[Tiomaidh]

There's a lot more to an operating system than how it manages non-fullscreen applications. "Windows" is obviously a related term, but I don't think it's generic--when I boot up Linux on my laptop, I don't say, "This Linux/Xorg/Openbox combination sure is a great windows!" But I might say, "This collection of software for my smartphone compiled and sold by Amazon sure is a great app store."

Edit: See also: MS Office, MS Word, MS Security Essentials, and arguably MS Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer (I browse the internet and manage/browse files--there's not much literal "exploring" going on)

[mikemaccana]

> I don't think it's generic--when I boot up Linux on my laptop, I don't say, "This Linux/Xorg/Openbox combination sure is a great windows!"

You never 'open a window', or 'close a window', or 'change a window'? You might be younger than me (I'm 30) but I've been doing that since having an Atari ST in the last 80s.

[burgerbrain]

As far as I know, MSFT doesn't have a trademark on the term "window" as used to describe objects in a GUI. They have a trademark on the term "Windows" as a whole system.

Same reason you can buy "linux" laundry detergent.

[mikemaccana]

Windows began as an installable GUI, target than a whole system. It was only in 1995 that it started doing more than windowing.

[burgerbrain]

Even so, their trademark in that case was on the windowing system. Not on the UI elements generally called "windows".

[mikemaccana]

I'm going to flat disagree that windowing systems and window UI elements are separate fields of endeavor, in the same way that laundry detergent and computer Operating Systems are. I think most lawyers would too.

[mikemaccana]

Ahem, 'target' should be 'rather'. Hooray autocorrect.

[Tiomaidh]

Sure I perform window operations, but they're not nearly the same thing as using Windows--which entails a lot more than using windows.