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74 Comments
- smtelegadis, on 10/12/2007, -3/+20I can Understand Ubuntu and OpenSuse being reviewed, but Freespire?
What about Fedora/Redhat or even CentOS?
My experiences with Freespire/Linspire/Lindows (Especially the First Versions) SUCKED! - noodlez, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12yeah, fedora core is missing.
my experiences with FC4 and FC5 were much more pleasant than unbuntu and linspire.
but then again, i don't use linux to be windows, i use it for development. still use windows for mundane things, since i have to use it for gaming, anyway :-/ - Feanor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10Typing in caps to prove my point REALLY ***** ROCKS!!!!!!!11!!!1!!!one
- noodlez, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7that was it used to be, until about 2 years ago. now, its buy red hat and get support, as well as enterprise features you won't find on other distros.
if you want free, fedore core is great. - SuperSloth, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8You *can* get it for free. The source RPMs are all available for free. This is what White Box Linux is. Red Hat charges for support in the form of making the CDs/ISOs, supplying patches, and providing tech support. Their enterprise server products do have RH specific software, but AFAIK you can get the source code for that, too.
Free as in speech, not free as in beer. - pcheaven2k, on 10/12/2007, -6/+12Ubuntu will like be my favorite forever, for several reasons.....
1.) They send you all the free cd's/dvd's you want, FOR FREE....they don't even charge S/H....that rocks!
2.) The CD's boot to a live CD that JUST WORKS on 95% of computers with no modifications.....that really rocks!
3.) Once booted to the live cd you click on Install and with virtually no user input it installs and correctly configures all your hardware (the first time) for the vast majority of computers it is installed on......that really really rocks!
4.) There are over 10,000 FREE SOFTWARE TITLES in the various REPOSITORIES! that is TOTALLY ***** AWESOME!
5.) They have an extensive user base and user-powered support community that is always (AND I MEAN ALWAYS) anxious and willing to help even the newest of NOOBS (LIKE ME)......WHO COULD ASK FOR MORE?
Oh and did I mention it is FREE, FAST, STABLE, POWERFUL and oh um FREE as in NOT MICROSOFT! - bebopredux, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Myself, while I'd never really use Freespire, I think Freespire has a big role in bridging the gap regarding usabilty and intimidation. If it gets people's feet wet in Linux, it's good thing. I applaud them for this.
From my own personal experience, Ubuntu is over rated IMO. I have given every release a try and it NEVER will allow me to use 1200x1024 resolution with my Radeon AIW. Oddly, I can run the live Ubuntu PPC on my G5 with a 23" Cinema Display. Go figure. Ubuntu is OK but, PC Linux is a better choice and better looking too.
SUSE 10.1 is my own choice. 10.0 installed better and YAST worked great on 10.0. 10.1 took a bit of effort but, it was worth it. I have it LOADED with about every available app and my family loves it. My 18yo daughter wants it on her forthcoming Dell laptop for college! You get out of Linux what you put into it. Get your hands dirty and get under the hood and play with it. I first used Mandrake 7.1 in 1998 and the thrill of seeing the first boot screen was just great. I still love it. - VinceNoir, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Sadly, I went through a few ATI video cards before I realized that their usefulness in Linux is pretty poor. I now only use NVidia (and I hate them for having killed off Voodoo) and have no problems at all doing 1920x1080 on my Widescreen LCD monitor. I had a few Radeon AIW cards for my home brew PVR before I realized that I'dbe stuck on Windows forever if I continued with ATI. I moved to NVidia for the video out and Hauppaugue for the video capture and haven't had any problems since.
- streamx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4*BSD anyone? :)
- Sairgem, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4"Severe lack of compatibility with Windows Software!"
Hm.... maybe because it's Linux and not Windows? Use windows if you want windows software. - pcheaven2k, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8Now with that said, there are still a few major things that need to be fixed/added to make it a true Windows Replacement!
