Distro Review | Freespire 1.0
If you are a Linux newbie or want to pass quickly and smoothly from Windows to Linux, and are ready to sacrifice a few dollars for a complete Linux distribution, then Linspire is for you. Linspire targets the Linux medio-user but does not satisfy the professional. Many Linux users are hostile towards the Linspire project because users most pay to install applications that are free on the net. Linspire sells out a series of extra applications that other distributions do not have like; ATI and Nvclassia vclasseo drivers, codecs for DVD reproduction, MP3. With this philosophy the company offers a product that needs little or no extra intervention.
Linspire launched in July 2006 Freespire, is a particular community version of Linspire. The particularity of Freespire is that the user has two options;
Freespire OSS Edition – entirely based on Open Source software, and
Five-0 – the commercial version, uses propriety software, costs 50 dollars. For both, the community version is license free.
Immediately after the installation of the commercial version, the distribution can reproduce MP3, DVD and can read Window Media file formats, Quicktime, and Real Media. Even Java and Flash are supported. Also present are vclasseo drivers for ATI , Nvclassia and WLAN.
Whats New: The base version as saclass only contains free Open Source software, but propriety software like drivers, codec can be subsequently bought using the Click and Run (CNR) Linspire technology. The CNR is unique. No other distribution uses it. Every bought package could be installed just with a simple click.
Real Open Source packages can be installed using the APT (Advanced Packaging Tool) and users have access to the Linspire repository to download software using apt-get. Since Freespire is a Debian based distro, its packages are orientated towards the conventional .deb.
The browser of Freespire is a modified version of Firefox and according to the Mozilla Foundation guclassing rules it cannot be called Firefox so Linspire calls it the LBrowser. Negative Note: LBrowser often blocks when you click on a URL.
The installation is simple, takes about 15min with the LiveCD. Could use Gparted for hard disk partitioning. Really no intervention is needed with the automatic installation. During the installation Freespire creates an Admin-Account that represents a sought of pseudo-root but its a user account that has full administration rights. The real root account is dis-activated by default and can be activated later on at the end of the installation.
The objectives of Freespire is to create an active community of programmers and users. The project has to be maintained by the Open Source community and financed by free donations. If you are a newbie and want to get started without much ado, then this distro is for you. Try it out, you might find it better than Ubuntu and Let me know if you dclass…
12:56 am on July 25th, 2007
You’ve probably heard of Lindows, one of the most controversial Linux distributions. Through aggressive marketing and the use of open-source and home-made software they were trying to provide an alternative to Microsoft Windows. After being repeatedly sued by the Redmond firm, they came to arrangement and were paid $20m to change their name. They became Linspire.
1:00 am on July 27th, 2007
I just can’t bring myself to even look at this Distro. they accepted Microsofts money, in return they are calling out all other Linux users as pirates. Lindows, can rott in Heck
3:09 pm on July 27th, 2007
You have Linspire and Freespire confused. There is no Five-O Freespire, just the current alphas that use an Ubuntu core, which will be version 2. The completely open-source, non-proprietary version was KILLED by Kevin Carmony a few months ago. There IS no community around this Distro pair, merely those who are allowed to circle the periphery. Even the old-school “Insiders,” who were convinced to pay USD 100 for the “privilege” of beta testing, are no more. This company has taken software made by others, slapped its own brand name upon it, and then had the temerity to accept implied patent liability on behalf of the myriads of developers who actually created the software they dispense. The head of the company, Kevin Carmony, has been publicly called on his two-faced attitude regarding Microsoft (see Linspire Letter of late November and current Letter for the 180-degree turn) and has caused a great many forum members to abandon this distro in disgust. This distro is to be avoided, shunned, and its use discouraged.
6:29 pm on July 27th, 2007
Many thanks Lunixfanboy for this contribution. I was blind and now I see. Anyway i had a lot of doubts when i was writing this post, so many things were not clear, i feel like dumping the whole post. I’ll certainly find some way to repair this.