perhaps "Biff" and hopscotch over MS's nonsense entirely.
From configuring one existing OS (Linux) to imitate another (Windows) to a name that is at best a cheap knockoff of the Microsoft product, and at worst is intentionally deceptive, Lindows.com has yet to demonstrate a single gram of creativity.
"Ask not what your country can do for you." --John F. Kennedy
(I'm still waiting for this to make a poll)
What about "Not_Stolen_From_Xerox_Or_Apple"
Hopefully this sheds some light.
This just goes to show the fundamental problem with the current legal system: regardless of the merit of their position, the rich can use the courts to impose their will on the poor by killing them with legal fees.
Why is it that the proponents of "one nation under God" are so eager to get rid of "liberty and justice for all"?
... sick of hearing Robertson whine like the world is out to get him?
"I believe it's the only way to respond to an onslaught from such a rich company, since we need to be able to continue to grow our business," he said.
Boo hoo. Who cares what you think of MSFT, they're in the right, IMO. If the OS was called Lacintosh OSX, Apple would do the same thing.
Selling a "windows replacement" as "lindows" is pushing the line. Myself, I see it as a sleazy attempt to confuse unsavvy K-Mart shoppers into thinking they're getting Windows compatible machine.
If MS released "Winux" do you think Linus would excercise his TM rights? I do, and he should.
Screw this guy. He poked a bear with a stick, and is now crying that the bear took a run at him. He should consider himself lucky to get away, company intact, without being mauled.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
you should call it "Windows" since a judge recently said that Microsoft may not be able to keep the name legally because it's too common.
Lindose? Besides from sounding like some kind of sleeping medication, it pronounces the same, but its spelled different!
There are only 10 kinds of people in this world... those who understand binary and those who don't
This should be seen as a step in the right direction, but more focus should be put on evaluating the distro itself, and the viability of the business.
...doesn't Microsoft now also own the Trademark on "DOS" ?
howzabout loseDOS err... loserDOS?
\/\/1nD0\/\/Z ECKSPEE
No Judge in the world could convict you of thievery!
...I don't know what's worse, windows, or a linux distribution trying to be windows?
How about Licrosoft?
I know.. it's the OS, not the company.
I think the solution should be a stab at microsoft. Maybe, "Bill Gates has no penis". Obviously they would have to create a cartoonish character that has the name bill gates, and that would be the particular bill gates in question. So there would be no confusion.
Ford loses Futura to Pep Boys
Ford also couldn't get GT-40 back from a pretty small company.
Give life
Article: Robertson's message said it will take time to shift to a new name, because Lindows has thousands of Web pages and 100-plus computer servers.
I'm sorry, but both of those numbers sound bogus, or the logic doesn't apply... If they are using database-backed dynamic pages, changing to a new name and domain should be rather easy.
On a related topic, at http://support.lindows.com/, the Knowledge Base they are using looks a like like ones I've seen in other sites, such as ximian's and Sierra's sites. I have no idea what the name of the software is though, and with my company wanting to deploy a knowledge base for their own software, I'd like to know which it is to save some research time.
Why is it so difficult to find decent software names? Why does Adobe have "Photoshop" and the open source community have "The Gimp", which literally means a person with a limp? Why is there "Oracle" and "SQL Server", one which is cool, both historically and as a product brand, and one which is straightforward and easy to remember (if nothing else), but the OS community as "PostgreSQL"?
A lot of programmers in the Slashdot community take cheap shots at marketing and this is important, because extreme marketing types can be every bit as annoying as extreme nerds, but it would be nice if it was acknowledged that marketing is, actually, a legitimate discipline and that product naming is important.
Lindos? So this is the BEST they can do?: Ask the community or drop the 'W'? Come on, guys. You came up with the software, why not make a legitimate effort to take the name seriously?
Would you go around to all your friends to ask what to name your child? And if you couldn't come up with anything by taking a poll would you just, say, drop the 'H' in John, if that was your first name, and call it done? I mean let's face it, good software is a lot harder to make than a baby, for most of us anyway ...
Chr0m0Dr0m!C
May I suggest Snapple?
I know man, it's so F*** stupid. The rich already have money, so they don't deserve to have rights, let alone be allowed to protect their intellectual property.
We're talking about politics, right?
Lindizzle!
What is I legally changed my name to Linux?
Would SCO sue me?
At one point, Lindows had been taking the position that Lindows could not be infringing upon the Windows trademark, because Windows was itself an invalid trademark (already being a common term within the computer industry before MS started using it). I had really wanted to see how this played out. I think Lindows was correct on this assessment; MS was improperly granted a trademark on an already-existing term from that field. On the other hand, there is now so much business, brand recognition, and so forth built upon that trademark by now that the situation would be very difficult to correct, even if MS's hordes of attorneys failed to convince the judge to leave the situation be. The legal questions raised in that particular side of the case was what I was most interested in hearing the answers to, but now it's not something we're likely to see addressed.
linDOS? I though we were well past DOS.
... just stop raising the cost of building the product with lawsuits.
Seriously though, why don't they just give it some unique name and stop playing silly naming battles. I wish they'd focus on their product, and not silly legal battles that they KNEW they were inviting with their choice of name. Sure, it brought attention to their company, but get over it. Make it fast. Make it good. Name it "purple" if it makes you happy
or Lyndoze? or NOlinDOZE?
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Albert Einstein
Take a page from Apple -- definitely use "Sosumi". Apple has never trademarked the term.
:-)
Or, in the same vein, "BHA Linux". (I'm going to see how many minutes it takes from my post for it to be until someone gets this allusion and posts about it -- I'm guessing less than thirty).