1.) You shouldn't have to jump through all kinds of hoops to get your ***** media to play....even with the recent release of Flash 7 for linux (which is a bitch to install for a n00b) you still can't watch a lot of flash as Flash 8,9 & 10 are out for Windows/Mac....WTF!
2.) The overall DEFAULT Graphical UI's (Gnome, KDE, etc.) are seriously lacking in GLITTER and VISUAL APPEAL.....XGL/COMPIZ is da *****, but it is way too ***** hard to install and make work properly for the average computer user.
3.) There is still a major lack of 3D Acceleration for most video cards in Linux.....While I know this is not necessarily Linux's fault (manufacturers won't release drivers or source code) there should be something the millions of linux users/programmers can do about it.....
4.) Software Installation is a PAIN IN THE ASS! Now granted Package Managers like YAST!, Synaptics, etc. have made this much much easier for lots of software, there are still quite a few software packages that average joes will need that have to be manually compiled/installed from command line. HELP!!!!
5.) Severe lack of compatibility with Windows Software! Alright, lets face it, EVERY DAMN ONE OF US at some point needs to use a Windows Software program/game/etc. for something but if it will work in Linux (using Wine or another similar emulator) it is way too damn complicated to get working for almost everyone and when it does work it seldom works 100%. Why the hell can't someone right a VM that boots in another shell (like SHFT+F12) at boot time that loads an optimized version of WindowsPE (like the Bootable Repair CD's) with FULL HARWARE access and NATIVE SUPPORT for Windows Applications.....It could use a special NTFS or FAT partition to store everything and always run in Parallel to Linux, thus allowing for instant exchange of information/data between the two with NO REBOOTS and with near 100% performance. - caliform, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4And the Lord said: "Let there be Automatix and VLC", and Linux was good.
- kettlechips, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3crippleware
- bebopredux, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Vince,
ATI actually has drivers for Linux now. They were a piece of cake installing and running fine. - roosterjm2k2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Yeah, I have to idea what I'm talking about...I've been with Linux since early slackware...
But you make a point, which is Ubuntu's strong point...Ubuntu users don't need to know it all...that's what makes it great...
The hardcore geeks just dint like it because Linux is no more for hardcore geeks only, and that bothers them... - STDOUBT, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5WTF is "channel focus"
Commercial support. PFFT!
Back in my day we had Slackware, Debian and RedHat.
We were on our own, we read man pages, and we liked it!
(i got yer ubuntu right here ya punks!)
smile -it's Friday :-) - BigDoughNuts, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Yes. *BSD is absolutely rock solid and pure. But I prefer to keep it my own selfish little secret.
- ghostaliaz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Yeh (Remydlc) I did a google search for (Novell SLED 10.1) & I looked at it & it is pretty cool, so cool that I am going to install it, thanks for the wise Info (Morpheus) haha. Thanks again!
- awesometaylor, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3People really don't understand Freespire. It really is a great and easy to use!
I've used most of the big distros, and what Freespire lacks in polish it more than makes up for with MULTIMEDIA CODECS
How do you expect windows users to migrate "Ya linux is great, but no it doesnt play mp3, mov, dvds, aac, flash player, and BUT if you want them you can find all the packages and install them from the command line"
It is so great to be able to install, (Freespire takes less than 10 mins to install) and then just load up my mp3s and dvds.
Another huge misconception is that you have to pay a yearly fee to install software.
You DONT have to use CNR!! Freespire INCLUDES APT!!
Hey ArendM if you want to install amarok why dont you try SUDO APT-GET INSTALL AMAROK simple as that.
Try out Freespire trust me once it gets synced with debian and ver 1.1 comes out it will really rock. By the way the Freespire community rocks! They are very friendly. - koick, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2For the record, I have tremendously more respect for the Fedora distribution over Ubuntu for desktop use. The Ubuntu community sure is nice, Synaptic is cool. But, in the long run it seems you have to work harder to get something to work with it. Why waste time futzing around when you could be productive? Fedora has more history, I would argue as friendly a community, and offers *a lot* more packages to be installed 'out of the box'.
