|
Lindows.com is all about new choices,
particularly in regards to affordable computing. Not only are we hard at
work at bringing lower costs to the OS and its applications, but we're also
impacting the cost of
hardware.
Lindows.com has been working with a major
retailer and hardware manufacturer and will be announcing, very soon, a newly-configured $199 computer. This
barrier-breaking machine is a new, non-refurbished, computer package. For under
$200 dollars, you’ll be able to browse the Internet, check email and run a
variety of software products for far less than the price of most handheld
devices! A certified version of LindowsOS will come bundled with the PC as well as a
trial membership to the Click-N-Run
Warehouse – a software hub that provides access to more than 1,600 software
applications.
Just like Southwest Airlines made flying possible to a new group of individuals
with their low fares, Lindows.com stands to do much of the same in the software
and hardware industry by bringing
the TOTAL cost of computing down. New markets will be opened up to individuals
and businesses that, before now, couldn't afford the high-cost of computers and
software.
This new price point is
sure to spur many to pick up that second computer they’ve been wanting to
buy. As with any hot product announcement, supply on these machines will be stretched
during its introduction and we're sure they'll be a huge demand, so to be alerted the moment the $199 computer
becomes available, please, sign-up at
www.lindows.com/199. We'll make sure those who add their name to the
list are the first to be notified of this event so you can be the first to try
one out.
Those
of you who want to download LindowsOS right now or order a copy via CD, can do so by visiting http://lindows.com/download.
(You'll also find there a very special, limited-time offer for those who become Insiders
now.)
Microsoft Corp. v. Lindows.com Update
Some of you have sent me email asking for an
update on the battle with Microsoft and wanting to know how you can help. In case you
missed it, Microsoft sued to shut down
Lindows.com earlier in the year. It was a transparent attempt to stifle the
inevitable competition which Linux represents. Their allegation was (and is) that
they own the trademark for the word "windows," maintaining that no other company
should be allowed to use the word “windows” -- not even the "indows" portion.
Of course, there are hundreds of products and
companies that use the word "windows" – and Microsoft has never filed suit
against any of them. That’s a huge clue that this suit has little to do with trademark
confusion. (If you missed any part of the proceedings to date, visit
http://www.lindows.com/opposition
to read the court papers and summaries.)
Many people have congratulated us, prematurely,
on our victory. While the judicial system did block their request to shut us down, a
trial is looming for April 2003. At that time, the Judge (or jury) will decide
whether Microsoft has a valid trademark for the word "windows" and whether the
Lindows.com name is confusing. In the
interim, we're moving through the legal process where Microsoft is demanding, as
part of the discovery process, everything from our business plan to our list of
partner companies. As you can imagine, it's challenging for a 39-person company
to compete with a Goliath that has hundreds of people--just in the legal
department alone. This is where we could use a bit of help from our community of
Insiders and those on our mailing
list.
While Microsoft can outspend us with high-priced lawyers and
experts, they cannot buy history. We know, of course, that the word "windows"
had been used in the industry for years before Microsoft adopted it in the early
1980s for the name
of its windowing interface product, Microsoft Windows 1.0. We
could, however, use your help in gathering as much evidence as possible to show
the usage of the words "windows", "window" and "windowing" before and after
1983, the date Microsoft first filed its trademark application. If you have
magazine or newspaper articles, academic papers, journal articles, product
manuals, advertisements, textbooks, dictionaries, or anything else that uses the
terms, we'd like to hear from you. We'd also like to hear from anyone who had
personal experience in the industry during those early years and can recall the
history of the early windowing products such as Xerox's Star, VisiCorp's VisiOn,
Apple's Lisa, Digital Research's GEM, Quarterdeck's DesQ, IBM's TopView, and
others. Please email all your findings to
legal@lindows.com.
As always, thanks for all your help.
Michael Robertson
The Michael's Minute Meter
View the Michael's Minute Meter Report
|