May we never see th
How about X-Lindows? I mean, it's should be sufficiently different for Microsoft not to claim trademark confusion :-)
How about Longhorn? As far as I can tell, no one has trademarked it...yet.
Loser.
As we all know, DOS is also a product from M$, maybe they will be sued again, until they change to some not so generic name!
Who cares if they have to change the name? Not me, I use Mandrake.
Thank God they don't have any legal troubles with their....oh, wait..
Flash is the Herpes of the Internet.
your.opinion >
or has it been taken already? See Merriam-Webster for how it is currently used in English.
or some other foreign language word for Windows. The average american will have no idea what it means but that is ok, they still have blinking clocks on their VCR's as well.
I make my face look like this and concerned words come out.
Seriously, how are those Lindo(w)s desktop sales going after, what's it been, over a year? Have sales gone up significantly? Is there traction? Market share numbers? Does the world outside of /. readers care about or even know about Lindo(w)s? Does anyone have any information? I would love to know.
-- "You can lead a yak to water, but you can't teach an old dog to make a silk purse out of a pig in a poke" - Opus
There was a legal issue recently over a book, "Breaking the Da Vinci Code", whose author was sued because of potential name confusion, as in the Lin/Win case. Last I heard, the "Breaking" author only had to put a sticker on the book that says "A critical analysis of The Da Vinci Code".
By that logic, can't Lindows do the same? Like put a nice gif on their front page saying "A free alternative to Microsoft Windows (insert lots of trademark symbols here)"?
Lindos Electronics make high-end pro-audio test equipment. They have done for over 25 years.
n/t
I'm in the hole of the broadband donut.
Actually, it was the legal systems in like 6 other countries outside of the United States that was the problem--Lindows was actually holding its ground here in the US.
Slashdot: Where people pretend to be twice as smart as they really are by behaving like children.
Lindos == Linux Desktop Operating System
cb
Oooh! What does this button do!?
They could always go with Lindeaux or Lindeaus. Then again, the French stigma may be too great. =)
They should use "LinDOORS". Or "LindOORS Not Jim Morrison!"
There is a spark in every single flame bait point.
And then name it Gates OS, the one that doesn't suck!
If you can't use your competitors current trademark, use its old one...
My Karma is so low that even my own postings are beyond my current threshold
..SC Johnson sues over name infringement with it's product, Windex.
Microsoft owns "MS-DOS", but there have been many other DOS products (DR-DOS comes to mind). DOS is simply an acronym for Disk Operating System. In a very real way, Linux is, at least partially, a DOS, as are any other operating systems that run on a disk. The term just isn't used anymore because nobody wants to have anything to do with it, since it implies old MS-DOS for most.
Then again, I thought windows were pretty generic too...
holesinthewallOS
Maybe now they will pick a name that, oh I dunno, makes sense? OSS developers always seem to pick the most moronic names.
sulli
RTFJ.
Heh, this was the correct decision.
Miscrosoft owns the trademark of windows as it applys to OSes they have a right to defend it as they should. Just as I would expect Apple/IBM to defend there products. If someone had a product called Appple or something I would expect Apple to respond. Seriously though, this out come of this lawsuit was expected, and should of been obvious from start.
Giving a more respectable name will give it a better reputation, and will make it more recognisable as a brand. Red Hat, Mandrake, SuSE and Java Desktop all are famous Linux brands, Lindows will have to follow in their footsteps!
I have a fetish for traffic cones
During the Anti-trust proceedings, MS gave "make work" projects to all available Anti-Trust Lawyers that they could find. That way, the procecution couldn't find any lawyers to help them.
I wouldn't be suprised if MS went out an Trade Marked, Copyrighted or Patented any possible variations of Windows
Bindows, Cindows, Dindows, Findows, Gindows...
lindose, lindoz, lindohs, lindOS, lind0Z
Obama's legacy: (N)othing (S)ecure (A)nywhere and (T)error (S)imulation (A)dministration
This is the third such post moderated at to least +4. It wasn't that funny the first time, and it sure as shit isn't the third time!
"...considering the fact that the software giant would be almost forced to take legal action."
Why would Microsoft be forced to do this? Is it absolutely neccessary for them to take legal action?
Don't be so sure eliminating the "W" will solve the problem. In order to avoid trademark law problems, people who are selecting a name for a business, product or service are advised to search for and avoid names that "are phonetically similar (spelled differently but pronounced the same or similar; homonyms)." [See also "Synonyms or homonyms."]
Only Women Bleed (Sex, Sharia remix)
It remins me of that story...
Guy asks to change his name...
Judge: It's not like that we need proof that your name is a bad one.
Guy: My name is Johm Crap
Judge: Yes, we'll change it right away. What would you like to be your new name?
Guy: Jack Crap...
how long until
...and then they could make the OS part real big and claim it's Wind OS. To highlight that the real name is really Wind they could have a grassy hill as the background with blue sky and fluffy clouds being blown about.
Of course, the whole slashdot communty could have a field day saying "WindOS really blows!" but, hey, you can't have everything.
TW
Uh oh, I don't think LinDOS would please Microsoft, they are going to complain it infringes on their DOS copyright. And besides, now all the techies are going to think its a dos emulator for linux or something. Since it will now be the D that is causing trouble I suggest they take out the D and become LinOS. But then MS will complain it sounds too much like WinOS or something. So I suggest the just change the name to L. Microsoft cannot complain at all about the L. You could even call the theL that would be kinda catchy.
Visualize Whirled Peas
Mike Rowe shut down his web site voluntarily. No court found in favor of Microsoft. Please append your comment, and refund your karma gain.
... Pretty obvious, I say.
The product formerly known as Lindows...
