Lindows, bowing to legal pressure from Microsoft, has renamed its operating system.
The company announced on Wednesday that its Linux operating system will now be called Linspire and that a similarly named Web site will be the primary online destination for consumers who want to purchase the company"s products or who need support for previously purchased software. The name change had been expected, following recent court rulings in Europe. The company last week acknowledged that lawsuits by Microsoft challenging the Lindows name would force it to adopt a new moniker for Europe and other foreign markets.
But in the United States, where Lindows has had more interim success in its legal battles with Microsoft, the name Lindows will still be used in certain instances and as the corporate name. "Despite our victories in the United States and overseas, a name change is still necessary to counter Microsoft"s strategy to sue us in courts around the world. We"re hoping that this puts a halt on the international lawsuits," Michael Robertson, CEO of Lindows, said in a statement.