Lindows Changes Name to 'Linspire'

Robert Nicholson writes "As previously covered, Lindows has decided to change its name thanks to Microsoft legal threats. Well it has just announced the new name - Linspire - clever, huh? There's a site at Linspire.com. The full story and the history behind it all are covered on Techworld."

Hmm...

[MrNonchalant]

The logo and domain name seem to be the only changes at Linspire.com [linspire.com], everything else still says Lindows. Can you say plausible deniability?

PR and Cybersquatting

[LaNMaN2000]

"Lindows" was just a PR move and the trademark equivalent of cybersquatting. Let's not forget that the founder of the company got his start by registering mp3.com as well as slight variations of the URLs of other major sites and convincing a VC to fund him as a company. Yet again, though, his strategy worked pretty well.

Linspire?

[heironymouscoward]

It's a bit weak.

Actually, it really sucks. Sorry, Michael Robertson, but you could have done better.

"LindOS" cuts it better.

Related article on The Register

[sczimme]

clicky clicky [theregister.co.uk]

Acer

[TheTomcat]

Acer is going to be pissed [acer.com]!

S

Re:Terrible, terrible name

[LostCluster]

They're marketing all right... but Slashdot isn't their audience. They know true geeks won't touch their product with a 10 foot pole, but they're chasing after the people who wouldn't touch Linux with a 10 foot otherwise.

Big Deal

[frodo from middle ea]

Firstly theyt purposefully chose the name to rhyme with windows, hoping to cash in with average joe's familiarity with the term windows.

But seriously how many average joe's just walk to best buy and buy a copy of windows OS and install it on their PC. Let's face it, most people just use the OS their PC came installed with.

Given this fact, I fail to see how the name Lindows, was any beneficial. I mean, most people don't even know what an OS stands for, so what are the chances they go to buy Windows OS and install it on their own, and Now take a percentage of those extremely small nos. who will be fooled by the Lindows boxes sitting next to Windows boxes.

And the ones who are comfortable installing their own OS, any ways are not likely to be misled. So the name choice was unfortunate to begin with. All it did was gave them a lot of publicity (which is not a bad thing) but I really wonder how many customers really bought it think it to be windows.

In other news

[broothal]

Only 45 hits [google.com] on Google if you search for "linspire" at the time of writing. I wonder how many hits there will be tomorrow at the same time.
Anyway, they seemed to have known this for quite some time. From a whois on linspire.com and linspire.org:

Record created on 15-Jan-2004.

Re:Little guys can't fight a giant...

[somethinghollow]

I think Microsoft's reasoning was "---" stood for "dow", which was still, somehow, theirs.

I guess in that case, bleeping out cusswords or saying f--k is the same as just saying / writing them. The FCC should take note of the case to further censor the public.

As far as Lindows Inc., they apparently are going to keep the company name. With M$'s reasoning, I'm surprised they aren't trying to convince people that Lindows really means Microsoft and they should change their name to nothing, since all names really mean Microsoft. I'm getting images of that scene in Being John Malkovich...

Re:PR and Cybersquatting

[LaNMaN2000]

For more info, see these links:

http://arbiter.wipo.int/domains/decisions/html/2 00 0/d2000-0009.html (Talk-City.com)

http://seclists.org/lists/politech/2000/Mar/0014 .h tml

http://www.fool.com/specials/2000/sp000523b.htm (Tu-cows.com)

Another poster may be right that mp3.com was purchased from a third party. But, Robertson has a history of typosquatting, etc.

Just Wondering

[Tharian]

With all the controversy over changing the name to Lin---s or some such, why didn't they look at following their own comment about the "W" being all the problem and change it to something like LindOS and say that now it was a completely different name and wouldn't impinge on Microsoft's trademark?

Wouldn't that have given them a name that was remarkably similar to their previous name to have recognition yet distinct enough to avoid ... well... I guess there might not be any avoiding a lawsuit from a company wanting to take out the competition.

Whispering-Windows forced..

[Merlinium]

to also change their name to Whispering-Window because Redmond told them to. Whispering-Windows [whispering-windows.com] is not even a computer product, it's a speaker system for retail store windows.
Next thing you know, when you build a house your going to have to purchase large panes of glass to be mounted in the side of a wall. When will this insane madness stop and common sense start to prevail? but then again I guess, common sense is not all that common.

How about "Lintel"?

[tehcyder]

Definition: "a horizontal member over windows."

It would annoy Intel too, therby increasing publicity.