Overview of Linspire
Linspire began as Lindows, founded by Michael Robertson in 2001, after his
tenure with MP3.com. His goal was to bring Linux to the desktop once and
for all.
The general concept was to develop an operating system that would be inexpensive,
easy to install and use, and a competitive alternative to Microsoft
Windows on the desktop PC. To accomplish that, Lindows needed to be
simple enough for a nontechnical user (even someone who has never really
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IN THIS CHAPTER
Understanding Freespire,
Linspire, and Lindows
Linspire support and software
Installing Linspire
Running Linspire
and Freespire
used a PC before) to install, configure, and use. While this is, indeed, a laudable goal, most of this
product??™s press has come as the result of its tension with Microsoft Corporation.
The main point of public contention with Microsoft was the name Lindows. In several legal proceedings,
Microsoft claimed that the Lindows name infringed on the term Windows, which Microsoft
claimed as a trademark. Lindows and many others contended that the term windows was generic
before Microsoft began using the term.
Microsoft??™s attempts to get U.S. courts to protect the Windows trademark were not initially successful,
but in countries including Finland, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg,
Microsoft was able to get injunctions against Lindows.
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