Elitegroup, Lindows in Linux laptop deal

Taiwanese hardware maker Elitegroup Computer Systems Co. Ltd. is shipping 300,000 low-cost laptops to the U.S. bundled with Lindows.com Inc.’s
operating system, the software provider said Thursday.

Elitegroup’s A535 laptop will come with the LindowsOS Laptop Edition software, built-in Wi-Fi support and DVD dual drive for US$699.

Deployment of the Linux laptops comes despite the software maker’s ongoing trademark dispute with Microsoft Corp. over the similarity between the
Lindows and Windows names. The two companies are scheduled to go to trial in the U.S. over the matter March 1. Judges in Finland and Sweden have
already ordered preliminary injunctions barring the Linux provider from using the Lindows name.