Lindoes what Windowsen't
Gazziza Dilznoofus! Get with the crezappy power of Wiznitch OS... Wiznitch got tha upstate prison flavor that keeps you ugly all night long. So when you wanna get sick remember, nothing makes yo' feet stank like Wiznitch OS... DAMN! It's crezappy!!!"
666-607: 6th floor apartment of the beast
In Spanish, "Lindos" is the plural for "cute"... But it does have other meanings as well...
-- Estoy feliz, feliz de que no sea cierto.
- "Lindoves"
- "X-windows for Linux" (putting 'x' in the smallest caps possible)
- "LinDoors" - hasn't anybody thought of doors instead of windows
- Open Office (includes free x windows based os)
- GNW (gnw not windows)
- WinFree OS (win a free os, no relation to oprah)
- "x-windows 2004"
- Free Speech OS - (can't we really use the word 'windows' without getting sued?)
How about GNW/Lindows!!
LindosXP
http://ipod.fresh27.net/
For the WWJD Linux distro...
Making it on the headlines of slashdot
reading all the comments....with suggestions of names....
Duuuh, we can win this, if they use a name that is in one of the comments.... their name is ours
*evil grin*
How about !Windows, cause then it could not be any clearer that is has nothing to do with windows.
proncounced Lin-Doe-S no W, yet same pronounciation!
Does this mean Microsoft now has a trademark on W? This reminds me of IBM Lotus going after a trademark for just "123". At that time, there was the joke about them using "inductive litigation" to get all the natural numbers.
Six score characters.
Brevity being wit's soul
I have enough space.
Windows has hit an all time low, Good bye they said to the resturant Rob Lowe's!
"It's time to get them!" screamed 3M as they sue'ed their neighbors Aunt Em and IBM.
Cargill's fighting just the same, It appears Hank Hill is in the chill.
Burn those CDs Nero's dad said. Ahead get to burnin' but ahh then again. Now Bevis and Butthead are raging again, heard something something about thier big old heads.
Who's next, The Not-So-Soft Concrete company? I might see, but Too close to Microsoft, tee-hee.
Miramax and Cinamax, and Climax oh my, who will win that one, which one will die.
Honda sues Fonda and Ford sues the Lord, Paul Ruben is suing sandwich shops in accord with clock but a tick but that can't be cuz of BiC who sue the tick-tock if the Stanley's did sue cuz of their locks!
So how till Sony starts claim their ponies are phonies and sue dead Sonny for money cuz it's just not so funny while Cher start gearing for Sharepoint's ever pending sue fest and hearings on whether the only word that in english can be used is the single word...
ORANGE
My insaine ramblings, not neccesarily ment to be poetry, littery going for the COMPLETLY INSAINE LUNATIC RAMBLING. Read with frequent outburst of anger and madness.
-=[ Who Is John Galt? ]=-
Sure playing a word game with MS probably sounded like fun, but how much money in legal fees has it cost them. But more important most of the name recognition they have built will now be gone.
Is it just me, or are the Lindows developers blindfolded, waiting for the next punch? I mean, Microsoft are bound to notice it after some time... 'LindDOS'? Lindows could be the next Phoenix -- sorry, Firebird -- sorry... Well, you get the idea. Subsequent naming of the distribution will be 'Lindo', perhaps...
"Really, I'm not out to destroy Microsoft. That will just be a completely unintentional side effect" -- Linus Torval
Television: Corporate America in your mind.
Just thought I would make a little update to your sig...
RIAA: Corporate America down your throat.
Intellectual Property: Corporate American up your ass.
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
LinuxWorld reports one of the better suggestions:
"[Robertson] doesn't reveal whether he'll be adopting the suggestion to change it to "Lindos" and make his new slogan "Because it's the W that's causing all the problems" - as suggested by one Lindows supporter."
It is absolutely necessary that they do everything they can to protect their trademarks or they risk losing them.
It's the same sort of thing between Apple Records and Apple Computer (which is heating up again over iTunes).
Actually, Microsoft had a strong case in this instance. Lindows was very open about the fact that they chose that name specifically because it was so close to Microsoft's trademark, and planned to use that similarity to influence customers.
Do I have to remove the "Designed for Windows XP" badge from my PC case before installing Linux?
Semi-seriously: What about an OEM that provides Linux as an alternative OS on their products? Do they have to use a keyboard that doesn't feature the Windows logo button? Do they have to remove the case badges?
"Obviously, I'm not an IBM computer any more than I'm an ashtray" (Bob Dylan)
No.
Microsoft owns the trademark on "MS-DOS"
DOS is just a generic term, which is why over the years there's been several of them with varied names. ProDOS, AppleDOS, DR-DOS, etc.
That must be why all the "W" keys were stolen during the last transition at the Whitehouse.
See it wasn't sour grapes, it was foresight!
After all... Its Microsoft that made the color blue famous in the world of computing...
My Karma is so low that even my own postings are beyond my current threshold
a linux version of DOS? Lin-DOS?
Don't think I like that!
The funny thing is, Clinton gets credit for the bubble like it was real, and W gets blame for the collapse like the prices in March 2000 were supposed to stay that way forever.
"All I know about W is that when Clinton was president, the Nasdaq was 5000", basically.
Bubbles are bad, whatever the cause. They cause people to invest time and energy and money in businesses that don't actually produce as much resources as they consume. (If the businesses turn out to be profitable and the stock prices don't collapse in the long run, then it's not a bubble!) The bubble is a flight from reality, and the collapse is a return to reality.
Wouldn't it be GNU/Winux?
MS has been doing a good job of getting press for Lindows.
