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Human
Administrator
Location: Chicago
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Exposing LindowsOS
LindowsOS has always bothered me, save for the first couple months I had ever heard of it. Over the years, they've proven themselves to be liars, tricksters, and greedy. Today, I came across a piece on www.desktopos.com that makes a fairly good summary of LindowsOS and its repugnant practices. I am bringing it up here because I've seen a fair number of inquiries about Lindows and I want to be sure I do my fair share in encouraging people to try out Linux in almost ANY OTHER WAY POSSIBLE than LindowsOS.
http://www.desktopos.com/sections.ph...rticle&artid=4
Quote:
A Thoroughly Different Review of Lindows
Forrest Taylor, February 16 2004
The content in this editorial is not the views or opinions of DesktopOS.com
This is my personal review of the company Lindows.com after using LindowsOS. When doing a software review, I feel it important to be extremely thorough. This includes also looking at the company behind the product. Since both are joined together, the product will only develop in accordance with the company's honesty, sincerity & committment to the product. The following are my personal opinions, and facts that I have discovered during my search.
After using LindowsOS for some time, many troublesome issues regarding the future of this particular flavour of Linux continually flood my mind whenever the subject of Lindows surfaces. I've followed both the company and its flagship product, LindowsOS, since its introduction over two years ago. Lindows is based on the Debian version of Linux. That is where the similarities end. Debian is a long respected contributor to the high quality programming and features available within Linux, and indeed to Open Source software. Many past and present developments that originated within Debian releases have been widely adopted as de facto standards by the Linux community. This is especially true regarding certain security practices as well as user insight and education. Debian security is unparalleled. Yes, I like Debian and its spin-offs. Good tools are a good thing. But not Lindows.
It is this reviewer's opinion that Lindows has perverted and corrupted both the famed Debian foundation and reputation. While it is certainly necessary for Linux companies and organizations such as Debian to Lindows is improperly using their Debian-based operating system to put the money-grabbing philosophy of Microsoft directly into Linux. This is being done under the guise of "Bringing Choice Back To Computers." It is this reviewer's opinion that Lindows has exploited their Debian-based OS into a bastarized version of the stable and secure Debian core.
While Lindows would have the computing world believe their mission is to "Bring Choice Back to Computers," don't allow yourself to be fooled by what is a wolf in sheep's clothing. This is all about money, plain and simple. Imagine having to pay a $99.00 (USD) fee to become a "Lindows Insider." The Lindows insider program is simply a fancy name for their public side of the beta tester program. Every other company has unbelievably strict criteria and guidelines for allowing individuals to become beta testers for their software & applications. Imagine that you want to be involved in a particular endeavor to try to contribute back to the Linux community. Your heart is in the right place, and collaboration, community and cooperation has always been the largest core strength of Linux.
This is not the case with Lindows. It seems that if you're willing to part with $99.00 (USD), they'll gladly welcome you in. What does this say of the quality of the products they release? What are their benchmarking standards? If their beta testing program is motivated by getting the 'testers' to pay for this 'honor,' how can the quality be trusted? There is something seriously wrong with this business model especially in light of how many individuals HAVE paid the outrageous fee to become a Lindows Insider. Perhaps a small committment fee of $10 or $15 could be seen as fair for processing, mailings, etc. However, $99 is nothing more than Lindows getting their beta testers to fund research & development instead of the other way around. In short, the insider program seems to center on increasing revenue instead of controlling the quality of the Operating System.
Additionally, Lindows already has a long history of giving away their 'product,' LindowsOS. On the surface, this appears to be a very gracious gesture by Lindows to get their product onto the computers of the general public. However, there's a catch. In order to use the "Click-N-Run" (CNR) warehouse of software, you must purchase a $99.00 (USD) annual subscription license. In short, Lindows would appear to rely quite heavily on their CNR membership to generate a huge revenue stream. The CNR business model uses a variation of the Debian 'apt-get' process where users can freely download and install new packages & applications. There is very little new in the CNR warehouse that cannot be had completely free elsewhere. Lindows doesn't even make it look different, they add zero value, but charge nearly one hundred dollars for this. It's a shame that someone hasn't packaged up these programs to give them away for free, to save Lindows users from having to pay for the privilege.
The lone bright spot about Lindows is that CNR does include some payware and trialware in the CNR warehouse, giving other companies a chance to sell their wares through other distribution channels. The rest of it is paying for apt-get, plain and simple.
Now take a look at Lindows.com, and how they carefully word everything printed in their e-mailings to subscribers, Michael's Minutes, interviews and more. The senior management team at Lindows seem to be looking for a fight with Microsoft at each and every turn. Not that Microsoft doesn't deserve competition, but Lindows, in particular Kevin Carmony and Michael Robertson, will go out of their way to aggravate & annoy Microsoft for no other reason than the publicity value alone. The lawsuits between the two companies that are reaching epic proportions have been brewing for quite a while. At the time of this writing, I've been reading Michael's Minutes and other articles in an attempt to keep up with this issue from both sides.