- brhad56, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Xandros Open Circulation offers a very pleasant Linux desktop experiance.
http://www.xandros.com/products/home/desktopoc/dsk_oc_intro.html - whiteguysamurai, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2There's nothing wrong with freespire/linspire.
It's a perfectly acceptable distro.
What i don't understand is if a distro looks to make things easier, it's shunned by the open sourced community.
Why the hell is that? - shm0edawg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I've been running SUSE 10.1 for a while now, and nothing beats it, especially with XGL/Compiz installed. There is nothing better than rotating your desktop on a cube, or changing transparency with your scroll wheel, or watching your windows wobble as you move them. The rotating cube desktop does make me more productive as I can change desktops very quickly, while seeing what's on each one. XGL/Compiz was not hard to install at all, and even a novice who can read instructions and type can install it.
As for the "installation with almost no interaction rocks" people out there..... everyone likes customization, and personalization. Don't be lazy. Take the time and decide for yourself how you want your distro to look, and what packages are included. I would hate to install a distro without almost any interaction. That 1.) takes the fun out of it 2.) produces more work in the future when i have to customize after install. - Ambimom, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2 Why all this chauvinism about personal Llinux distro preferences? What suits me, doesn't necessarily have to suit everyone else. The good thing about Linux is that there's something out there for everybody and it's all getting better all the time! I've experimented with different live CDs and Ubuntu was the one that worked for me so I installed it. Yes, it worked out of the box; yes, the media codecs not being there was a pain; yes it's been frustrating figuring out the terminal commands when the Applications Manager doesn't cut it....but it's free; it works; and it suits my needs. I'm grateful for the choice!
- nx01, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2When it comes to Linux, I have different expectations between a desktop and server. For servers, I don't mind the tweaking. I can edit config files to my hearts content. I still use vi on the CLI to do this, because the pain purifies you. ;) But for the desktop, I have an expectation that it just works.
Therefore, I have to say, that PCLinuxOS is the best free desktop distro out there. Version .93 (Big Daddy) just came out, and it is awesome. Everything is laid out very well, and there is very little to meddle with. It uses Synaptic for it's package deployment, and they also use DKMS extensively to make loading drivers a breeze (NVIDIA drivers can be loaded without a reboot, only a restart of X). All the browser plugins you need come pre-loaded, and the software selection is spot on. I encourage everybody to check it out. Everyone that I've turned on to it has switched their Linux desktops to it. It's amazing. - 7thCommander, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2It should have been included, but others should have been too. At least it wasn't just Ubuntu vs SUSE. Fact is although the article is good it's pretty low level and I don't think it even pushed the benefits of Freespire.
- doublebackslash, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Debian for servers/desktop
FC5 for my mythTV box
My world is good. - kiz01, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I liked the free version of Xandros so much I bought the commercial distribution of version 3 and have been running it at home for over a year. The networking is great, the wireless support is great (at least for my hardware), it's stable, and it's easy to use. Now I'm looking at version 4 and it looks very tempting...
- kettlechips, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2run xorgconf and you can manually set screen resolution.
- einfeldt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1hi abickerstaff,
I have never personally installed RAID arrays, but I have seen a friend do it for a public middle school in San Francisco that we are both helping to support with Linux. We use Linspire, Mepis, and SuSE there. For the RAID application, it was SuSE that he was working on. I was working on something else when he said, "wow, this RAID array is easy to set up with SuSE 10.1." I looked over his shoulder as he finished the job, and in fact, he only spent about 7 mins doing it, despite the fact that this was the first time that he did it.