When Apple was developing the Power Macintosh 7100, the interal code name for the computer was "Sagan", in honor of Carl Sagan. Carl Sagan sued and lost. Apple changed the name to "Butthead Astronomer". Sagan sued again, this time for libel, and lost again. So the the law will look the other way for more creative names. For example... DieRedmondDie, GatesUX, SueThis, BlueScreenOfDeath, BorgLawyer, or RedmondKeepYourHandsOffMyComputer. No law suit fodder here.
The parent was correct--click-n-run is the subscription installation software that really sets Lindows aside from the rest of the Linux distributions.
Oh, and Lindows is the distro that this article is about in case you didn't bother reading it before moderating stuff offtopic.
Clueless n00bs shouldn't get mod points.
No W's in that. Ind OS..
TruePunk | Games
How about oreOS?
Nothing like dunking my server in milk... yum!
Dang, now I'm hungry for oreos.
Here a Sig There a Sig Everywhere a Sig Sig...
RobberTux ?
Michaelux ?
Flourescent (adj): smelling like ground wheat.
L i n d o v v s
they could always just hash the current name, and call it 949211ec1c5e237fbf41e2f9abde0b31
it is a shame how programmers take so much pride and time in their software creation then to go call it a stupid name, 30 min reading a theosaurus would do them wonders when choosing a name/brand
Well that has "Win" and "DOS" in it. Sounds like some utility you'd run under the dos prompt :)
Other possibilities:
* "Bob Linux", the boxed version of which could be referred to as the "LinBox".
* "Linux: eXtreme Performance".
* "New Technology Linux" (as long as they don't infringe on extruder replacement wear parts).
* "Linux for Workgroups".
* "Linux Advanced Server" (Note that Red Hat already sells a "Red Hat Enterprise Linux Advanced Server", though I doubt they're going to complain about product confusion.)
* Microsoft seems to like the approach of grabbing random words associated with their products and using them as product names ("Word", "Windows"), so what about "Fast" or "Stable"? Or even better, "Advanced", and then they can complain every time Microsft uses "Advanced" in a product name.
* I have always wondered how Microsoft survived the hideous times when it had to have MS-DOS compete against -- wait for it -- IBM's PC-DOS and Caldera's DR-DOS without being crushed by unfair market pressures and mass customer confusion. I've come to two potential conclusions. The first is simply that Microsoft is now a big company and can afford to apply unfair weight to political figures -- but that seems a bit unfairly critical of me. The second possibility is that Microsoft *doesn't* suffer name recognition losses when users use all caps, the unique characteristic of the DOS names. So, while "Lindows" is a strongly damaging and infinitely unfair name, "LINDOWS" should be perfectly acceptable.
* Whatever the name is, I've learned from Microsoft that it should *not* stay the same or follow a consistent versioning scheme, and as I've mentioned above, that generic terms are the best (especially since once *you* establish yourself in place and put a little political pressure down, you can prevent anyone else from using the term. As a matter of fact, an appropriate naming scheme would be calling the first version "Operating System 2004" with a professional class of the product called "Operating System New Technology Workstation" and "Operating System New Technology Server. The second version of the product would be "Operating System 2005" (you might expect the number to be higher, but Linux tends to improve rapidly). Keep in mind that it is *crucial* that customer confusion be avoided, the entire reason for forcing the "Lindows" name to be avoided in the first place. The second version of the professional class (which it's lucrative to move people over to) would be "Operating System 2006 Professional", "Operating System 2006 Server", and "Operating System 2006 Advanced Server". Now, at this point you've established a bit of a pattern, a predictable sequence of name choosing, so you need to quickly scatter before anyone catches on. Call the next version of your consumer line "Operating System Decade Edition", then immediately release one of your prefessional class called "Operating System XP". "XP" doesn't have to stand for anything, but it does a good job of breaking any possible links that your consumer might have made and potentially avoided confusion. Remember that getting people confused and thinking they need to buy the your professional class release *makes you money*. Finally, you should follow up with "Operating System 2003 Server". You absolutely should *not* make a workstation release of this version. In the meantime, you should take a copy of Linux that people have customized for embedded use and call it "Operating System CE", which, naturally, would *differ* from the simultaneous copy of "Operating System Decade Edition" that you allow people to remove chunks from for *heavyweight* embedded use. Finally, people like to play movies, and to ensure that people are *not* confused and know what to purchase *if they want to watch movies on their computer*, you should produce "Operating System XP Media Edition". If only people would act more like ethical, wronged Microsoft, and less like Lindows (which is clearly out to confuse people as much as possible with their product names).
May we never see th
Looks like Lindows likes to plan ahead...
Domain Name: LINDOS.COM
Registrar: NETWORK SOLUTIONS, INC.
Status: ACTIVE
Updated Date: 08-may-2003
Creation Date: 09-jun-1998
Expiration Date: 08-jun-2005
Probably they decided after seeing Microsoft declare peace with SCO. Heck..If a company with plenty of cash doesn't want to be entangled in dragging court cases, a smaller company shouldn't be caught in hopeless legal battles.
The entire case now stands as a silly affair. Both the parties could have avoided it in the very beginning and could have saved the money that was drained to the lawyers.
The US courts were actually ruling in Lindow's favor. I can't believe Michael Robertson gave up for no reason. Either Microsoft made a great offer or he ran out of money.
If someone says he and his monkey have nothing to hide, they almost certainly do.
Q: Why did the blonde get fired from the m&m factory?
A: Because she kept throwing out all the W's!
the name Lindos may cause problems as "hugehard" own the trademark on DOS and this sound a lot lke it.
They're keeping the 'Lindows' name in the US (for now, anyway) -- they're only changing the name for other countries.
