Lindows renamed Linspire

Embattled Lindows.com has changed the name of its Linux desktop operating system from LindowsOS to Linspire.

The company has been wrestling with Microsoft in the courts over trademark issues for two years.

The new name combined "Linux" with "spire", as in "pinnacle", said Lindows in a statement. The company's notched "L", which was used on its logo and branded on to boxed versions of its products, would also be retained, the US-based company said.

The name change was made to end Microsoft's international legal attacks, Lindows said. Microsoft had sued Lindows in several countries, including the US, claiming that the company's products were trading off its Windows name.

Lindows also altered the URL of its main website from lindows.com to linspire.com. While the lindows.com URL remains live, it would soon redirect users to linspire.com, the company claimed.

 Lindows had stymied Microsoft's legal efforts in the US and in countries such as France and Sweden but the name change was still needed to get Microsoft off its back, said Michael Robertson, CEO at Lindows.

'We're hoping that this puts a halt on the international lawsuits,' he said in a statement. 'A Microsoft spokesperson has publicly stated that [they're] only asking that Lindows change its name, which is what we have done.'

Lindows had previously announced it would seek a new name, but only for its international business.

Lindows called for name suggestions from its users and collected hundreds in the weeks preceding the announcement. The debut of Linspire, however, was greeted by yawns from some users posting on a Lindows message forum.

'Sure not my choice of names,' said one user. 'It doesn't have much catchiness to it.'

One post to the forum read: 'I think Linspire is much more original, interesting, and inspiring than the name Lindows. Now people won't ask me if it's a rebranded version of Windows or Windows for Losers.'

Lindows, however, would continue to defend its name in US courts.

'We're not giving up on the name,' said Kira Lee, a spokeswoman for Lindows. 'We're just admitting the reality. When a software giant like Microsoft has hundreds of in-house lawyers, we still need to be able to do business.'

Lindows will continue to use its name in the US in certain instances, Lee said, and as its corporate moniker. 'There's no reason for us to change our corporate name. And we'll be referring to Lindows from time to time in the US.'

The latter, she said, would be phased out as the company gradually rebrands itself and its products to Linspire.

The company's entire software line would be renamed with Linspire by next week, she claimed, including Linspire Laptop Edition, Linspire Developer Edition, and its Spanish-language Linspire desktop OS.

Lee rejected the idea that Lindows was holding on to its name partly to squeeze a possible future settlement out of Microsoft if the lawsuit goes its way. 'That's not our aim here,' she said.

Dan Kusnetzky, vice-president of systems software at researcher IDC in the US, said that the more Microsoft focused on Lindows' name, the more Lindows had seemed worthy of attention.

'Changing the name again may well give them another opportunity for attention,' he said.

'But what's more important going forward is how that tool is used, how they're going to market themselves from here. With the proper marketing, it's possible to make any name stick.'

Kusnetzky suggested the name could be a play on "inspire".

 'The name change is interesting,' he added. 'I suspect it's a statement [by Lindows] that they don't have the time or money to compete with Microsoft across the world.'