digg

Join DiggAbout

Donkeys and Elephants and Delegates,oh my!
Check out the most popular Elections 2008 content on Digg.

Linspire announces a FREE version - Freespire!

freespire.org — There was a "Freespire" some time back that wasn't "approved," but this is a REAL project sponsored directly by Linspire.

Bury
show profanity settings
expand all
  • flood6, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Here is a DesktopLinux article about the subject: www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS3743610207.html .
  • nxusername, on 10/12/2007, -26/+8So what? It's still garbage.
    • einfeldt, on 10/12/2007, -5/+18What do you mean garbage? I use Linspire 5.0 (as well as Mepis, Ubuntu, SuSE and Damn Small Linux) and I think that Linspire has a lot to be said for it. Their CNR apps installer can't be beaten for simplicity! I am a simple end user who is trying to come up to speed on the CLI, but until I get there, stuff like CNR helps we get stuff done.

    • Tommstein, on 10/12/2007, -10/+20A "simple end user" who uses five different distributions (and somehow still can't run a real package manager)? Hmm....
    • rm999, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Tommstein

      He says he uses them, maybe they are on different computers (eg. home, work)? I personally am a very novice Linux user and I have used >5 different distributions.
    • TrueVox, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'm not sure if I'm even good enough to be called a novice, and I've used a good number of distros too (Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Gentoo (not much gentoo, though), Puppy Linux, Helix, PCLinuxOS, SUSE, Mepis, Elive, and a few others). For me, I've tried them out for a few days just to see what was what. The only ones I've used with any regularity are Elive, Puppy, and Ubuntu.
    • ahmerhussain, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I think that Linspire is a great distro for PC Manufacturers whose tartget audience is someone who just wants a computer that "works" and could care less about installing crap. like most windows users these peopel probably just want an Office Suite (open offfice) IM (GAIM) Internet (KPPP) Internet Browser (Konquerer) and maybe an Email Client (Kontact/kmail) they also probably want a music jukbox aswell (lTunes/JuK).
  • sm150MP, on 10/12/2007, -42/+11Linspire sucks
    • Drizzit, on 10/12/2007, -2/+32I just love comments that have no supporting evidence. What exactly sir sucks about linspire?

      This is a distro your grandmother could use. It comes with everything needed to playback about anything and has the largest out of the box extension compability of any distro out there.
    • whammypower, on 10/12/2007, -18/+4Yes, Linspire in any form is still Linspire.
    • pjh3000, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7The Linux Ubers just don't want others using "their" OS.
  • thoughtcriminal, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18Forget what elitists say; intuitive simplicity is the bottom line for most users, and Linspire has it. They couple that with the benefits of Linux, and now have made it free. Seems pretty attractive to me.
    • Tommstein, on 10/12/2007, -16/+2They've coupled Linux with the security ***** of Windows. Sounds like an awesome deal. There's a difference between "elitist" and "nonmoron."
    • ardnut, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7"They've coupled Linux with the security ***** of Windows" oh please tell me your not going on about the run as root thing they changed ages ago are you?
    • Tommstein, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2Specify how it was fixed.
    • rm999, on 10/12/2007, -4/+12"Forget what elitists say; intuitive simplicity is the bottom line for most users, and Linspire has it."

      I think elitists are the reason why Linux has not taken off, and never will. I tried, very seriously, to download and try linux a couple of years ago. The people on #Linux (i think it was efnet) were so little help to me, I gave up after a few hours.

      I am now a CS grad student but I would never even consider Linux for my main OS because of the elitist attitude of Linux developers and (many of its) users. If the nerds can smell even a hint of n00biness in your you will be swamped with really bad jokes and very little help. It doesn't help that major distributions like fedora and ubuntu are not very user friendly IMO. Whenever a distribution comes out that is user friendly (like linspire) it is brought down and ridiculed by the elitists. I dare anyone here to go to #Linux and claim you need help getting your linspire install to work.
    • Tommstein, on 10/12/2007, -7/+6I started using Linux cold turkey almost five years ago, without knowing much about it or having anyone to guide me, and I didn't experience what you speak of. I haven't experienced it since. If everyone everywhere is "mean" to you, maybe you should look for the common factor.
    • rm999, on 10/12/2007, -6/+6"I started using Linux cold turkey almost five years ago, without knowing much about it or having anyone to guide me, and I didn't experience what you speak of. I haven't experienced it since. If everyone everywhere is "mean" to you, maybe you should look for the common factor."