NA
If someone says he and his monkey have nothing to hide, they almost certainly do.
Lindos? But DOS is still from MS...
Why not:
GNU/Lindows ?
--=.=-- www.cyber2000.qc.ca
We all know that Microsoft doesn't have a leg to stand on regarding rhyming OS names.
Everyone remember Be OS? Remember when it died right around the time windows ME came out (not to mention CE)? I mean, they only had two letters to start with and M$ stole one of them.
Everyone knows that microsoft is a hypocrisy free company, and the reason they're upset about lindows isn't because of trademark issues, but because M$ hates our freedoms.
microsoftword.mp3 - it doesn't care that they're not words...
How 'bout dat?
Lacintosh?
RandomAndInteresting.comdefending the world from stupidity since 1979
then they would complain about copyright infringement on win-dos.
Oh wait, that's also a resturant name...
He is the best sailor who can steer within fewest points of the wind, and exact a motive power out of the greatest obsta
nn.
This just goes to show the fundamental problem with the current legal system: regardless of the merit of their position, the rich can use the courts to impose their will on the poor by killing them with legal fees.
Yes. The system is working exactly as designed.
What, you mean you expected justice and freedom for the drone class? Sorry, those privileges are reserved solely for the oligarchs, feel-good rhetoric from their appointed figureheads to the contrary notwithstanding.
The Future of Human Evolution: Autonomy
Because "you'd have to be linsane to use it". or conversely " briniging sanitiy to linux" That was my suggustion.
Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
...with a silent Q?
They've already registered lindos.com with no site up, and have recently updated it, so I'd say Lindos is in the running. But unfortunately, Lindos.xx where xx=various country codes is already taken.
Now these guys will want a piece of the action.
I can live with such a situation. SCO's been getting their money from Microsoft all long -- no reason for them to stop when Microsoft's wallet closes up.
May we never see th
LinmicrosoftsuxassDows
That's exactly the point. I'm not the OP, but think about it. Let's look at things from an entirely within-the-US perspective:
Step 1: Sue Lindows at home and abroad
Step 2: Fail to get injunction because your suit has no merit
Step 3: Keep Lindows embroiled in legal proceedings anyway
Step 4: Wait for Lindows to cave, even though you never proved your case in court.
Sounds like the RIAA. You know your case has no merit but you have the lawyers to force a settlement anyway.
standing for Lindows Is Not Da Operating System
"Lindos" is spanish for pretty ones...
'because it's the W that is causing all the problems'
that's what most people think, don't they?
Betcha can't install just one.
"I use a Mac because I'm just better than you are."
They are just going to get themselves in trouble -- their new name is too close to Micro$ofts eariler DOS.
chuck
Failure is not an option. It comes automatically enabled in every Microsoft product.
Did they at least get 2 billion dollars out of the deal?
Could Lindows have made any worse choice of a name? Why did they think they could use Lindows and get away with it?
.. Aha... ha...)
I think either:
(1) The marketing people are lazy
(2) They feel they can get a leg up by sounding more like "Windows"
(3) They thought Microsoft will be nice to them. (BWAHHHHAHHAAHAA
Throw in the fact that Lindows looks SUSPICIOUSLY like Windows XP, and I think Lindows doesn't really have a leg to stand on.
Obligatory Monty Python Joke: Maybe they should call it Luxury Yacht, but tell everyone it's pronounced "Lindows".
>> My ultraviolent Linux switch video.
The OP's original point was that this is an example of how FUBAR'ed our system is--in this case, however, it would seem that the problem is with the legal systems of other countries.
Put it another way: in choosing to distribute LindowsOS overseas, Lindows also bound itself to the laws of the other countries, and in so doing made itself liable for trademark infringement elsewhere. Were Lindows to remain within US jurisdiction entirely, there would not be any need for a name change.
To me, this is just a problem with legal systems in general. The only way to fix it would be to limit the ability to stall proceedings. However, IANAL, but I would imagine that this would be difficult to do whilst keeping trials fair.
Slashdot: Where people pretend to be twice as smart as they really are by behaving like children.
FOXFIRE!
^~*#0$0£! decides to sue all corporations with 9 letters in their name. A spokesman from sanitation experts MacroTurd declined to comment after their attempts to reregister their name in binary failed due to an inadequate field in the registration database.
My hyperlinks aren't worth the paper they're printed on.
with a silent Q/H.
thas raght, lindoze
seems a natcherall
A serious one
GnuLin but spelled newlin as in NewLin OS
LindOs (put a line above the O). That way, it's pronounced exactly the same.
I'm not sure what language you're speaking though, so who knows, maybe it does.
They should call it Doors. What a creative opposite to the Windows problem
So far, Lindows has been allowed in the U.S.
It's pretty obvious that Robertson knew MS would sue him. It's also pretty obvious that he thought he'd win, and he was winning until MS decided to start shopping around the world for a court that would listen to him. In fact MS is in danger of having "Windows" declared a generic term, essentially invalidating their trademark.
Which would be fine, because "windows" is a generic term. It was in wide use in reference to graphical systems long before Bill came onto the scene.
I don't know any of the details of the foreign litigation. Are they countries where trademarking of generic terms is allowed? Did the court not understand the existing usages of the term "windows"? Bad luck? I don't know,
In other news, you are not a very good predictor of Linus' behavior, as another poster I think suitably explained.
The enemies of Democracy are
How about Wingate or Billdows? Maybe "Horace the Llama"? Or "I went to court and all I got was this stupid name"?
When Inkscape forked from Sodipodi, we were fortunate enough to have folks with both solid technical and marketing/graphic design backgrounds, so we put a lot of thought into branding up-front, as well as the technical issues.
