Ever since Linux distributions gained a cult following among computer users in the 90s, they dreamed of overtaking Windows as the most used desktop operating system. A company tried to do it by creating a distribution as similar to Windows as possible. This effort, Lindows, attracted the ire of Microsoft, but a trademark lawsuit nearly backfired on the software giant.
What was Lindows?
Like “Windows”, but with an L (for “Linux”)
Lindows was a San Diego-based company founded in 2001 by MP3.com founder Michael Robertson. Lindows released its eponymous Linux distribution the following year. As the name suggests, it was an attempt to create an easy-to-use version of Linux that would appeal to Windows users, who made up the vast majority of the PC market. (A modern descendant of open source, Freespireis a stand-in for Lindows in the gallery above; more on that later.)
Lindows’ UI was not only inspired by the look and feel of the Windows 9.x experience through KDE, but also shipped with WINE. If you wanted to appeal to regular Windows users, you had to run Windows software. The Debian-based distribution also comes with CNR, for “Click-N-Run”, an early version of what we would now call an app store. The then new APT packaging system powered CNR.
With rumors about Linux in the tech world, this was one of the first attempts to market Linux to mainstream computer users. Walmart even sold PCs with Lindows preinstalled in its online store. YouTube Action Retro has Lindow in action.
The demand
Can you register “-indows”?
With a name close to the most used desktop operating system, it is not surprising that Lindows attracted a lawsuit from Microsoft because the company claimed that “Lindows” infringed its “Windows” trademark. This was roundly mocked in the tech press, including by PC Magazine columnist John C. Dvořák.
The lawsuit came on the heels of antitrust actions by the U.S. Department of Justice against the company. There was not much sympathy for what even many non-lawyers considered a dubious claim, since “windows” was a very generic term and had been used by Microsoft with respect to user interfaces before marketing Microsoft Windows.
The result
Microsoft buys Lindows brand, Lindows becomes “Linspire”
While Microsoft had successfully sued Lindows in other countries, a judge in the U.S. denied Microsoft a preliminary injunction that would have stopped the sale of Lindows. If a judge determined that “Windows” was too obvious to trademark, this could have been a serious legal blow to the Microsoft empire.
This could have put pressure on Microsoft to reach a deal with Lindows. microsoft purchased the trademark of the Lindows name from Lindows for $20 million.
What happened to Lindows?
Goodbye Lindows, hello Linspire!
Since Lindows had sold its trademark to Microsoft, it could no longer call itself or its flagship product “Lindows.” Lindows became Linspire.
Linspire was a paid distribution, in contrast to the free distributions that most people interested in running Linux on the desktop ran, such as Debian and the newly created Ubuntu in the mid-2000s. Linspire costs $50 to download from the company’s website and $60 for a boxed copy. That was just for the base copy. If you wanted to download software through CTR, you had to sign up for a paid subscription, either $20 per year for a “basic” plan, or $50 per year for a “gold” plan, although the basic plan was eventually made free..
This would have made Linspire a tough sell, as more home users were equipped with CD burners and broadband Internet connections and could download and install their own Linux distributions without the help of a vendor like Linspire.
While Linspire was a paid product, Linspire created a free version called Freespire. This reflected the free/paid dichotomy of other Linux distributions such as Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise OS or OpenSUSE and SUSE.
The emergence of a friendlier Linux
People still dream of usurping Windows with Linux
Other Linux distributions, those that didn’t charge for software updates, appeared on the horizon. In the mid-2000s, the Linux community was talking about Ubuntu, another Debian-based system founded by a flamboyant tech executive, Mark Shuttleworth. Ubuntu captured the imagination of the Linux community through its good hardware support, polished user interface, and ease of installation compared to previous Linux distributions.
While Ubuntu would be a competitor to Linspire, as its developer Canonical was also considering selling paid support, Linspire decided couple with Ubuntu in its place, citing Ubuntu’s user interface and its regular updates.
The idea of selling paid versions of Linux distributions has not gone away. While Red Hat and Canonical focus on enterprise, Zorin operating systemin the distribution which similarly targets people switching from Windowsalso offers a paid premium “Pro” version.
Despite Lindows/Linspire’s quirks, it helped pave the way for the modern Linux desktop experience. CNR could be the direct precursor to the Ubuntu software store, or even the Apple and Google Play app stores.
You can still buy Linspire, but only physical copies due to what its current developer, PC OpenSystems LLC, claims is a large number of credit card chargeback scams via digital downloads. A free version, Freespire, is also available for download.
Free or not, there are Linux users who still dream of unseating Windows.
Examining Lindows’ Legacy
While Lindows/Linspire may have seemed quixotic, this effort paved the way for the modern desktop Linux landscape. While Linux can be daunting to newcomers, installing it is no longer the geeky rite of passage it was in the ’90s and ’00s. It’s now much closer to being something regular people can use, and Lindows, however flawed its business plan, was part of that movement.