      No offense, but you are exactly the type of linux elitist I am referring to. I'm impressed you figured it out so much easier than me, I guess you're smarter than me :-P. Back then I wanted to get Linux to work, not explore the inner-workings of it and spend hours playing around with it. Most people are the same way.

      My main problem with Linux is that Windows just works, while Linux does not. I installed Kubuntu on my new laptop yesterday and have literally spent hours modifying it just to *get it to work* correctly. I had to download a file to get it to display in the native resolution of 1280*800. I'm going to have to buy a wireless router because it won't work with my current ad-hoc connection. I'd rather just use the Windows it came with (that worked out of the box without changing one thing) than spend hours getting my computer to run in a semi-usable state.
    • Tommstein, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5If you confused that response with intolerable elitism, I think we found your problem.

      Incidentally, earlier tonight I spent who knows how long trying to find a certain Windows network driver online because a roommate had to reinstall Windows and the CD didn't have the driver. You are confusing "my computer came with Windows preinstalled" with "Windows is easier to install and set up than Linux."
    • bobbob1016, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6The real problem is that people already know, for the most part, what Windows problems are and how to fix them, or hit them with a hammer until they are bent back into shape. They don't want to learn how to fix Linux issues. Linux is easier to install, or most of the popular ones are, but Windows is only easier to setup because there aren't as many professional Linux hardware drivers, because there aren't enough Linux users to have it make sense, and there aren't enough Linux users because there aren't enough drivers. It is catch-22, and that is how Microsoft likes it.
    • Drizzit, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5@tommstein

      It was fixed in the same Mepis or Ubuntu has it fixed. There is no root access. If you need to run something as root you use Sudo.

      People cling to the largest Linspire urban legend like it's some treasured toy. Let it go.
    • Tommstein, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1Well, your post wasn't parseable English, so I can't say much. Except the part about it being an urban legend, since it's no such thing. That was one of its "claims to fame" when it first came out (the other being their ridiculous claim that you'd be able to run all Windows software just fine or something like that).
    • stmiller, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5"I am now a CS grad student but I would never even consider Linux for my main OS because of the elitist attitude of Linux developers and (many of its) users."

      Being a CS GRAD STUDENT I'm surprised you are having trouble setting up Linux. And also that in your school programs you have not used Linux(!) Linuxquestions.org is a good place for newbies, as well as google.com. The distro websites have documentation to help with installs. But after that, it's up to you. Mainly b/c people use Linux for so many different things. Look for install guides for your fav distro. There are plenty out there for Fedora, Ubuntu, others.

      You must understand that Linux is a community driven thing. People complain left and right that 'this is missing, why doesn't this say this, etc...' Well- no one is getting paid to make the product like Microsoft/Apple.
      It depends on community persons to make it better. This may seem bad at first, but this is actually better (bugs get fixed fast, security is fixed fast, etc.)

      Good luck.



    • thirdplanet, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5tommstien, after reading all your comments, yes, you are that elitest ***** that everyone refers to.

      point in case. a year ago, my laptop crashed. Someone loaned me a live CD so I could get my files onto a USB hard drive. I never returned that live CD, and it started me on the path to linux. I now run Ubuntu on most of my computers. So naturally, I ordered 5 Ubuntu CDs and they gave them to me. I went to return that favor to that guy who started me with linux and gave him an Ubuntu CD...not burned, with an install and live disc. Not much, it was a good favor. The guy then went on to tell me Ubuntu wasn't good enough for him, and that he runs Debian. Making a joke, I say, I couldn't handle the 6 install CDs (referring to bloat, and yes, the 6 install CDs) He tells me any *non-idiot* would do a net install (which... I do not know how to do) and did not offer to help me with the net install.