That probably wouldn't have happened years ago -- "Inkscape" could just as easily have been named "VectorPIMP".
There's a similar increase in Human Interface factors in recent OSS work. Classic projects like the GIMP are simply beholden to old (bad) UI and marketing decisions.
So, just give it time. Things are improving.
DNA just wants to be free...
I'm used to referring to the X system as "X Windows". Why doesn't Microsoft go after this name? Is it older than Microsoft Windows, or is it just that no one uses it commercially? Also, the are a lot of programs that claim to be "Window Managers" (e.g. twm, fvwm), which in combination with X, have basically the same functionality as MS Windows.
So either all these programs are also breaking Microsofts trademark, or that trademark is invalid (since it implies that "window" is a pretty generic word referring to the type of interface used by all the aforementioned systems).
"I can't believe it's not windows"...
...Thell, which sounds a bit like Dell, so we'll have Michael suing the pants off them next too.
Basically, they've pissed of Microsoft and Microsoft are (ab)using the worldwide judicial system to squash competition.
If I were a judge or lawmaker I would be royally pissed of about being manipulated and used in this manner, but I'm sure that all the "campaign contributions" (read bribes) help them sleep soundly at night.
I am NaN
Look no further for a new name for Lindows OS.
Wh47 d1d j00 541, 31337 15n't t3h r0xor5 ne m0r3???
The logo could be a tree, with the name Root Linux underneath (like the roots). After all, you run as root anyway, might as well just go all the way with the naming, right?
Overrated / Underrated : Moderation
And as such, it's harder to defend- I'm actually surprised that the Apple Records and Apple Computer thing got as far as it did. It's actually rather STUPID of them continuing on like that considering there's OTHER record companies out there with "Apple" names, etc...
http://www.screaming-apple-records.de/ is but one example thereof and has been since 1989. This is a definite example of Apple Records going after the big pockets players and not the little guy- and they could very well lose the trademark over it...
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
How 'bout:
Lindows Is Not a Distribution Of Windows, Suckahs!
Downmodding is the refuge of the weak. Don't downmod, make a better argument!
...will be about the name Lindos since MS has trademarked DOS.
I'm pretty sure that "Linux for dummies" is already taken too. Maybe they could name it by acronym:
LFB: Linux for Beginners
LFWU: Linux for windows users (probably not if "lindows" isn't acceptable).
In reality, Lindows is pretty much a LFWU though... and it breaks some of the things that most linux users follow (security vs usability especially) in order to give Windows users a taste of linux.
I actually signed up for the promotional campaign when they offered me free "Lindows bucks" for signing off on their doomed MS settlement exploit. So I downloaded Lindows 4, then 4.5 - still have the CDs. But I've never really been able to try out their "click and run warehouse" for one silly reason: I've never been able to get Lindows to actually INSTALL on anything except a Sony Vaio laptop that died soon after (from an unrelated illness centered in bad power supply caps).
I had a BX mbd 450MHz system that I thought might be good, but it didn't like my very standard system, apparently because it had no floppy drive. So then I tried it on one of my IBM thinkpads - again, no success. This time it at least didn't lock everything up, it just gave a repeating "boot error" messsage (actually a number, I think "8080" which means in Lindows-talk "invalid boot image.")
So then I tried it on my newer 1.6ghz athlon system - again it just locked up (I huess because that one also has no floppy?) the installer ran a while, then crashed in the midst of installing/compiling. I chalked it up to a flaky VIA mbd and decided to try again on another AMD system, this one with an SIS mbd. Care to guess what happened?
ALL these system have had no problems installing Red Hat and Mandrake - but they simply refuse to work well with Lindows. If this is their idea of "easy to use" and "easy to install" then naming the silly company is the least of the problems they need to worry about.
Wind3ows.
The three is--you get it.
Mandwake
Swackware
WedHat
Winux
Whoa, I just realized how bad guys with speech impediments must hate this whole open source thing. Does any one high up in MS have one? Is the reason they gave IE away free that Ballmer got tired of the laughing when he said "Netscwape" in meetings?
There are 01 kinds of cars in the world. The General Lee, and everything else.
problem with Wind OS is that it sounds too much like "Wind Aw's" which is awful close to "Wind Ass" if you're British. Maybe that's OK, though.
Other ideas:
Wind Owes
Wind O's
Win Does (like the deer)
Win Doh's!
Or, for the far east flavor,
Nguyen Doze
Of course M$ will sue again. The evil empire will argue that Lindos could be confused with M$-DOS.
ME and BE are very close. That's what his point was.
My other car is first.
You forgot the part about putting on women's clothing and hanging around in bars.
LinOS is better. It could be pronounced "lin-ahs", so it would sound like "Linux".
"Juindos" with the silent "j" -- and not a "w" in sight.
Uh oh, then NHL star Eric Lindros will be on their tip because Lindos looks too similar to Lindros.
SoSu Me
Ahh.. The mind what a wonderful trap!
That's what we already call "Lindows" here in Tennessee, anyway!
lin-dos? Does this mean it is a command line OS now? Doesn't Microsoft care about the DOS name too?
"The Operating System Formally Known as Lindows"
of course you might be sued by WindRiver maker of vxworks
as easy as that.
Pane Software?
:-)
Screenware? (Or maybe Screamware for those times you keep killing your OS thorugh your programming glitches.)
POLOS? (Plain Old Lindows Operation System)
Carpe Diem OS (Because you don't know what you are getting into with the MS vs Lindows stuff)
Good names are just hard to come by sometimes.
Someone put a black hole in my pocket and now I'm broke.
It's trademarked as Windows Millenium Edition.
