Michael Robertson--Where's the Linspire Cash? (Part II)

Back on July 2nd, I asked Michael Robertson to explain to the 100 some-odd Linspire shareholders what happened with the millions in cash and assets that Linspire had just a year ago?

Today I received the below "Memorandum" in the mail from Michael Robertson, "President & CEO" (and sole board member) for Linspire. (Click image to enlarge.)


It should be pointed out that "The stockholders voted..." and "...the stockholders approved a plan..." really means "Michael Robertson voted..." and "Michael Robertson approved a plan..." since the minority shareholders were not asked to give input. This is the third time, that I'm aware of, that Michael has done things by written consent, without any shareholder meeting or input. The first time was when he fired everyone from the board of directors other than himself, the second time was when he sold Linspire to Xandros, and now this time when he said he'll be dissolving Digital Cornerstone, Inc. Those are all pretty significant events to do on your own, without other board members or shareholder meetings.

According to this latest memorandum, Michael has a plan to "distribute [Linspire's] assets." I wonder what the minority shareholders will be getting? Considering I offered to purchase shares in the company at $.50 per share just one year ago, let's see how good a job Michael Robertson did in running Linspire this past year. Will the minority shareholders see more than $.50 per share? The same? Less?

Also, about a year ago, I presented a plan to Michael to have the company offer to buy back stock from shareholders at $.50 per share. Michael turned down that plan, saying that the company needed to keep all its cash to run the business. He obviously felt by keeping all the cash in the company and running the business himself, that he could make the shares worth more than $.50 per share. So, let's see how Michael performed for the shareholders. Did he turn water into wine, or into toxic waste? (From my vantage point, this is what it appears he's done this past year.)

Lastly, I'm curious how Digital Cornerstone, Inc. could be dissolved when they have ongoing litigation? Just one example is I know they are being sued by a former employee because Linspire did not honor his employment agreement.

I stand by my assessment, that the Xandros deal was all just a big ruse by Robertson to take all the assets and cash for himself, leaving the minority shareholders with nothing. I believe that dissolving Digital Cornerstone, Inc. is simply the next step in his "I-hope-everyone-forgets-about-all-of-this" plan.


Prove me wrong Michael. Anything north of $.50 per share distributed to the minority shareholders and I'll happily eat my words. Anything less than that, however, then in my mind you're either a lousy businessman (who made a bad judgment in not doing the stock buy-back plan), a thief (who took unauthorized funds for yourself, father-in-law, and/or your other businesses when YOU SAID all funds needed to remain in the company for Linspire to succeed), or you simply never intended to "take care of your peeps" all along (and just wanted to see everything go to you).

Stay tuned. I'll be sure and report back what's left for the 100 some-odd minority shareholders.

Kevin

What has Michael Robertson accomplished this past year?

I resigned from Linspire exactly one year ago on July 31st, and still no shareholders meeting or word from Michael Robertson to the minority shareholders as to what happened with their investment in Linspire.

This past year Robertson had time to predict the iPhone would flop, falsely accuse good people of crimes, shrink several companies, come up with dumb and exploitive new product names, and as recently as today, have his lawyers harass me, but he still seems to have no time for those employees and investors who wrote out checks to buy stock in his company.

Yes, Michael, we know, we know, YOU'RE #1. We got it.

Kevin

Online Chat Hits a Wall

Chat rooms "should" be fun, but rarely are. Here's what I'm doing to change that.

Kevin

The Very Heart and Soul of Conservatism is Libertarianism

"If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism." ~ Ronald Reagan

Read more of Ronald Reagan's views on Libertarianism from this interview he did in 1975. At that time, Reagan used the term "libertarian-conservative" to describe his political philosophy. Reagan’s record, while generally conservative, was not particularly libertarian, but one’s administrative decisions, constrained as they are by existing laws, institutions, and politics, do not necessarily mirror one’s underlying philosophy (consider Mitt Romney when governing the very liberal state of Massachusetts). This interview gives an interesting glimpse into the real Ronald Reagan.

It's good to get to know where a candidate comes form, where their true roots lie and what their underlying philosophy is. Elections have a way of pulling candidates to the center as they pander for votes, so if you want to know what will actually drive a politician once they're in office, look to their core values and beliefs, and not just what they say months before an election.

Ronald Reagan was, in my opinion, a great President, because deep down he believed in the libertarian ideals of smaller government and more personal responsibility. Barack Obama is one hundred and eighty degrees from Ronald Reagan in that belief. Obama may be pulling to the center to win your vote, but if you look at what he has said and done in years prior, you'll see someone who can't wait to raise taxes and let government step in and start solving your problems.

It's hard to find many things government does right, so why would anyone want to turn to government to solve more of their problems? This would be like choosing the worst shooter on your basketball team to shoot the technical free throws. It makes no sense.

Another good quote from Ronald Reagan, "I don’t believe in a government that protects us from ourselves."

I couldn't agree more. If I need protecting from myself, I hope friends, family, church, neighbors, and community support groups will be there for me, not the Federal Government.