      I get the impression that this problem is systematic. Yes it's community driven, which is awesome, but I get the impression that some people in the community have the same superiority complex as the jocks that made their lives hell in high school.
    • Tommstein, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2After reading your comment, yes, you are the proverbial dumbass ***** everyone talks about that can't wipe their own ass and expects others to do it for them, and bitches like a little girl if they don't do it with a smile.
    • AM088, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I am appalled by the people who say they used a billion distributions in the last hundred years and say that they like a horrible distribution because it's "simple." I'll tell you the following: the first time I ever saw Linux was 1 1/2 years ago(!). Nine months later, I had a working Gentoo installed, and it works just as I wanted to.

      I recommend you all who spend so much time installing and re-installing various distros to stop wasting time and cd's. Go through the tutorial at linuxcommand.org to learn some LINUX BASICS, burn one Gentoo disk and follow the manual. If you think the community is full of elitists, don't use the irc; the people are more likely to help you on the forums.

      Just remember: It is usually assumed that "rm -r /" is a command everyone knows is bad. Don't use it!
    • Tommstein, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1If you had to spend time setting up Linux, talk to the company that shipped it with something else. Linux can't make your computer maker install it by default.

      The rest is ***** the likes of which I haven't seen since at least high school and which isn't worth the waste of time required to respond to it, including such gems as only nerds have literacy skills and clairvoyant-like claims to know more than zero about my social life (which obviously highlights something that you personally feel insecure about).
  • joelito, on 10/12/2007, -6/+5Are we there yet?

    Is this gonna be the year of the Linux desktop?
  • linshots, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10Freespire 5.0 Screenshots: http://shots.osdir.com/slideshows/slideshow.php?release=417&slide=3
    • Iceduck, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2That "Launch" button desperately needs a redesign. Apart from that it actually looks kinda nice.
    • Rafikichi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Haha... those are screenshots from the dead SquiggleOS project. Google cache still says freespire.org has a TITLE of SquiggleOS. Looks like Linspire is picking up where Jasp left off. I was wondering why he stopped development on that project. It was a good idea.
    • KevinCarmony, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0These are NOT screenshots from the Freespire we announced this week. These are old screenshots from Andrew's SquiggleOS, which has nothing to do with what we announced today. Freespire will not look anything like these pictures!

      Kevin Carmony
      CEO, Linspire, Inc.
  • CanuckMakem, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5Lindows... errr... Linspire. The distro your mom could use!! ;)
  • BenStockwell, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I think the real good news here, is the fact that Click 'N Run will be opened up to other Linux distros, and not just Linspire/Freespire. This could mean legal and legitimate ways to playback DVDs, and use Windows Media codecs on distros like Ubuntu, MEPIS, Debian, SUSE, Fedora, etc, etc,.
    • rm999, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2But it will also mean paying for part of your OS, right? Most linux users would never stand for that.
    • Tsuroerusu, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3"Most linux users would never stand for that."
      Then don't pay for it! But for novice users, we can't have them sit and find codec packages, install them and tweak file associations and stuff, it's not very intuitive, we need a legal way to playDVDs, Windows Media (Notice that Linspire got a license for WMV), QuickTime etc. etc. until the day OGG Vorbis and OGG Theora dominates the world, which will probably never happen.
  • berean, on 10/12/2007, -9/+2I'm too lazy to RTFA. Can someone sum up the differences between this and Linspire for me?

    I think the free copy of Linspire I have (thanks to an old Digg article) is licensed to be on as many PCs as I want, so I could hand it out to people, but I can't imagine there being a huge difference. Must be something with CNR (which, by the way, didn't get GNUCash to run quite right on Linspire when I tried it)?
  • kalphegor, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9Linspire Calendar or should I say Mozilla Sunbird?
    Linspire Internet Suite or Mozilla Firefox & Thunderbird?
    At least Konqueror has the same name...
  • GuyHitByTruck, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6So what's the difference between the free version and the paid version. I would love to have this, but my first thought is "What are the limitations?" There's bound to be some.
  • MihaiM, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Ubuntu Automatix
    It's already here and does everything you need.