My vote is for LindRoweSoft.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. The story is a dupe, the topic is boring, the facts weren't checked. WE GET IT!!
...and call it Lindoze?
-- kortex "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts"
But the other names have some basis in classic anti-market marketing. STIFF (the record label) created some classic marketing that still remains so classic as to be collectible - an example being t-shirts that proclaim "IF IT AIN'T STIFF IT AIN'T WORTH A F*CK" This wasn't someone's parody of Stiff's ads - this was Stiff's own marketing. And it worked quite well in that demographic - a market very similar to the one Robertson is trying to draw.
I don't believe for a minute he cares about grandma and her home pc - what he's after is grandma's grandson, who hates MS because it's fashionable. Robertson's folly is that he already alienated most of those folks when he fucked up MP3.com... and "those people" don't forget.
I suppose "Windex" is out of the question?
Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.
Those who forget the past are doomed
Next time I install Windows I'll use resource editors and other mods to change Windows into W*nk**s.
Omnipresent default font: Symbol
"A great democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be a great democracy." --Theodore Roosevelt
In every way we could use win---s in emails , and discussions , Maybe google could help with this . :("
When searching for windows will say : did you mean win---s
And if people ask why we do this : "The word windows is ms trademark and i can't use it
Let's see what is happening
developer http://flamerobin.org
I would not put it past Microsoft to sue over the posters proposed name, "Lindos". I can see their arguement now ... Clearly customers will be confusing that with DOS, since DOS is in that name. That's just unfair business practice and it's unreasonable behavor on the part of Lindows to change their name to Lindos.
What a world we live in.
Lebian or Libian (no wait that would provoke a law suite from Lybia, and it is also close to Labia!)
The problem is with the W's heh!
Let's call it Lin-DoH!s then...
Would that be spweading Fudd?
Tweet, tweet.
We are debating a company that has the name Micro and Soft in its title???..(there were microProcessors and Software before MS came along.....and besides, MS stole the term Windows when it had been used (before MS existed) to describe a gui eviroments in the world of computers??
...about "confusion in the marketplace" over DOS
I already have a project called Lindos. It is a stripped down linux that works similarly to DOS. The project aims to provide the power and stability of the Linux kernel in a package that is small and simple.
SWODNIL "A forward thinking company with a backward name"
They are going against the MS grain anyway.
They will announce the new name next Wednesday, although a favorite is Lindos
Calling it LinDOS? Microsoft might be no happier with that one either!
how about switching to doors instead of windows?
class he-man extends man!
Since the name "Lindows" is off limits, how about another name for something you can look through. I suggest they change the name to "Gates". I can't see how M$ could object to that, it contains no "W"'s or "indows" at all.
... should be the way to go.
X-Windows predates Windows by years and is a good safe harbor.
Andrew
Don't put so much stock in a name, its not all that important.
I don't know about that. Take Phoenix Air for example. I don't know about you, but any airline named after a bird that burts into flames and plummets down from the sky won't be getting my business anytime soon.
It has an easily recognized, non-geeky name, and people can figure out what the heck it is from said name. Did anyone get sued for that?
I mean, yes, I know it's k3w1 to call your codec "Ogg Vorbis," but wouldn't a name like "Free Compressed Audio Codec" be a bit easier to get people to support and use? (There is something called "Free Lossless Audio Codec" - in a big shocker, it is obvious what it does.)
And as for "Lindows," this is the most moronic name I have seen in many years. Of course Robertson picked an intentionally confusing name - he wanted to have a big fight with Microsoft, for the free publicity.
Well, now he's got it, and he has to start over with naming. To which I say: tough cookies.
sulli
RTFJ.
*LINSORED*
"Did you bulls#!t last week? Did you TRY to bulls#!t last week?"
Hmmm...actually, that'll probably be the next questions for all the lawyers for SCO.
(took me many watchings to catch the Roman Feast and Orgy banner which advertised "first served, first come")
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
It was indeed tradmarked as Windows Millenium Edition -- but marketed as Windows Me. Note, however, that is Windows(TM) Me, not Windows Me (TM)
"Funniest...post...ever."
"I'm just here to regulate funkiness."
Microsoft will probably go after them for that one too.
Watch... they will sue them for having DOS in their name!
problem with Wind OS is that it sounds too much like "Wind Aw's" which is awful close to "Wind Ass" if you're British. Maybe that's OK, though.
Er, what? I'm British, and the way I'd pronounce "Wind OS" sounds nothing like "Wind Aw's" or "Wind Ass" (which in turn sound nothing like one another).
And in any case, "ass" in British English is a synonym for "donkey". The bad word is "arse", which, again, has a totally distinct pronunciation from "OS", "Aw's", and "Ass".
We have more than one vowel on this side of the Atlantic.
We should name the software package "Seven".
It's Mickey Mantle's number, and is good for a boy or a girl.
Sincerely,
George Costanza
...and then they could make the OS part real big and claim it's Wind OS. To highlight that the real name is really Wind they could have a grassy hill as the background with blue sky and fluffy clouds being blown about.
:)
Of course, the whole slashdot communty could have a field day saying "WindOS really blows!" but, hey, you can't have everything.
A field day, eh?
-b
myselfmusic
Lamiga?
Lommodore 64?
Lic20?
It is pitch dark. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
You could call said utility 'Program Manager.'
Or MS-DOS Executive, I suppose.
Rindows.
Given the lack of originality in naming it should't be too difficult to think up a new name ...
:)
Windux
Windonux
MicroLinuxSoft
One exec supposedly said,
I'm glad to see the update. At first I thought Lindows had to change their name period.
What next? Will Bill Gates sue every home owner who uses the word window instead of "Magic Porthal of Light"? Or did they copyright that name too?
