Lindows ordered to drop name

[Grey Area]

Just a legal point - you can't register alphanumerics as a trade name, only trade NAMES. I'm not sure how far you can push it with letters, as by that definition "Expee" would be registerable, but XP not. I know with numbers it's just not considered a part of the name - So Windows is copyrighted, but 95, 98 etc are not.

I hate with a passion the politics of Microsoft. I wouldn't mind them taking over the world as long as they had a decent product with a positive attitude to customer support, instead of their belief that it's just something else they can charge the poor sucker consumer more cash for. However, in this case, I do sympathise. We are talking about companies competing in the same market. If Lindows was a game, or a piece of hardware, then I am sure Microsoft wouldn't have bothered. But it's a bit like a Japanese motor manufacturer bringing out a car called "Phord". The problem lies with whichever plonker chose to use the "Lindows" name in the first place. The intention is obvious, particularly since "Lindows" is not a real word - the image is "Like Windows, only for Linux", and that is obviously trading on Microsofts image as market leader.

Me, I'd have called it "Doors". Doors are an entry, and are of robust construction. Windows break all the time.

 

[Curl]

What a crock...

 

[boeingbrj1]

LINDOWS thoughts

I think to understand the name Lindows you have to look at its founder.(marketing genius--ie mp3.com) While I agree that its easy to confuse a novice non computer literate user with windows and lindows, it is not easy to fool professionals like most of us logged into this forum. Lindows is about the best of both worlds, linux and windows without the legality proprietary pricing schemes. Microsoft should protect its patents. However, the real issue here is not the name but the fact that Bill Gates has a threat from a new Linux distro that is easy to use, safer than windows, and less costly out of the box. Infringement of trademark is Gates only avenue to discredit the Linux movement.I make my living as a windows systems admin. Today I want windows in a business enterprise setting(subject to change). But in the home its Lindows all the way. Windows is a word like cola. A cola is a coke and a pepsi is also. Windows is wintel, Lindows is Linux. Microsoft would be better off to spend its legal money on research and development for its service packs, patches and code problems. Linux is here to stay. Watch Novell, watch Lindows, watch RedHat.

 

[Vehementi]

Re: LINDOWS thoughts

Originally posted by boeingbrj1
I think to understand the name Lindows you have to look at its founder.(marketing genius--ie mp3.com) While I agree that its easy to confuse a novice non computer literate user with windows and lindows, it is not easy to fool professionals like most of us logged into this forum. Lindows is about the best of both worlds, linux and windows without the legality proprietary pricing schemes. Microsoft should protect its patents. However, the real issue here is not the name but the fact that Bill Gates has a threat from a new Linux distro that is easy to use, safer than windows, and less costly out of the box. Infringement of trademark is Gates only avenue to discredit the Linux movement.I make my living as a windows systems admin. Today I want windows in a business enterprise setting(subject to change). But in the home its Lindows all the way. Windows is a word like cola. A cola is a coke and a pepsi is also. Windows is wintel, Lindows is Linux. Microsoft would be better off to spend its legal money on research and development for its service packs, patches and code problems. Linux is here to stay. Watch Novell, watch Lindows, watch RedHat.

Microsoft scared of Lindows? Yeah right. Lindows will never take off as an OS, one reason of many being that it's not even marketed at all. I have never seen a Lindows ad, much less one that would make a customer conciously pick Lindows over Windows. People never hear about it. Then once they may hear some little snippet of it, they might ask someone who's learned in computers about it, and 9/10 would say don't bother, probably. Lindows needs to earn a name for itself and get itself a bigger user base. Before they do that, Microsoft or no Microsoft, they don't have a chance in the OS market.
I wonder how Linux & Lindows are faring in starting to support 64bit?

 

[Nodsu]

Linux has always supported 64 bit processors.

If you mean x86-64, then Linux was the first and is the only OS that properly supports it.

 

[MrGaribaldi]

Re: Re: LINDOWS thoughts

Originally posted by Vehementi
Microsoft scared of Lindows? Yeah right. Lindows will never take off as an OS, one reason of many being that it's not even marketed at all. I have never seen a Lindows ad, much less one that would make a customer conciously pick Lindows over Windows. People never hear about it. Then once they may hear some little snippet of it, they might ask someone who's learned in computers about it, and 9/10 would say don't bother, probably. Lindows needs to earn a name for itself and get itself a bigger user base. Before they do that, Microsoft or no Microsoft, they don't have a chance in the OS market.

Well, why do you think MS suddenly took Lindows to court in Finland, Sweden and the netherlands?

Because they were about to launch ad campaigns...
Go read the swedish court brief I linked to at the register to see what I mean...

And they've allready got pre-built computers with Lindows on it as an alternative to Windows...
Granted, they don't yet have the sales of Windows, but at least they've started...