    If you read carefully in the Freespire site you can find that you have to pay 30$/year for CNR. So it remains just another Debian based distribution.
    • pcdivenii, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Automatix isn't available for AMD64.
    • trogdoor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Not available for dapper iether.
    • MihaiM, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2How many people do have AMD64? Is Freespire AMD64 compatible? Anyway I am absolutely sure that Ubuntu without Automatix does everything that Freespire does.

      There is no Automatix for Dapper but will be. Dapper is not yet out. An Automatix for Dapper will be out right after Dapper.
  • dainbramage559, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I love these "'x' sucks" comments that have no backbone to them.

    Why do you say Linspire sucks? It's a debian-based OS using KDE, you have all the capability here as with most other modern Linux distros. Is it because it is marketed towards those most familiar with windows, and would prefer their switch to be similar to the windows environment to keep themselves comfortable? No wonder we have switchers complaining about elitists scaring them off forums and irc chats.

    I, myself, am an Ubuntu/Debian/Gnome fan, have never used Linspire, and dont plan on using it. But from what I know is that it is just as bit as capable as everything else.

    I would like to also add that I am aware that Linspire requires payments to use their CNR software, which means their customers do have to pay for open-sourced software. I know they they can grab the same stuff from software repositories, but this is what is great about Linux: freedom of choice. Hey, pay if you want. If you dont care to pay, learn a little, and download and compile/install it yourself.
    • Tommstein, on 10/12/2007, -9/+2Do a search for "Linspire" and "root."
    • ardnut, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Yea that was changes ages ago, during the install you are prompted to setup a normal user acount and warned not to run as root.
  • gu3st, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Me personally wouldn't use Freespire, What I would use out of it is the KDE Theme, if someone could modify it by changing the "Launch" button to the normal KDE one, I would use it in my KDE distros
  • Tommstein, on 10/12/2007, -10/+1***** Linspire. If they had their way, we'd just have Linux with Windows-circa-1998-caliber security.
  • manfesto, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Okay, here is my "beef" with Linspire/Freespire:

    It's aimed at being as easy to use as possible, because it's aimed at people like your parents or whathaveyou. However, these same people are just as likely to go to Wal-Mart and buy a $10 greeting card program and wonder why it's not working on their computer. There's also the issue of support - nobody that works exclusively on Windows that you'd regularly go to for help (i.e. Billy, that computer kid, from down the street) will be able to help you, and I think it's a given that, statistically speaking, most people would be hardpressed to come up with a "Linux Guru" that they know (not to mention most Linux guys probably consider Linspire beneath them and will be condescending as hell when "helping"). That means that most end-user support has to come from Linspire.

    I guess the point of my last bit of rambling is that Linspire is at the end of the day still Linux - sure it's user friendly, but it still won't run Windows software, and your tech-support options are severely cut, and those two things are very important to the general populous (that's why Dell's two big commercial selling points are its price and support).

    //yes, I know that if all a person does is surf the internet and check e-mail, they're just fine
    //but if that person ever gets an urge to go buy a game or calendar program, they're a bit screwed

    I don't want to knock Linspire as a distro, as it seems to have a lot going for it, but I just don't think you should market Linux to people that know little or nothing about computers - they won't have the support they need. Linux on a whole still lacks the support to be a viable desktop OS for the masses.

    As for Freespire, I honestly can't see it gathering a decent community backing - justified or not, it is scoffed at by most of the Linux community. I can see it now - Freespire's message boards trolled with recommendations to use Ubuntu instead.

    I also don't like the idea of the CNR - to me, it seems like a paid version of Synaptic or Yum Extender - but if it really is open to the other distros, I may drop some cash for the legal DVD codec.
  • richardiscool, on 10/12/2007, -6/+6The people saying that Linspire sucks are the same people saying that Ubuntu sucks - they are scared. These two distros allow non-techies to muscle in on their little club, and they don't like it one bit!
    • tankiller, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1"The people saying that Linspire sucks are the same people saying that Ubuntu sucks - they are scared. These two distros allow non-techies to muscle in on their little club, and they don't like it one bit!"

