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[News] Linpsire Will Say Goodnight After Microsoft Deal (They Took the Money and Ran)

  • Subject: [News] Linpsire Will Say Goodnight After Microsoft Deal (They Took the Money and Ran)
  • From: Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 02:28:31 +0100
  • Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.advocacy
  • Organization: Netscape / schestowitz.com
  • User-agent: KNode/0.10.4
Linspire: Doomed to failure

,----[ Quote ]
| Linspire has an even bigger problem. The free software community has recently 
| decided that Linspire was on their blacklist. Why? Most (if not all) of it is 
| a backlash from the recent Linspire-Microsoft deal. Basically, Linspire 
| agreed to help with Microsoft Office and OpenOffice.org compatibility, Pidgin 
| and Windows Live Messenger compatibility, and Windows Media and TrueType font 
| support in Linspire. Microsoft also promised not to sue Linspire users. But 
| what is given in exchange? Freespire isn’t covered, major upgrades are  
| invalidated (so you have to buy again to maintain protection against 
| patents), and if you use free software, business software, software running 
| on servers, or "clone" software, you could still be sued. After three years, 
| this protection runs out. Plus, Microsoft can stop offering protection 
| whenever they want. And to keep it, you can’t share the software, resell it, 
| modify it, or use it for an unauthorized use. As you can guess, this didn’t 
| go over well with the GNU/Linux community. Not only was a Linux company doing 
| a deal with Microsoft, they were admitting that Linux was infringing on 
| Microsoft’s patents.              
`----

http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/node/2473


Related:

Linspire CEO Kevin Carmony resigns

,----[ Quote ]
| Carmony also said his resignation, contrary to some rumors, had nothing to do 
| with any disagreement with Linspire's primary owner Michael Robertson, or 
| with fallout from either of Linspire's recent deals with Microsoft, which 
| covered technology licensing and patent indemnification.   
| 
| Carmony joined Linspire, then known as "Lindows," in June of 2001 to become 
| its president. Later, he became the company's CEO.  
`----

http://www.linux-watch.com/news/NS8364062244.html


Freespire, Linspire, and Microsoft patents

,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft denies that this is the case, and argues that, in particular, the 
| GPLv3 has nothing to do with it. However, with its July 5 Covenant to 
| Customers concerning its Linspire deal, Microsoft is trying to put even more 
| distance between any potential patent claims and the GPLv3.   
`----

http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS7598947159.html


Tomorrow GPLv3 is Released

,----[ Quote ]
| Mr. Carmony asked a question, will Linux split in two factions? The answer 
| is no. Some Linux distros will limp along a while and then die off, 
| because they misunderstood what folks want when they choose GNU/Linux 
| and FOSS. You can see that already. Red Hat, which refused to sign any 
| such deal, is flourishing, for example. It's not about code that "just 
| works". Apple offers that already. It's the freedom. And we've proven 
| willing to put up with some temporary frustration in order to get it. 
| In time, FOSS will win, and all those proprietary codecs and everything 
| else will be made available on pleasanter terms, because market share
| does that.
`----

http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20070628105947503


Linspire deal: What will ESR and Shuttleworth do now?

,----[ Quote ]
| Will Shuttleworth continue to collaborate with a company which has now 
| caved in to a protection racket? Or will he do stick to the principle 
| behind the whole FOSS movement and walk away from the deal? We're watching 
| and waiting, Mark.   
`----

http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/12899/1090/



Microsoft Strikes GPLv3 Software From Linspire Patent Deal

,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft says software that's licensed under a new version of a popular open 
| source license isn't covered by the patent protection deal it recently signed 
| with desktop Linux distributor Linspire.  
`----

http://www.informationweek.com/windows/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201001836

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