Bonum Certa Men Certa

No, Virginia, There Won't be Spire Under Xandros

No more than there will be a GNU/Linux under the Microsoft-reformed Corel

Let's set the record straight. Linspire is over. The way it was finished is an embellishment. They call it an acquisition [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7], but with a sale of all assets, it's more like a liquidation. Wishful thinkers realise that Freespire won't be buried overnight. Well, the same goes for Windows XP, right? But does that mean that Windows XP will make a comeback? It's a rhetorical question.



If you look at what Robertson had to say. you soon understand that he no longer has interest in Linspire. He has no high hopes for it (well, the GPLv3's punishment for Linspire makes this deserved and inevitable).

There are those who disagree and there will probably be a vocal confrontation or legal battle, but this does not change the fate of a distribution that aligned with Microsoft's interests and then used its position to threaten Free software.

As often is the case, VAR Guy just doesn't get it. He is one of those who write about GNU/Linux but don't really use it.

Goodbye, Linspire (at least as a standalone company). And thank you to Xandros for funding a market consolidation that’s badly needed. The VAR Guy applauds customer choice and open source.


This is actually a follow-up to the latest anti-choice folly, which began with a mindless ramble from Mac elitist Matt Asay. They really don't understand or accept Free software and they are kicking a dead horse again. As for the latter, he continues to show his disdain or hatred for Linux on the desktop (another new example) and even for Richard Stallman (he has done this for years).

Addendum: Aside from previous coverage of this closure [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9], see what Sam Dean writes: "Did Linspire sell to Xandros out of frustration with trying to promote desktop Linux?" He points to this article. It was either that or closing down then. Here is why Xandros will merely inherit Linspire's problems (too negatives don't make a positive).

The Xandros OS is a horrible show of what Linux could do, it actually makes peopel turn away and choose the nicer-looking XP, even though everyone knows Linux could look and perform much better. Putting this aside, I think that a merged distro would be in order to challenge the other major distributions and finally secure a good place for Xandros + Linspire in the top 5. Is it doable? I don’t know. But if they don’t do something real fast, the others are going to run them over and everybody will forget Xandros or Linspire ever existed…


For almost a year, the fate of Linspire has been gloomy. CNR is GPL-licensed, so the passing of assets will mean almost nothing. In reality, it's almost as though the president shut down and made it look nicer (the 'takeover' spin).

“Linspire was a patent deal nuisance just like Xandros and it loses access to GPLv3-ed software (no grandfathering).”Linspire was a patent deal nuisance just like Xandros and it loses access to GPLv3-ed software (no grandfathering). None of these two will be missed and, over time, Novell becomes more of a Microsoft subsidiary whose role is to stomp on players like Ubuntu, Mandriva, and Red Hat. They do this using paid-for protocols, virtualisation, partners like SAP, and FUD. We've covered this before.

Avoid all distributions that play the software patents game with Microsoft, namely: Novell, Turbolinux, and Xandros. On top of that, avoid gadgets from LG, Samsung, and Fuji Xerox.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Our Three Lawsuits Against Microsofters Are About to Become a Lot More Relevant to GNU/Linux
The Master will easily understand why Garrett has been attacking me since 2012
Slop Is Not Intelligence and It Does Not Enhance Productivity
Like voice dictation, which cannot tell the difference between "sheet" and "shit"
 
