LindowsOS.com Email Lists Collected For MS Suit

Over at the LindowsOS website is a message from company chief Michael Robertson, who advises readers that, in the course of discovery for the ongoing lawsuit instigated by Microsoft against Lindows.com, the company was "compelled to disclose your email address to Microsoft." The email addresses aren't just those who have submitted product names with a connection to "Windows", but rather "everyone who had submitted their address asking to be signed up for the Lindows.com mailing list since we turned on the website," according to email from Robertson. He adds: "The information which Microsoft received in the list was name, email address and physical address. It was not just people that posted to our forum, but basically every address for every person that we had collected." (Note: If you'd like to contribute to the list of "Windows" products, it would be helpful to include more than just a product name photocopy -- e.g. a company name, URL, or photocopied manual.).Update by HeUnique: And here is Michael Robertson comment.

Re:I'm missing something...

[AntiNorm]

Additionally, how can MS force them to hand over the addresses and even some of the messages when the Lindows privacy promise explicitly said they would do no such thing?

Legal subpoenas trump privacy agreements. Damn, Microsoft is making an ass of itself here.

Before anyone goes out on a limb...

[Pollux]

...and starts more MS bashing, refresh yourself on the actual post first. Granted, the article brief makes you inclined to think that this post is another chance to bash Microsoft, but something good has come out of it nevertheless.

The "Michael's Minutes" article which is linked to has a primairy purpose of NOT bashing Microsoft or jumping to conclusions about the "seizing" of the emails, but instead ask everyone out there in the Lindows.com community to help them in their case. They've developed a strategy to aid their case by trying to find AS MANY products out there on the market that have some kind of "Windows"-derrived name. Here's the actual important text:

Here's how you can help. We are composing a list of the many hundreds of products named "Windows Something" or "Something Windows" or even variations on the word windows, which are not from Microsoft. We know there are many, many products that fit this characterization and we could use your assistance to help us create this list. We are looking for hardware products, software products, products for any operating system and even operating systems themselves.

You can help us generate this list at www.lindows.com/list [lindows.com]in three different ways:

1. By submitting titles which can be added to our
list by filling out this simple form www.lindows.com/listform [lindows.com]

2. Send in printed materials which use the term "window(s)" generically such as software boxes or complete manuals to our offices, the older the better:

Lindows.com, Inc.
Attn: Legal Info
4350 La Jolla Village Drive Suite 450
San Diego, CA 92122

I say go for it. The goal is to catch Microsoft's real motivation for pursuing this lawsuit against Lindows: targeting competition rather than enforcing their trademark. So, rather than bash Microsoft here, take some time and actually help out the fight against them!

Re:X-Windows?

[glwtta]

Well, Windows was first released in 1985 and the Athena Project was started in MIT in 1984 - I am not sure about the actual "X Window System" name.

BTW, "X Windows" is not the proper name, just something people call X because it sounds like MS Windows ;)

Re:Before anyone goes out on a limb...

[linzeal]

Wasn't the first usage of "windows" applying to computers the xerox alto and xerox star [tripod.com]. For more info on the various gui "windows" enviroments and their history check here [mackido.com].

Re:Hmmm.....

[whovian]

Couple of thoughts here.

(1) Even if Lindows.com, Inc., slipped somewhere, I don't see it
as significantly hindering open software in general. To me it seems
Microsoft is partly demonstrating its sour grapes via legal muscle.
It would be interesting if that notion could be lobbied to the public, but
that doesn't make us any better (i.e., it leads
to the Dark Side I guess).

(2) [cut to courtroom scene. Whovian on stand.]
"Your Honor, it says LindowsOS(TM) will have the ability to run both
Windows(R) and Linux(R) software. On the other hand, Microsoft(R)
Windows(R) runs just "Windows" software. So, your Honor, there is no
confusion in my mind that these are two distinct products."
I wonder if this list of contact informations could be turned into
some kind of affidavit attesting to the users NOT being confused
between the two OSes.