      Well I dont know about that. I'm a windows user, but I also fool around with Ubuntu. But I can also say, Linspire sucks, Ubuntu does not. Linspire requires you to pay for a CNR program that's just like Ubuntus synaptic program that easly lists free apps you can use and will download/install them, free. Also I think one of the main reasons so many people like linux is because of kde or gnome interface, windows has a fugly interface so why would someone using a windows ripoff look linspire be happy? No I'm not one of those so called "elitists" I have just as much trouble as the next linux dumbass trying to use it, I'm just stating my option with reasons why.

      Also toads the no tech help on Linux, that may be so, but then again "it just works" At least for me, sure I may have a problem getting Skye or the odd app to run, but big deal. I cal easly install crossover-office and run all my windows apps on Linux. The main reason I dont go full Linux is because theirs still those apps that will not run on Linux. I design websites, and 'have' some apps that's a must. If Linux does not want to run them, but windows does, then I'll stick with my ***** windows. Also for the computer games, least we not forget that.

      Make no mistake, when Vista does come out, I'll not touch that with a 10 foot poll.
    • MihaiM, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Ubuntu is better because it has a great community and it's free.
      Linspire is not free and Freespire is a stripped down version.
  • tagawa, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2While it's good that there's another distro to choose from, I can't help thinking that we're now just seeing the same system regurgitated with a new pretty theme each time.

    I'd like to see more departures from the norm, with Symphony being a good example. I'm not knocking the tried and trusted distros and I also believe it's important to have choice and competition, but so many new distros seem to be springing up that don't add anything other than confusion.
    • Ensnared, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Well, things like working multimedia out of the box isn't exactly common in Linux. You need to install extra stuff which isn't always easy to find or install for the average computer-user (that's not the techie, that's the guy who just wants to watch movies, play music, surf the web and read/write email on his computer).

      And for americans with their precious patents and funky laws, something like this is extra usefull since they're not even allowed to install the extra stuff necessary for things like DVD playback.
  • ghostaliaz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Look I will never use Linspire myself, but for a newb it maybe a good choice expecially if that newb has had enough of the microsoft crap. My advise is if you are a newb try linspire if you like, but I think personally as once being a linux newb that mepis is the best as far as newbs because it gives you a chance to use apt-get & the fancy install software to install software, plus to all the people out there saying that linux does not play dvd's or play all of the vid codecs as windows, just has not done any google searches because I have all of the main codecs on my Mepis Linux System & I also can play DVD's, yeh I know it is not legal, but come on in this crazy world today shoot what is legal nowday's, so I say ad what you want to your Linux distro, shoot you can even use windows fonts, all you need to do is ad the repositories & then you will be straight, but God forbid you actually do a little bit of work. Look I know Ubuntu is a good Distro, but to me as an ex Linux Newbi, Mepis was the only distro to me that was worth even the download, plus it already has flash,java & many codecs already installed. Yeh & I know that these can be installed other ways, but I simply like the fact that mepis installs all of the have to haves from the jump, plus the people you know the communitys in the mepis forums are the best for newbs atleast I think so, they helped me so much. Look newbs use Linspire if that makes you happy, but just try Mepis & you will be like woh this is a good OS, plus people mepis has just joined the ubuntu camp as far as using the same foundation that ubuntu sits on or something like that, I do not know the whole story. i personally do not care what distro anyone uses as long as they use linux in someway, even if it is a spare pc, shoot it is a start anyway it goes.
  • zolookas, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I think it's great news for people in USA, because it includes licensed codecs, but personaly i don't care, there are no software patents in EU.
    • thinkdrastic, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4"there are no software patents in EU" - yet ;-)
  • energeek, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Linspire sucks. Plain and Simple. And I am no elitist speaking. They don't suck because they make a distro which has all the eye-candy and nice DE that elitists do not prefer. They suck because:
    1. The make Linux commercial. This applies to other commercial distros. They remove the very element of openness and community effort for which Linux is known.
    2. The rebrand apps they could never create in their Wildest dreams. And I hate rebranding. So would the poor developers who made those apps. This isn't about some license allowing you to do it, this is about how you are showing disrespect to the developers. As somebody mentioned they put Firefox in a 'Internet suite'. From the screenshots I have seen, Lsongs seems to be juK and CNR is nothing but a fancy name for apt-get and a price tag.

