By Rob LeFebvre
Publication Date: 2026-05-23 19:30:00
Back in 2001, a tiny startup launched an operating system called Lindows. It was a genuinely ambitious idea: take Linux, add on a compatibility layer for Windows apps, and then sell the resulting OS for cheaper than Windows itself. The name was both a pitch and perhaps the seed of its eventual downfall. Microsoft noticed immediately, and started a two-and-a-half-year legal battle that threatened to unravel one of Microsoft’s most valuable trademarks altogether.
What Lindows actually was
A Linux distro designed to poach Windows users
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