Good review of Lindows withdrawn!!!! Please read.

[Mistshadow]

Oh, I've already paid for it, and it's on the way here. But it was being shipped from Europe in the first place, and then the terrorist alert came out so that's making it take even longer. The email I got said to contact them if it didn't get to me by Feb 4 (next Wednesday).

[mats]

Ok, there seems to be a misunderstanding here. Lindows did not express themselves clearly.

This answer is given by Lindows President Kevin Carmony to a question on osnews.com:

"I then read that if I canceled after my 15 day trial, software I downloaded would be disabled."

As I mentioned in the post with my interview, that is for COMMERCIAL software only (StarOffice, etc.), because we have to pay a license fee for these. We don't disable any open source products. As I also mentioned, we are changing the language there to make that more clear.

http://www.osnews.com/comment.php?news_id=5843&offset=0&rows=15

[mats]

Also, I think that the applications that are downloaded on your system still will work but you are not allowed to download them again from CNR.

[Mistshadow]

Well, that's certainly better. But - *how* do they disable it?

[Mistshadow]

quote:Originally posted by Commander:
a little off topic. but wondering, what's the apt-get version of suse?  i know it;s called something else but cant quite remember what it was.

Oh, sorry, I missed your post earlier. On SuSE, you can download some software through YAST. In addition, you can use apt4rpm on SuSE. So you actually have plenty of choices nowadays on SuSE and most any distro.

[restin256]

I use apt4rpm.

http://apt4rpm.sourceforge.net

[mats]

quote: Well, that's certainly better. But - *how* do they disable it?

Membership to CNR is $50 per year. After the membership expires you still own the programs that you have already downloaded and you can download the same programs again if you need to reinstall lindows (the license permits you to use lindows on as many computers you wish in one household).

I'm not sure, but this is what I THINK that they mean by 'disable':
if someone signs up for the 15-day trial, downloads a lot of programs and then cancel the trial they are not allowed to download those programs anymore from CNR. I don't think there is any way they can disable programs that have already been installed on your computer.

[Mistshadow]

I understand what you're saying, but they need to give everyone (not just those with a MyLindows account) a clear answer about this.

Their choice of words is an alarming one, especially considering that almost all Lindows users were Windows users, who have been the victims of spyware built into the OS  and product activation which can deny you the right to use software you legally purchased. It's no stretch of the imagination to see them controlling Lindows after it's installed because it *can* be done, and also that new Lindows users are almost always new to Linux as well.

And Lindows.com is another of those software vendors that tries to tell Lindows-users that they need antivirus software to protect their systems, which any experienced Linux-user knows isn't true. The only thing you need antivirus on Linux for is to get rid of Windows viruses that you might pass along - completely unneccesary if you're not sharing files with a Windows machine.

Edit: I've posted much the same as the above at OSnews.com. Please understand that I'm trying to defend newbies from exploitation, and it won't do anyone any good to presume innocence on the part of a company just because they're in the Linux business.

[ January 30, 2004: Message edited by: Mistshadow ]

[mats]

You could also ask at the very friendly Lindows forum.
http://www.lindows.com/forum (anyone can post in the guest area).

I agree that this is a very interesting question.

If no one in that forum can tell then Kendall (the community liaison) may forward the question to management.

 

quote: And Lindows.com is another of those software vendors that tries to tell Lindows-users that they need antivirus software to protect their systems, which any experienced Linux-user knows isn't true. The only thing you need antivirus on Linux for is to get rid of Windows viruses that you might pass along - completely unneccesary if you're not sharing files with a Windows machine.

I think that some windows users won't buy a LindowsOS computer if there is no antivirus available (whether it's actually needed or not!) and it can be hard for the seller in the shop to convince them otherwise.

[restin256]

Linux CAN get viruses, but the majority of them are made in personal battles - you'd probably need to know what distro they're using and how everything's set up, meanning for the majority Linux systems themselves don't pass along the virus.

[Mistshadow]

^You're both right. Linux can get viruses, but considering it's built-in security, as opposed to Windows, that with many of the extremely few viruses there are you'd have to deliberately spread them in the system as root before they could work. At any rate, they're still so scarce that you're more likely to win the lottery than get a Linux viruses (no joke).

Personally, the almost entire lack of viruses was one of the things that attracted me to Linux in the first place. Maybe some newbies would still cling to antivirus software like a kid to his blanket, but many wouldn't - until they saw something like that. Then they might think they'd heard wrong and had better get an antivirus program after all, and that's exactly what those ads are designed to do.

I thought about posting at their forum in the guest area, and maybe I should have. But would I have gotten an honest answer? I wasn't so sure. After all, if they would do such a thing in the first place, would they have answered me honestly?  

Lastly, just one more thing for the record, in my first post, I meant free as in unrestricted, not cost. Free software by the open source definition can't be taken back, and a great deal of the programs they're selling are open source.

[flap]

And GNU/Linux users are less likely to run non-free software, i.e. untrustworthy programs for which they don't have the source code. Such as Lindows.

 

quote:Free software by the open source definition can't be taken back

I think you mean Free Software by the Free Software definition. The Open Source definition doesn't define Free Software.

[hm_murdock]

quote:They may not be monopolists, but they're definitly trying to keep a stranglehold on their customers.

Oh no, not a company that tries to control things! oh no! how dare they try to make some profits!!

 

quote: If you think things are bad now, just imagine if Lindows.com overtook M$.

lol!! won't happen!

 

quote:So don't use proprietary software. Then you avoid this kind of thing.

better yet, don't be a thinskinned pussy. I'm an Apple guy, and even though I think the company does some of the stupidest things (not just as a customer, but they make stupid business decisions... like not having a low-end option)... but I like a lot of their products. I also realized that windows doesn't suck. for the time that a lot of you dudes put into making Linux work, you can make Windows work just as well. I also want to run Fedora and try it out.

computers rock, open source or proprietary

 

quote:delayed in shipping because of a terrorist alert

lol that's hifuckinlarious this terror thing is getting to be stupid. they know they don't have to attack now, because they can make life halt just by saying something.

that's the international intelligence equivalent of popping up behind something and saying "booga booga" and making a bunch of little pussy kids run away.

WHY DON'T WE EVER FUCKING TRY TO KILL THE BADGUYS?!?!

oh, because modern gov'ts are all weak pussies

[flap]

quote:Oh no, not a company that tries to control things! oh no! how dare they try to make some profits!!

Yes, heaven forbid anyone should value their freedom and their right to do what they choose with their own computer.

 

quote:I also realized that windows doesn't suck. for the time that a lot of you dudes put into making Linux work, you can make Windows work just as well.

Yes it does. Windows is incapable of doing the things that Unix does straight out of the box, with no work at all.

[ January 31, 2004: Message edited by: flap ]

[Fett101]

quote:Originally posted by jimmyjames.sytes.net:
[QB] I also realized that windows doesn't suck. for the time that a lot of you dudes put into making Linux work, you can make Windows work just as well. I also want to run Fedora and try it out.

Yeah verliy. It may take a day or two, but all my copies of XP are running smooth as butter, no spyware, viruses, or ugly ass themes to be found.