    Its about time the Linux world tried to stop emulating Windows so much. Its perfectly all right to create DEs which somewhat follow the Windows design. But its not good to create a distribution for Windows users. Its not we who should be dumbing down Linux, its them who should get cleverer and rise out of the asylum M$ has put them in.

    You give a kid linux as the first OS they have ever used and they will take to it immediately. Its not a problem of un-userfriendliness, its just that adults refuse to change. Infact Linux should concentrate specifically on the School Desktop market and also we should be spreading Linux among the teens and tweens who accept change a lot easier, and are also more gadget friendly
    • zolookas, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I hate rebranding, gaim is "Instant Messenger", maybe program names names are easy to understand, but you won't know which app you are using. CNR is eye-candy apt front end. The worst thing about CNR is that you can't install open source apps for free without paid subscription.
    • Ensnared, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4"Linspire sucks. Plain and Simple. And I am no elitist speaking."

      That - along with the rest of your post - reminds me of a lot of mails I get trying to sell me stuff while stating "this is not spam". Face it, you're an elitist, and one with a remarkable lack of vision. Do you think Linux would be what it is today without commercial support? Do you think it would receive the same commercial support if the commercial powers didn't think they could make money on it somehow and in so doing "making it commercial"?

      Maybe that's how your fantasy works, but it has little to do with the real world.

      And most of the "rebranding" is just names in the start-menu. The programs are still named with their correct names, but for a regular user, "gaim" doesn't mean anything, nor does "kopete" or "amarok". Requiring all users to know all applications in a distro by name is just stupid - if anything, we have ourselves to thank for this for keeping with the tradition of giving applications weird names.
    • energeek, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Why? don't windows users have to remember MS word/excel etc, microsoft internet explorer, and more. You don't have to ask a user to remember, it happens automatically by habit, just as it does in windows when you first start using it. Linux would be right where it is now without commercial support. Commercial support is only required in the Enterprise and Server segment where modified, specific apps/features are needed. openSuSe could give Linspire a run for its money any time.
    • zolookas, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Ensnared: OK imagine situation you are using "Instant Messenger" and you need some help. There are other plenty of other "Instant Messengers". You post new thread in forum and get a reply: "Which "Instant Messenger" you are talking about? That one who is based on QT, GTK or JAVA, and does it have big or small buttons?"
    • Ensnared, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0@energeek: You don't have to remember apps like MS Word/Excel etc because _everybody_ knows them, and if they don't, they don't care what it's called. Most users have no idea what Internet Explorer is or does, they call it "the internet", and if Linux also calls it "internet browser" in the menu and on the icon, it makes it easier for new people to know what it is, because these new people are usually coming to Linux from Windows.
      And seriously, do you really think that the benefits Linux at large has had from commercial support the last few years is relevant only in an enterprise or server environment, then you really can't have been paying much attention. "Commercial support" isn't limited to "commercial distro" or "commercial customer-support", and there are a lot of people around the world being paid - by commercial companies - to develop open source software which is used by said company and the Linux community in general. Do you honestly think this would have been the case if these companies did not seek to make a profit from Linux, hence "commercialising" it?

      @zolookas: Help -> About, just like you would in Windows. Labeling it something else in the menus is not the same as rebranding. I agree that actual rebranding - i.e. when they actually change the name of the application - is a bad thing. But labeling it with a descriptive name in the menus makes it easier for new users to know what it is, and that's who distros like Freespire is targeting. People will most likely not move _from_ Debian/Ubuntu/Fedora/etc to Freespire, but chances are we'll see a lot of people going the other way. Even so, I would say that a better approach would be the one where the applications are labeled like "Instant Messenger (GAIM)" or "GAIM (Instant Messenger)" - I know some distros do this by default, and I believe it's a KDE setting that lets you choose between these and others.