I think it is an open question whether Windows is a valid trademark in English. Certainly, there were windowing operating systems before MS Windows, but they were not called Windows. The question is how far apart a windowing operating system is from windows themselves (in the computing sense) semantically. I personally think it is close and therefore Windows is not a valid trademark, but it is a difficult legal question.
...). That is not the case with many computing terms, e.g. German-speaking programmers often use the word 'pointer', even though there is a translation ('Zeiger'), and for things like 'stack' translations are hardly used. Even in languages where 'file' is not usually used in its English form, it can be used, and it is perceived as generic. In contrast, 'window(s)' in its English form hardly has generic uses. So, if you take these non-English-speaking countries in Europe (I don't know about other parts of the world, probably there are some non-English-speaking countries where 'window' is used generically) alone, "window(s)" is not a generic term, and then the verdicts against Lindows are understandable.
It is, however, significant that the verdicts against Lindows were in non-English-speaking countries. At least in the countries I know, Windows is exclusively used as a trademark. I have not met the English word 'window' being used for windows in the generic computing sense. People always seem to use the translations ("Fenster", "okno",
But I still find it a bit strange that a company from a country where window(s) probably is a generic term can be banned in other countries from using a name that sounds similar.
Basically, it seems that such brand name issues are decided country by country - then, I find it understandable not to accept Lindows -, but I doubt whether such a narrow perspective is appropriate.
I guess there isn't any furry geeks on slashdot.
Lindows = Windows, Lindos = DOS
Coincedence? Microsoft won't think so.
PaneofGlass .Not
fugb
fqbg
Betterthenwindows
doors
MSSUXORS
Bob
Does (like the deer)
NOB.S. (Blue Screen)
Phil
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
"Lindos" means "beautiful" in Portuguese.
RMN
~~~
How about "Insecure Virus Prone Garbage" - no wait, that would be confused with Microsoft Windows. Nevermind.
fight. It would be interesting to do a ROI analysis comparing how much money they spent on legal expenses vs how much it would have cost them to buy the amount of advertising on the news sources they got the press on. I got the funny feeling the ROI was pretty good
The new name will be Lapple.
Better than 'LickNuts....'
_
* Lindos ( <- Note macron over "o" )
* Lindoors (the windows are closed; open the doors!)
* |_1|\|D0\/\/5
Although maybe Carl Sagan will spin so fast in his grave it will cause the Earth to shift orbit.
how bout 'win don't'
Where's Robin Hood? We could kinda really use him now.
Mike Rowe's Soft Twin Toes OS
Per their usual tactics, the next thing would be a declaration of WMDs... and we all know THAT argument works well in the USA ;)
--
MadPenguin.org
Linux with kernel panic...
MadPenguin.org
...stikes again.
www.winux.com
Life is not for the lazy.
Like Cheerios or Stinkyos or whatever it is you people eat for breakfast.
Now wash your hands.
... more than a coincidence?
LinDOS.... can't run from MS that way either
how about "Pane in Bills Ass"
boycott slashdot February 10th - 17th check out: altSlashdot.org
Won't Microsoft be upset that they are now infringing on their DOS trademark with Lindos?
how can a "W" cause so much trouble? its just ridiculous. if I write "windows" somewhere, does that mean MS will sue me for infringement? this type of stuff is as retarded and immature as 2 kindergarteners fighting over who peed in their pants first.
may the source be with you
Lindoms, because it's a topsy-turvy world.
Whent he world is put right, the M can go back to W.
perfect: not
"I Can't Believe it's Not Windows!"
--That should keep them out of trouble.
you had me at #!
I am sad about this whoole case. Yes, there is now doubt Lindows went after the name with a goal of duplicating the windows name. But the whole point is that they did this with the specific goal of pointing out that Windows is a non-trademarkeable name. There is NO DOUBT Windows was a genereic name before MS chose the name, and it should not be given to any one corporation. Its like somebody calling their product "car" and pursuing anybody using that name in a product name there after. The point is, MS broke the rules with the name "Windows", and should not be allowed to keep doing that.
Not to mention that their de-facto monopoly status [...]
And their de jure monopoly status as well. Remember, they were convicted.
Lindows had this one in the bag and could have won the fight. I hate to see them throw in the towel.
However they are going from LinDOWS to LinDOS? Knowing MS they will pitch a bitch fit over this name too. Microsoft should have never been granted the Windows trademark as it was too general, this is why it was denied the first time they tried. Of course the DOS name was around before there was a Microsoft but they will still probably say they came up with the name anyways....who has enough money to sue them and say the didn't.
I know that it is hard to fight Microsofts deep pockets and most companies just cave and take the cheaper route. Maybe someday there will be a company that is willing to go the distance with them. The EU might but I doubt they will penalize MS much if at all.
Clippy says:
I see that you are spelling incorrectly. Shall I help you fill in a licensing request form to unlock your W key?
testing out my trending skills
Is that pronounced, "W-eye-nucks", or "Wi-nucks" [with a soft "i"]?
testing out my trending skills
:)
Atch out! He's running it on Indo_s XP! Hat a anker!
...and he grinned, like a fox eating shit out of a wire brush.
Lindos would probably be mispronounced as Lin-DOS thus relating it to a somewhat older OS :) Lindoes, however, seems to retain the pronounciation of the original Lindows.
Just my $0.02
$x = ($x * 10) % 10 >= 5 ? 1 + int $x : int $x
During the history of my personal trademark infringement Obelix./.MobiliX against my former project MobiliX (now named TuxMobil - Linux On Laptops, Notebooks, PDAs and Mobile Cellular Phones) I became aware of many other trademark cases against Open Source projects.