Check out this article http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=15343
Travis Siegel wrote: > Thought folks would like the whole story. I'm a registered reseller of > lindows, and an insider, so I get these types of announcements fairly > regularly. Figured some folks here would want to hear the whole story > straight from the president of the company. > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > Date: Wed, 14 Apr 2004 14:30:28 -0800 > From: Michael Robertson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Michael's Minute: Linspire > > If this message is not displaying properly, go to www.linspire.com/mm to launch it > in your browser. > > Michael's Minute: Linspire > > In the US, we have the rule of "double jeopardy," which says you can't be tried for > the same offense multiple times. This is because putting defendants through multiple > identical trials is patently unfair - regardless of the outcome. This is exactly > what Microsoft is doing. They sued us over the trademark in the U.S., where both > companies reside, and we have repeatedly prevailed. After about two years, they > began suing us in multiple foreign countries over the exact same issue, while > delaying the U.S. action. At about sextuple jeopardy, we had no choice but to select > a different product name internationally. (I had to look up 'sextuple' - it's not a > word that I use every day, and it means 6 times.) The simple truth is that the sheer > number of lawsuits launched by the richest company in the world is tough for any > company to withstand. In addition to our victories in the United States, last week > we won our case in France when the Court in Paris rejected Microsoft's demand fo r ! > a preliminary injunction, but we must still change our name - what a shame. This is > not how the legal system is supposed to work. > > Today we're announcing our new name - Linspire. The new name incorporates the > notched L we are known for, 'Lin' from Linux and 'spire' which means pinnacle. More > important than what people think of the new name initially, is what they come to > think of it over time. Few people who hear "Motorola" think of radios for motor > cars, but that's the heritage of their name. Motorola's products and services now > convey much different meaning to consumers. Lindows will face the same challenge > with our new name. Most computer users have never experienced Lindows, so we have a > chance to make that all-important first impression. We will work hard to make sure > Linspire comes to stand for affordability and choice as well as ease of use. > > Now you probably have a lot of questions about the new name. Let me try to answer > them below: > > Q: Why are you changing the name everywhere instead of just the affected countries? > A: Two reasons. First Microsoft is asking courts to levy massive fines just because > users in certain foreign countries can access our website. We can't afford to lose a > battle on this topic. Second, we have partnerships with hard disk, motherboard, > laptop and desktop companies that want to ship our products to their worldwide > market. If they are restricted to certain countries, then it impedes their business > and therefore ours. > > Q: Where will the Linspire name be used? > A: Our website name will change to Linspire. If someone types "lindows.com" they'll > automatically be taken to Linspire.com. We'll migrate the thousands of web pages to > the new website. It's a big and costly job, but we'll do our best to minimize the > impact to you. We'll keep the great support area at support.linspire.com as well as > the most active forums in the industry! > > Q: What does the new logo look like? > A: Scroll to the bottom of the page to see it. > > Q: What happens to the Lindows.com website? > A: Most of the content will move to Linspire. Corporate information will still be > available at a new site, www.lindowsinc.com. > > Q: Will the LindowsOS software change? > A: The functionality of the product will not change, but there will be name changes > throughout the product. A new version is now available with the new name for you to > download and install. > > Q: Will the Lindows name still be used? > A: Yes, primarily in the US and as our corporate name. Since many people know our > company as Lindows, and there are hundreds of stores with our products on their > shelves, we will keep the name Lindows as our corporate identity, and the product > may be merchandised under that name in the US. For some users the name lindows will > have more value than ever. > > Q: Is there any promotion related to the new name? > A: We'd like to take out full-page ads in the Wall Street Journal, PC World and > eWeek, but our budget doesn't allow for that. We have something even better planned > though. For the next few days, we have a special offer where you can receive a copy > of Linspire, hot-off-the-presses for free. That's right, zero dollars. But there's a > catch - actually two. First, you must use a special coupon code. Simply click on > $49.95 Linspire 4.5 OS from the order page. Then click on the 'Apply Coupon' button > and enter the coupon code. Second, the download will only be available from our > BitTorrent P2P system so our servers don't melt. Don't worry if you've never tried > BitTorrent. It runs on Microsoft Windows, Macintosh and Linux computers and is easy > to get started. We'll give you step by step instructions. And no, it's not an > oversight that I haven't provided the actual coupon code. You'll have to guess what > the one-word code is. > > Q: Does this mean the end of the lawsuits? > A: We're hoping that this puts a halt on the international lawsuits. A Microsoft > spokesperson has publicly stated that "We're only asking that Lindows change their > name" which is what we have done. However, the US lawsuit is well underway and we > look forward to having our day in court. > > Q: What is the update on the US case? > A: Microsoft has appealed to the 9th Circuit. We are continuing to ask for a prompt > trial where the evidence can be heard by a jury. It's unclear whether the Court of > Appeals will grant Microsoft a hearing or send it back to the original Judge who can > schedule a trial date. > > Q: Will my existing Lindows products still work? > A: Absolutely, and we'll stand behind any products you have purchased in the past. > > Q: Do I need to upgrade to Linspire right away? > A: No, that is not necessary. Your copy of Lindows will still work and interface > with CNR, the Internet and everything else, you do not need to upgrade. You will > always be able to find the latest version of the operating system in your > my.linspire account, so you can upgrade whenever you would like. > > Q: Where will I find my downloads and account information? > A: CD downloads, account information, and all the other resources that you are used > to having in your my.lindows account can now be found at my.linspire.com. > > Q: I am an OEM or Reseller, and I ship Lindows computers or software, what should I > do? > A: You may continue shipping your existing inventory. For any new products, you will > want to use the new Linspire-branded product line. Within the next week or two, > there will be Linspire-branded products for our entire line-up, including Linspire, > Linspire OEM Edition, Linspire Laptop Edition, Linspire Developer Edition and a > Spanish-language Linspire. > > What do you think of the new name and logo? Are there any questions you have that I > have not answered here? Sound off in the Linspire forums. > > -- Michael > > Please visit support.linspire.com to answers questions you may have about LindowsOS > or Lindows.com. > > Bringing Choice to Your Computer! > > About Lindows, Inc. > Lindows, Inc., is a leading developer and vendor of affordable Linux-based operating > systems, applications software and computer services, designed specifically for > desktop and laptop computers in homes, schools and businesses. At the cornerstone > of Lindows, Inc. is the Linspire operating system. Linspire uses our unique CNR > technology that allows the installation, updating and management of thousands of > software programs with just one click. The Linspire Laptop Edition is specifically > tailored for the power management and wireless needs of mobile computer users. The > Linspire operating system is also offered in Spanish (www.linspire.com/espanol) and > Japanese (www.linspire/edge). Those who are interested in becoming authorized > resellers of Linspire should visit www.linspire.com/reseller, or > www.linspire.com/builder if interested in selling computers pre-loaded with > Linspire. Corporate information about Lindows, Inc. is available at > www.lindowsinc.com. > > > mm109 > > __________________________________________________________ > Please do not reply to this email. To contact Lindows.com, please visit > support.linspire.com. > To change your mailing list options please go to www.linspire.com/update > >