      In general, distros like this will lower the threshold for new users to start using Linux, and while they use it they will learn more about it and the available applications and possibilities that come along with it - just like they've been doing in Windows for years. Linux-users - and especially the hardcore anti-MS-folks - should embrace every attempt to do something like this, because it will help a lot in terms of recruitment to the Linux community.
    • daeken, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I won't bother with the rest of the post, but I can say that LSongs is not a rebranded version of anything. It was written from scratch. (The author is a personal friend who used to work at Linspire, a sister company to the one I work for)
  • Technopundit, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Slowly, the population at large is being informed that everything required to make Linux run as a Windows equivalent is not free. This includes codecs, support, and eventually, some programs and drivers.

    There are users who are looking for a less expensive desktop alternative to Windows, who would rather not steal software.
  • Snakedal337, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1*sigh*

    It's still simply the fact that there is no propriety support that is holding back linux. In a world of closed source apps (Which is where linspire is competing) there are to many trade secrets.

    Let me give you an example: I am a fairly knowledgable linux user, in that: I have enough knowledge to complie/code etc, while im still discoving a lot about the os. Ive used kopete and gaim, netither of which have "Direct Connect" support for the AIM Protocol (Dont give me that zomg aim sucks ***** - I dont care). This "Direct Connect" has been around for quite some time and kopete handles it like *****. If it even works. Gaim is a bit better, and that feature may work IF I wasnt behind a router. It constantly changes ports on me, so unless I dmz my box, that small feature is *****. I'm not blaming the devs, im blaming AOL.

    And (I know you all will hate me for this one) there is in fact a certain program standard on windows. Most programs do what they say...granted it may not be IMPLIMENTED the best way, but truly, they do.

    Now on linux, sure the softwares free, everything is great. Except that small fact that the world is still closed source, and when people go to their friends house and see them transfering pictures over aim they go "Damn it! why can't I do that!"

    Then theres support...which someone up there already posted about.

    I'm not knocking linspire, ive never used personally, but thats why I feel linux can't compete in window's world. Support, on all fronts.

    Oh and lil jimmy might get pissed that XMMS doesn't support ipod ;)
    (---YES I AM ***** AWARE AMAROK DOES PUT YOUR GUNS DOWN---)
  • SpiralMH, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1the comment you made about it not being approved the first time is false! over at daniweb.com it was back in september. it was called freespire! i entered in the coupon code and left my computer for a few hrs after i started the download. came back and it was done. this is an old promotion and i doubt the linspire team would do it again as there has been no confusion between freespire and linspire since september.
  • kiwimonk, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5OMG! Finally a free linux! This is AWSOME!!
  • evilgold, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1who pays for linux to begin with?

    Well now that they have it for free, maybe i'll check out what all this hype about cnr is. As far as simplicty goes, I dont think its hard to remember "apt-get install somthing".
  • tuxuser, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1does linspire run live?
    • CubeFarmDrone, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I have a livecd distro that I got from a torrent? I'd only recommend it as an OS for someone that hasn't ever touched a computer before. Those people are the only ones that wouldn't know what they are missing by installing a sub-par version of Linux that tries to sell you products directly from the OS .
  • grindcorefan, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Good, good, good. Finally, there's a distro where all the vital non-free software is installed out-of-the box already. YAAAAY, just give all the annoying newbies who are to stupid to apt-get install fglrx-driver an Unfreespire-CD and they won't bother us alpha-geeks no more. Yes, that means all the Debian experts that are getting bugged by Ubuntu-Newbs on IRC everyday will finally have some rest to maintain their own boxes. This is the next hot thing, yesyesyes. Installfests without the need for experienced helpers finally become a possibility. All the games and wifi-cards will work out of the box. Click'n'run will give you all the best for just a handful of dollars.