Links 23/07/2025: Slop Patents Tackled, Slop Copyright Misuses Tackled by Politicians
Links for the day
Links 23/07/2025: Retreating From Transparency on Jeffrey Epstein, We No Longer Have Press Freedom
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/07/2025: Piano and Food
Links for the day
New and Old
On Ageism in Tech
EPO Crimes Are Spreading to the British Court System
Society is now paying the price for failing to tackle crimes at the EPO
It's Time to Dump SharePoint and Here's What to Use Instead
Nextcloud, ownCloud, Bookstack, MediaWiki, and MediaGoblin
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, July 22, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Brett Wilson LLP Has Gone Silent
Sometimes silence says more than nothing at all
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, Planet Ubuntu, and LinuxTechLab
some slopfarms show no remorse and they don't value their reputation at all
Links 23/07/2025: Book Bans, Storms, and Kangaroo Court for Patents Commits More Unlawful Acts of Overreach
Links for the day
Gemini Links 22/07/2025: Thinkpad and Pinephone
Links for the day
Links 22/07/2025: "Blog Restart" and Microsoft Clobbered by “ToolShell"
Links for the day
Global Warming and Global GAFAM Energy-Wasting
Burn more money (borrowed, loans), then hope the waste will somehow translate into profit?
No Compliance With the European Patent Convention (EPC) at the European Patent Office (EPO)
It's about preventing competition against this autocracy
Blue-Collar Trolls vs White-Collar Trolls
Examples of white-collar trolls
Apple Vision Pro Failed So Badly That Its Sales Are About 2,000 Times Smaller Than iPhone Sales
What's left for Apple to offer other than hype?
To Millions of People "Year of the Linux Desktop" Was Some Time in the 1990s (Bootable GNU/Linux as a Complete Operating System is Over 33 in Age)
In some sense, "year of the Linux desktop" was 33 years ago
Make No Assumptions (or Demands) About the Screen Resolution Used by Other People
There are usability aspects, aside from accessibility aspects
Why Wayland (and XWayland) Won't Solve the Key Problem It Proclaims to be Tackling (the Same Is True for Rust)
The problem isn't Wayland per se but the false promises and efforts to force everybody to move to it whilst insulting or demonising everyone who won't play along
They Don't Tell Us that 'Digitalisation' (Now Sold as "Hey Hi") Just Means Customers Become Unpaid Staff and Are Made Accountable
People are being conditioned to associate technology with something undesirable, at times even unbearable
Diplomatic Immunity Should Not Exist for Anybody
The EPO in its current form gradually 'normalises' the end of European democracy
Brett Wilson LLP Stopped Sending Me Papers When I Showed It had Sent Me Over 5 Kilograms of Legal Papers
A week ago we lodged our third lawsuit
Microsoft Mass Layoffs and Shutdowns Became the New Normal at Microsoft
Microsoft mass layoffs became a topic of everyday media coverage since May
Amazon Web Services (AWS) Has Layoffs and Microsoft Gaming/Entertainment Division Has an Uncertain Future
it's good to see all those horrible things crashing and burning
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 21, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, July 21, 2025
FSF "Raised Almost $139,000 During This Summer Campaign"
"Thank you for making a stand against dystopia!"
Gemini Links 22/07/2025: VPS Exploited and Fear of View
Links for the day
LLM Bots vs Techrights
Slows things down a bit
New Publication Sheds Lights on Abuse of Workers at the European Patent Office (EPO)
Put in simple terms, they're killing the Office, harming remaining staff, try to hire rubber-stampers
Links 21/07/2025: Hardware, Health, and Imperialism
Links for the day
Gemini Links 21/07/2025: "When Buying Isn't Owning" and "CMS Special Edition"
Links for the day
Links 21/07/2025: Indie Web and Toxic Politics
Links for the day
[Meme] Microsoft Lawyers Throwing Stones in Glass Houses
threatened me with bankruptcy
Google "AI Overview" is Not AI and Not Overview
do not be misled; what Google does isn't smart, it's just ripping off the sites it already crawled for as long as 27 years
Making the Case to Dump Microsoft and GAFAM for National and Digital Sovereignty
"Sovereignty is difficult"
The Tactics of the Opposition (Microsoft Lunduke): Associate With K00ks, Throw in Vaccines to Muddy the Water
Who stands to gain from this?
Europe's Second-Largest Institution (EPO) and Largest Patent Monopoly Office Needs More Transparency, Not Less Transparency
In the EPO, what good are elections when one candidate literally bribes all the voters?
How Not to Report News About Microsoft
This pattern of misreporting is so widespread that it's hard to believe it's not intentional
Computer Science is Under Attack, They Want Everyone to be a Consumer
If people can no longer acquire Computer Science education and real Computer Science experience, they will not know how to control their own digital destiny or emancipate the very same universities that now control the syllabus and instead of teaching Computer Science encourage the outsourcing of systems
The Best Tools Are the Simplest Tools
There's a hidden message here about the merits of sticking with X
Ofcom Online Safety Group Speaks of Protecting Women Online, Will Brett Wilson LLP Ever Listen?
They've essentially became like the Taliban's "burka police"
Social Control Media Relies on Advertisers, So It'll Always Be Hostile Towards Free Software
Sales, sales, sales
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 20, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, July 20, 2025
Fragmentation of Data
Life is too short to "hoard" data
In Defence of "Spinning Rust"
Just because something is "old" (or older) doesn't mean it ought to become extinct
Using Free Software to Prepare Legal Documents
LibreOffice is openly complaining about OOXML as an obstacle
Tech and Technology Are Not the Same Anymore
"Are you into tech, Sir?"
Our Articles About SLAPPs Receive Recognition and Interest
This week we shall continue writing about the 3 lawsuits we filed