Kevin

My 4th of July Project--Jayson Haws Web Site

Last year when I left Linspire, I decided it was time to get involved with independent music again. One of the most talented recording artists I ever had the pleasure of managing and working with was the singer/songwriter Jayson Haws, lead singer for the popular Salt Lake City band The Given.

Jayson was only about 20 years old at the time, and anyone who worked with him knew he was a musical prodigy and the classic "triple threat," being a solid song writer, with an amazing voice, and a powerful on-stage presence. I watched, time and time again, Jayson blow people away as they watched him perform, be it in the living room of my house with just his acoustic guitar, or on stage in front of hundreds at popular clubs in LA.

Of all the thousands of musicians I was exposed to during the MP3.com days, Jayson was the one I always knew just HAD to break out.

So, what happened?

Like me, Jayson, also took a detour away from music for a few years. Fortunately, these were very good years for Jayson. He made a tremendous amount of progress in his life, got married, had a son, and successfully snubbed out most of the demons of his youth, emerging out the other side better than ever.

Jayson and I had stayed in touch over these past years, and when I left Linspire, I knew I had to get together with him and catch up. I was pleased to discover how Jayson had been spending his time, not only becoming a better man and father, but musically, he was better than ever! I knew this was the time for us both to finish what we had started all those years ago.

Jayson and I started planning his return to the studio, only this time on his own, without The Given. We both instantly agreed who the perfect producer would be for Jayson's first solo CD, our friend and Grammy-winning producer John Jones (Duran-Duran, Fleetwood Mac, Celine Deon, Alan Frew).

I remember that first time John and Jayson met. I'll never forget the look on John's face all those years ago, when Jayson and I drove over to John's house in the Hollywood hills, and Jayson sat on John's couch with just his guitar and sang. John, as I expected, was blown away. (A bit of trivia for any "Lindows" fans, John was my musical cohort for all those silly Linspire parody videos.)

It didn't take any convincing at all. John too knows what a phenomenal talent Jayson is. With just one phone call, John was in his car driving from LA to San Diego for a weekend meeting with Jayson and I. And, so it began. A new year, new songs, and new attitudes.

These past months, we've been working together on the new record. The CD is about 80% done, and we're all giddy with excitement to soon be sharing it with everyone. We're all very happy with how the songs are turning out.

Because we were getting close to finishing, it was time to start thinking about a website for Jayson and his first solo CD project. So, yesterday, for the 4th of July, I decided to get creative and play around with Flash and put together some rough ideas for a website for Jayson. In less than a day, and with the help of a cool new Flash tool (wix.com), here's what I came up with...

http://jaysonhaws.com

There's not a lot of content there yet, but it was a lot of fun just being creative and playing around with ideas for the site. I'll be getting with Jayson in the days ahead and filling in the content and adjusting things to his liking, or scrapping this one all together and doing something different.

I hope you'll all take a look at the new site, and let me know what you think, and PLEASE sign up for Jayson's mailing list, so we can notify you when the CD is finished. You won't regret it!

Kevin

PS: Emily, the "star bursts" are for you. =)

My Video Interview with Chris Pirillo about Linspire's Last Days

I've known Chris Pirillo for several years, and he's one of only a handful of people I follow on Twitter because he's ALWAYS got his pulse on the latest, coolest stuff. In following my blog, he was surprised to learn about some of the "weird stuff" that was going on with Linspire, so he invited me to his live chat room for an Interview. I tried to be as candid as possible with my perspective as to how Linspire came to an end.

Chris posted the interview in two parts...

PART 1 - Part one ended abruptly when there was a technical glitch that blew our connection up momentarily.

http://chris.pirillo.com/2008/07/03/kevin-carmony-interview-part-1/



PART 2 - Q & A - Part two was a very informal Q & A with some of the people in his chat room. You can tell I was more informal and relaxed during this part, as I end up rocking in my comfy office chair for most of this section. =)

http://chris.pirillo.com/2008/07/03/kevin-carmony-questions-and-answers/



Kevin

Michael Robertson's Ego Refuses To Believe Desktop Linux Will Ever Succeed

The ego has landed...

Because Michael Robertson failed at desktop Linux, he now implies in this article that Ubuntu and others will fail at it as well. In classic Robertson form, he's blaming Microsoft for HIS failure.

I have always said that Linspire failed because WE failed, myself included. Ubuntu and others just did things better. Yes, Linspire did a lot of things right, but we also did enough things wrong to never become the leader. We didn't lose out to Microsoft, but to Ubuntu, Fedor, OpenSUSE, and others.

Robertson's ego refused to accept this. Just because HE couldn't do it, doesn't mean others, far brighter than him, won't be able to succeed (and already are).

Michael is like the guy who runs a 9-minute mile saying it must be impossible to run a 4-minute mile.

Desktop Linux certainly CAN succeed, and I'd encourage those who are involved to not listen to this defeatist attitude. Apple is finding success on the desktop, why not Linux?

To err is human, to admit it divine.

Kevin