I find it humorous that after Lindows has found the trouble they sought, they look to the Linux users & community to get behind them. Various articles and printings have quoted people from Lindows.com saying. "...this is an attack on desktop Linux." In fact, Microsoft has done nothing to desktop Linux in these instances. In every one of these instances, Microsoft has solely responded to the attacks made by Lindows.
Let's fire up the H.G. Wells Time Machine and travel back to visit some Lindows history.
Myth: Lindows is a Windows emulator.
This is the lie that Lindows started its company on, and even bases its name on.
Fact: Michael Robertson bragged so loudly about this that it went beyond something one could retract.
"They have a big investment in Windows software and don't want to leave it behind. With Lindows OS, they won't have to. You can install the Windows software and it behaves exactly as it would on their Windows machine." (taken from http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,47888,00.html )
This is such a blatant lie as Robertson even used the present tense to indicate that it was already working. It never materialized.
Another quote from the article: "Robertson said he expects full Windows
compatibility in 18 to 24 months. And he expects it to be done without infringing Microsoft code or copyrights." This was written on October 25, 2001. 2003 has come and gone, and it appears to me that this was all marketing misinformation simply to sell software, and never deliver. They took money promising one product, and never delivered. I believe that there are laws against that in the US, I know there are in Canada. 2 years, 3 months, and 21 days later, Robertson is beaten, and the lie is exposed.
There is an entire webpage (http://info.lindows.com/askmichael/question19.htm), ten screens full, of Michael Robertson backtracking and trying to say everything except state that he never made those outrageous claims. I feel this is an outright travesty, and honesty is not anywhere near what Robertson states.
However, Mikey needs credit. He wrote it himself, including all typos. One additional piece of information: They are ALMOST like Windows. Just the W has been changed. Lindows is otherwise the same - insecure, overpriced, and broken. Microsoft has recently run ads here in Canada telling people to replace their old, broken operating system, meaning Windows 98. Lindows has never innovated, only copied. His operating system is, in my opinion, broken, just exactly like Windows.
Myth: Lindows came out with the first AOL PC.
Here's the claim: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3078317/
Here's one of thousands of articles exposing this as an outright lie:
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-960470.html
Not only did Lindows not come out with the first AOL PC, AOL immediately came out with quotes like, "there is no relationship whatsoever between AOL and Lindows and we're actually quite surprised by their misleading announcement," in additon to their cease-and-desist order.
Myth: The LindowsOS Tablet PC.
Michael's Minutes dated November 12, 2002 is entitled, "Tablet PCs & LindowsOS; Expanding LindowsOS Reach to New Platforms." Here it was announced that Lindows.com would 'soon' release a Tablet PC with full compatibility with LindowsOS 3.0. There would be handwriting reognition, networking capabilities, and all the rest of the goodies needed for a Tablet PC. There were 'screenshots' of a Tablet that never was. The price tag was stated in this article as, "...tablets need to be substantially below $1,000," and, "Tablet computers will need to be close to $500 to be practical." It's now over fifteen months since that announcement was made and there is no Tablet PC running LindowsOS 3.0, 4.0 or 4.5. Linux Today, Desktop Linux and Linux Online printed press releases in November 2002 clearly stating that the LindowsOS Tablet PC would "begin shipping in early 2003." It has yet to materialize in any form, unless you count Laptop Edition of LindowsOS, which is a stretch I can't really make. There aren't any actual pen drivers, any actual handwriting recognition, or any actual Tablet applications as promised, but this fits in with the announcing of vaporware that Lindows is famous for.
To date, the only Linux distributor that has a distributable operating system working on the Tablet PC platform is Lycoris. They have announced several compatible tablets since September 2003. From the reviews of Lycoris' Tablet OS, Lycoris delivered handsomely where Lindows failed to show up for the race. Lycoris recently announced handwriting recognition for their Tablet PC OS. Lindows.com's response to this seems to have been to release a special "laptop" edition of LindowsOS. Every other operating system runs on laptops. Why can't LindowsOS just work on a laptop? There isn't another operating system on the planet that runs on desktops that won't run on a laptop. What kind of a sham is this?
Myth: Lindows doesn't run as root by default.
In a recent interview that appeared in DesktopOS.com on January 22, 2004, Kevin Carmony, President of Lindows.com, attempted to dispel some of the myths about Lindows. Regarding the user being forced to run as 'root,' Carmony responded with, "This was only the case in our very first "Sneak Preview" two years ago. Ever since that time, during install, the user is given the chance set up Admin AND User accounts. This is also the case when a user starts a new LindowsOS computer for the first time." LindowsOS 4.0 STILL defaults to the user running as 'root.' Even setting an administrator password is optional during the LindowsOS installation!
Click-N-Run is started for each user account, and a non-root user is asked to supply the Administrative Password to start Click-N-Run at every login.