    Only one question: When Freespire's selling point is to include non-free software that is sooooo vital for us, why wouldn't I change sides in the first place and use a non-free operating system like MS Windows or Apple's MacOS? I heard quite a many Linux games run on Windows, too. The ATI and NVIDIA drivers for windows are only slightly slower than the ones for Linux, as well.

    I really hope Linspire goes down in flames quickly, it'll be fun to watch. Anyone who hasn't realised that the first two paragraphs of this post consist of 100% sarcasm by now is a d**khead.
  • Khoji, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Watching supporters of different Linux distros slanging each other is really inspiring. NOT. ;)
  • Technopundit, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Linux users with elitist attitudes are their own worst enemies.

    Apparently they need a hackable, hobbled geek toy, not a way to actually get any work done with an operating system costing less than 100 dollars (OEM), including software using friendly, descriptive names.

    Thanks to these Linux cranks with nothing but time on their hands who have tapped out their parents wallets, too lazy to get a real job and too rebellious to take their much-needed medication, Linux may never be a viable alternative to Windows. And that is sad.

    In fact since the Linux "community" can't agree on anything, they have turned the OS into a Tower of Babble. There are more differing versions circulating around than anybody can count, and the Linux creeps constantly fight about those. Linux for the desktop is a tangled mess hardly any hardware vendor wants to go near. A society of spoiled-brat curmudgeons no corporation in their right mind ought ever want to deal with.

    When a company like Linspire offers a little adult supervision, the Linux brats stomp around and type obscenities into their thrift shop computers, breaking any viability for a Linux distro becoming a competitor against Windows.

    I have Ubuntu installed on a second hard drive on this PC. Since I discovered I have to spend hours of my time just to get the thing to play video, and steal software to do it, I haven't booted into it since. I realize tons of other rotten little bugs reside there. Why leave the comfort and usability of XP?

    I've been a technologist for many years, have a life, degree, certification, and an income, so the trickery necessary to shoe-horn a passel of illegal codecs into Ubuntu is not worth my time.

    Now, Linspire offers to give me a Linux distro, and for another twenty dollars (not 30, as stated above), will toss in the codecs and drivers needed to save countless hours of time. Possibly, Linspire may even allow me to go back to using a neat, inexpensive wifi card, instead of the costly wireless bridge I hung off the back of my computer when trying to get the hyped-up but useless Suse distro to work.

    So what happens when Linspire makes this promising new offering? All the geeky little crybabies crawl out of the woodwork and begin slamming Linspire for trying to accomplish something useful with this sow's ear of an OS.

    So I'll say this; Windows '98 is a more useful, friendly and even fun operating system in it's present outdated form than Linux will probably ever be, works on old PC's with limited resources better than practically any Linux distro, and is currently used on far more PC's. And thanks to the half-information and half-rant Linux "documentation" and weirded-out Linux user base, Win98 will remain that way for a long time!

    As for the myriad of half-baked applications, well, ya get what ya pay for. Install the ploddingly slow and ill-configured OpenOffice on your PC and compare it to any version of Microsoft Office. Also, there's a reason they call the "open sores" replacement for PhotoShop "Gimp". And there is Nothing Wrong with giving an application a descriptive name, rather than something resembling a cryptic symbol gang-tagged on an alley wall.

    I wish Linspire the best of luck, plan to try it (again), and have one more comment:

    LINUS TORVALDS HAS NO CLOTHES!!!

    Now, I must go to the kitchen and take my meds.

  • Zephiron, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0PT/BR: http://www.htk.com.br/noticia.php?noticia=515
  • stumpadoodle, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1You know it's kind of annoying to hear the 1337 linux users out there hating on Linspire, but as a total newbie to linux, I can honestly say I hated it to. It was just so...blegh...for some reason... I'm glad I switched to Ubuntu and DamnSmall, even if the learning curve was a bit higher...
  • codester, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0These arguments about Linux are hilarious. Realize that you are arguing over computer software. How ridiculous is that?
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.