Re:A Touch Lost - Read the Privacy Policy?

[alfredw]

We do not share your contact information with any third party without your consent, except to a court or governmental agency.

That's it. Lindows was ordered by a court of law to surrender this information under the rules of discovery. This means that they give the information to the Court. The COURT then gives it to everyone involved in the suit. This path goes both ways - Lindows can subpoena documents from MS too.

Due process trumps corporate policy in all cases. This shouldn't be news to anyone. See, for example, the DoJ v. Microsoft, where we were cheering for the side of due process.

Re:Truth is...

[Anonymous Coward]

"Lisney Associates" [landscape-...ecture.com]

Lisney Associates is an architecture firm specializing in landscape planning and commercial developments, combining 25 years experience in the profession with the latest technology. Throughout Europe.

Bzzz. Wrong, but thank you for playing...

[redhog]

It is not X-Windows, It is either reffered to as just X, or The X Windowing System or The X Window System. X Window System is the only term registered as a trademark by The OpenGroup/The X Consortium. The system is also sometimes rreffered to as its major version, that is X11 or major version and revision, that is X11R6.

Re:You see...

[DreamMaster]

Indeed, let's not forget the case of Vanessa Leggett, the journalist who has already spent over 150 days in jail on contempt of court, because she refused to give up the notes she made whilst writing a crime book.

http://www.dailytexanonline.com/vnews/display.v/ AR T/2001/12/12/3c1811ef479cf is URL for an article describing the case, although just going to Google and doing a search on her name is likely to give you hundreds of URLs :)

The closest "knock off" name isn't on their site!

[GameMaster]

I'm surprised someone else hasn't submitted this yet. Do any of you remember a spoof program named "Microshaft Winblows"? It was released back in January 1998 by Parroty Interactive (who, it looks like, has been out business for quite some time). They also released a program called Pyst (as you've probably guesed, it was a Myst spoof).

As far as I can tell "Microshaft Winblows" is the closest name to "Microsoft Windows" ever used for a non-MS piece of software. You can find an old review for the app here: http://www.gamesdomain.com/gdreview/zones/reviews/ pc/jan98/winblows.html [gamesdomain.com] . Check out how close the artwork is to the MS stuff (which makes sense since it was intended to be a parody)

-GameMaster

Re:COMMERCIAL releases of X are irrelevant

[sheldon]

You remind me of the moron I got into an argument with who claimed that Microsoft had stolen the look and feel of Motif for Windows 3.0 as if everything first originates in the Unix world.

BTW, in case you didn't know the look and feel of Motif came from Microsoft. The goal was for X11 to look similar to other Windowing UIs. Check the copyright for Motif and you'll see Microsoft's name listed in the credits.

Sometimes anti-MS attitudes can go to far.

Re:Answers

[Phillip2]

"Here in the UK we have a law called the Data Protection Act, which means that all data that a company has on you they must take "reasonable" steps to protect it. "

No it doesn't.

This is one of the issues that might have turned into a trade dispute between the US and EU. The EU places a restriction on transfering personal data outside of the EU. It can only go to those places with laws on data protection which are as strong as those in the EU. Which currently the EU claims the US does not fulfil. At one stage the US government was arguing that this was a trade barrier and should be removed. Nowadays there is the "safe harbour" framework, which provides US companies with the ability to sign up to extra legal requirements, that then allows them to deal with personal data from the EU. Or at least this is how I understand it.

I didn't have particularly strong views on this before this issue. But it seems to me that Lindows have disclosed these emails because they could use it in their case, rather than because they were forced to by judicial order. In the UK I think that its pretty clear that this would be illegal. For instance my employer can not even put my email address onto the web without my explicit permission (implied permission is not enough). To make this clear this is the email that my employer has given me.

I think in light of this case I would now consider myself to be a tentative supporter of the Safe Harbour. I certainly will be a lot more wary of given out my details to companies based in the US in future, and will only channel them through agencies based in the EU.

Phil