Version 4.0 of LindowsOS is NOT a Sneak Preview release. It's a production release. So were versions 2.0 and 3.0, and 4.5 after all of them. When a user with any experience with Linux first uses his system, they may most likely set up user accounts. These user accounts will not be able to access modems due to the root-lockout of devices. The average computer user, even with some Linux experience, will not know that they will have to log out of their user account and log in as root to access the modem. They're only going to know that their system isn't working with Lindows. The comments made by Kevin Carmony in the January 22, 2004 interview are completely inaccurate & misleading. He says they don't FORCE you to, but it's the default. The extreme majority of users just use the defaults.
Here are some quotes:
http://info.lindows.com/askmichael/question9.htm
"LindowsOS makes it easy to maintain and add user accounts which do not run as root." These quotes are directly attributed to Mikey himself. However, the truth is, DEFAULT is root. Joe Average doesn't know the difference, and accepts these insecure defaults.
Myth: Lindows as secure as Debian.
Lindows runs as root by default. Myth exposed.
The above security issues are serious and leave LindowsOS systems open to security vulnerabilities. Michael Robertson, CEO of Lindows has been quoted as saying, "LindowsOS is as secure as Debian." While Lindows may have the security 'potential' of Debian, the developers at Lindows.com seem to have turned it all off and made it unavailable. Debian users have always made public outcries at the falsehood of Robertson's claims, and continue to do so to this day. No self-respecting Debian user thinks Lindows is good for the public, to my knowledge. I should know. I am active in the Debian community, and try out spin-offs such as Xandros and Lindows. I'm beginning to think that Lindows might have been something that Xandros could have thrown away.
If security is as important to you as it should be for new users targeted by
Lindows, an excellent Debian-based alternative to LindowsOS is available. Xandros recently released version 2.0 of their Desktop OS. The Deluxe version comes with CrossOver Office, an excellent product as well, to allow users to utilize Microsoft Office and other Windows-based applications within Xandros. Xandros is exceptionally stable and secure, and incorporates all or most of the Debian-based security features that LindowsOS apparently switched off. More advanced users might try Debian itself.
Myth: Lindows is the only choice for Desktop Linux (in the Netherlands in this example)
This is as an outright lie, and Michael Robertson should be held personally
responsible for this. Just because Lindows runs the Desktop Linux Summit doesn't mean they are the only Desktop Linux, far from it. Try DesktopLinux.com to find others. Taken from a recent Lindows press release entitled "Dutch Citizens Denied the Choice of Desktop Linux": (quoted elsewhere on this site)
"A judge in the Netherlands today granted Microsoft a preliminary injunction against desktop Linux vendor Lindows.com Inc., a decision Lindows.com plans to appeal. The ruling will deny the Netherlands the cost-savings that desktop Linux currently offers to approximately 18 million people worldwide, leaving vulnerable and expensive Microsoft software as the only option (emphasis added) for computer consumers in the Netherlands."
Another company, Lycoris, has this press release out recently:
www.lycoris.com/press/netherlands.php In it they state that their operating system is alive and well in the Netherlands. Not only can users purchase their operating system directly from Lycoris, they can also visit www.circletec.com who is a Dutch reseller listed on their site. Myth exposed as an outright lie without even trying. I do not believe that exports of Xandros, SuSE, Mandrake, or any other Desktop Linux have been affected either. http://www.beelite.nl/soft.htm shows SuSE for sale. http://linux.mensys.nl/ shows Xandros and a slew of other Linux products for sale. I didn't even get past the first page on Google to find these three.
Microsoft isn't the only alternative to Lindows by a LONG shot. Bottom line:
Michael Robertson has no problem stating things as outright lies in the press, and this is one of them. He needs to be held responsible.
One truth: Lindows has a relationship with SCO.
Lindows signed an agreement with SCO dating from 2001 (then Caldera) which remains in effect, according to Michael Robertson himself. "We're in an unique situation because of our pre-existing relationship with SCO," said Michael Robertson, chief executive officer of Lindows.com. And they are PROUD of it.
My final opinions on Lindows? Stay AWAY from this company. It's an Edsel, driven by a lying driver who signs deals with the devil.
It troubles me that the FTC has yet to investigate Lindows.com for deceptive business practices and false advertising as outlined in this writing. Directly from the FTC's website: “While we do not resolve individual consumer disputes, your complaint, comment, or inquiry may help us spot a pattern of law violations requiring law enforcement action. It can also help us recognize and tell people about larger trends affecting consumers.”
I'm going to contact them at 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357) (online at www.ftc.gov) to lodge a complaint, as Lindows is based in the US. What are you going to do to help Linux?
(C) 2004 Forrest Taylor, all rights reserved. All of the preceeding comments are opinions of the writer, and as such are protected under laws regarding free speech, in Canada, the United States, Australia, internationally, and anywhere truth prevails.
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02-16-2004, 04:15 PM
