LegoOS: A Disseminated, Distributed Operating System
legoos.io
legoos.io
I like the idea. It'll be interesting to see it develop. It could be the core of the next ec2, or I guess it could be nothing.
Sounds to me a lot like a Beowulf cluster, is it not?
I was thinking this sounds like how DCOS presents resources; buckets of cpu, ram, disc, etc.
If anyone is interested in Plan 9 then head over to 9front.org and grab an iso. That or there is an accompanying fork of inferno named Purgatorio of which there is now a docker image.
Someone come up with a retread of CORBA, please, i need the work.
They have rules about using their trademark in names, logos, websites and URLs.
[1] https://www.lego.com/en-sg/legal/notices-and-policies/fair-p...
The fact that confusion is possible goes against the spirit of the trademark law.
Edit: snark aside, another user points out that LegOS is taken by a mindstorms operating system: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21285290
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BrickOS
Way back in 2004, I used brickOS via Cygwin to build a LEGO robot capable of playing Connect4... the event was a competition by rtlToronto, jokingly called Deep Yellow. Amazingly, there are some pics still online here: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=71985
Some of their rules are ridiculous, for instance I have to use all upper case and am not allowed to use the word as a noun, for instance to call them "Legos" (I must say LEGO™ bricks, even though many of the pieces are not at all brick shaped).
Sorry but no.
That said, I'm surprised anyone would think it was a good idea to name their OS "LegoOS" and include pictures of LEGO™ bricks.
At least Velcro has a sense of humor about it. They recognize that no one in the real world is going to follow their rules, but they still have to say that they want you to, so the word doesn't get legally genericized.
They probably actually WANT you to use it generically, it helps their brand, since they are only ones allowed to sell it by the word everyone refers to it by. But they can't say that out loud, or it has negative legal repercussions.
Also, I ROFLMAO so hard when I read your comment and then looked up and realized your username was Frosted Flakes!
If I heard "lego elements" I would guess that it was a new line, like Lego Mindstorms or whatever. I'd think "lego pieces" would be the more realistic thing to expect people to say.
But I'm still gonna call them "legos". And yes me and my daughter have more legos than just about anyone. :)
Although they will have to purge the pictures of lego bricks.
Even then they might not be safe. Legal trolls like Bethesda would go after you for making scrollOS.
How many hours were spent writing an OS (not a trivial task), plus making this nice looking website and graphics, plus all the research papers cited etc? They even went to a conference!
I am very glad that The LEGO Group doesn't make the rules then (in so far as they don't, at least)
Finally, a website I can point to people who argue about whether it's "Lego" or "Legos" and I remind them that it's technically neither since it's an adjective, not a noun.
They may believe that, but I’m not aware of any patent law that works that way. I think the design should, after x years, lose design protection (the trademark should exist for at least as long as it sees active use, so copies shouldn’t be allowed to call their product LEGO® or something similar)
[1] http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4806:754... [2] http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4806:754... [3] http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4806:754...
(seriously though, Lego is famous for being bulldogs in regards to their trademark/brand!)
All that said, an old-fashioned cease and desist letter from Lego is most certainly incoming.
Either way - I'd avoid using someone's brand unless it was changed up in a MAJOR way.
Not having a DMCA for trademark means that the process server is very, very likely to knock on your door for naming something after Lego.
What's the use case for a distributed operating system? HPC? Or is it just for resilience?
I'd suggest cloning the repo locally, as when this gets TOS'd for obvious trademark issue, Github's deletion won't hit your local machine (but will also nuke forks on GH).
Cool project, poor choice in name.
At least, that's what SE calls them for their site bricks.stackexchange.com.
It helps that it is a different product. They could put down Pikachu iconography and that doesn't make the product similar to Pikachu. All colored bricks are not (yet) under Mattel's control. I think there's wiggle room.
It also explictly lists that the trademark is used (among other things) for educational computer programs, computer accessories, entertainment services in the nature of providing facilities for playing computer games, conducting workshops for instruction in the use of computer software, etc - and that's true, I personally know a bunch of software products with the LEGO™ brand.
As the trademark is both used and registered not only for plastic bricks but also in the field of software, naming a product LegoOS by itself would invite a trademark claim, and putting a red brick (that's not registered, but definitely does create an association for the average consumer, which matters very much in trademark claims) on the homepage just removes any maneuvering space; IMHO it'd be a slam-dunk guaranteed immediate injunction if LEGO sends a C&D that gets contested. And the practice of trademark law means that they pretty much must sent a C&D, not doing so would be quite bad for them.
As theres a fruit before anything else, you can argue why you could have some rights over the brand. If is AppleOS of course you can have trouble because Apple the IT company have a OS and they might argue this is a common way people refer to iOS or MacOS.
But Lego is a whole different category. There is no well known concept of Lego before Lego was created, and theres a sort of mechanics and way of thinking that is totally associated with the idea of Lego because of the Lego toy.
So if you use Lego in that sense even if its for something else, they might reclaim the concepts name, because they actually invented not just a toy, but a toy with a concept of composability for which people might be inclined to reuse the name, not because of the toy, but the larger concept the toy represents.
> The LEGO trademark is considered
> a famous trademark in a number of
> jurisdictions. In some indicated in a
> registration certificate or included on a
> list of famous trademarks, but most often
> confirmed through decisions rendered
> in specific cases. It means that the
> LEGO trademark has the widest possible
> protection, i.e. for all goods and services,
> and that we should be able to prevent
> others from using the LEGO trademark,
> not just for toys, but for any goods.The initial implementation focuses on process, memory, and storage monitors communicating via a customised RDMA-based network stack.
Also offers low latency which would be key for a distributed system like this. I've made use of a lot of older-gen Infiniband gear off eBay (was cheaper than 10GigE, more performant) and love it.