Now he was a sys admin for a law firm, and I am a pretty simple end user who has been using Linux for about 5 years now in my law practice. I do have some command line skills, but not much. Still, I think that if he walked me through it a couple of times, I could replicate it on a third box. So I would say take a look at SuSE 10.1. And if you really want sophisticated industrial strength, throw down the cash for Novell's SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop (SLED). Here is a review of SLED by Adam Doxtater of Mad Penguin:
http://www.madpenguin.org/cms/?m=show&id=7150
Adam is a sys admin for a public entity in Nevada, so he knows his topic, and he's funny. Also, full disclosure, Adam is a friend of mine, he does the sys admin for an open source documentary film site that I am running, and I am an unpaid volunteer staff writer for Mad Penguin. But still. Read Adam's SLED review and his 10.1 review too:
http://madpenguin.org/cms/index.php/?m=show&id=6899 - drapelyk, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Review: Free Linux Desktops
Revision: Free Linux Distros
Why does it say desktops, it's sounds like someone is giving away computers with linux installed on them...it's a misleading title - icepack12, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Freespire shouldn't have been included. there are better/more important distros that should have made it.
- SuperSloth, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5Freespire is designed to be Windows-like. The distro isn't so great compared to Ubuntu, but it's easier for a first time user recently escaped from the Microsoft chroot jail.
- Cholito, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4I don't think freespire is worth a review as there are a lot distros better than freespire...a lot. Anyway, IMHO freespire has no change against ubuntu and opensuse
- 7thCommander, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'm just downloading the latest Ubuntu and SUSE now, it's been a few months so I'm taking another look. As a long time expert Windows user I found Ubuntu to be quite inaccessible when it came to installing stuff, but maybe it has improved judging by that article. I was very impressed with SUSE as it out-did Windows on some things and looked a million times better than Ubuntu.
The other week I installed Freespire 1.0 and was generally very impressed. It really would be perfect for regular users who just want to use the web and use Open Office. Maybe the the other two have got to this level now but having all the codecs and WiFi that actually worked out the box was a massive plus that cannot be underestimated. - AICkieran, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11.) You shouldn't have to jump through all kinds of hoops to get your ***** media to play....even with the recent release of Flash 7 for linux (which is a bitch to install for a n00b) you still can't watch a lot of flash as Flash 8,9 & 10 are out for Windows/Mac....WTF!
I believe adobe are working on this there is also Gnash which isn't great at the moment but will improve. i agree it can be a pain in the ass.
2.) The overall DEFAULT Graphical UI's (Gnome, KDE, etc.) are seriously lacking in GLITTER and VISUAL APPEAL.....XGL/COMPIZ is da *****, but it is way too ***** hard to install and make work properly for the average computer user.
Compared to? Luna? uhh. ok.
3.) There is still a major lack of 3D Acceleration for most video cards in Linux.....While I know this is not necessarily Linux's fault (manufacturers won't release drivers or source code) there should be something the millions of linux users/programmers can do about it.....
You ever tried to write a driver without even so much as decent technical docs from the manufacturer, Or come to think of it, Ever tried to write a driver at all? Feel free to do it... Not to mention the fact that there's that many devices that'd need drivers.
4.) Software Installation is a PAIN IN THE ASS! Now granted Package Managers like YAST!, Synaptics, etc. have made this much much easier for lots of software, there are still quite a few software packages that average joes will need that have to be manually compiled/installed from command line. HELP!!!!
What software will the 'average' user need that isn't in the repo's? I like how people shape this 'average user' person to suit their argument.
5.) Severe lack of compatibility with Windows Software! Alright, lets face it, EVERY DAMN ONE OF US at some point needs to use a Windows Software program/game/etc. for something but if it will work in Linux (using Wine or another similar emulator) it is way too damn complicated to get working for almost everyone and when it does work it seldom works 100%
Yeah, My PS2 doesn't support game-cube games i better bitch to Sony, eh? And there isn't ONE piece of software that i use in windows that i need in Linux which doesn't have a Linux alternative.
.Why the hell can't someone right a VM that boots in another shell (like SHFT+F12) at boot time that loads an optimized version of WindowsPE (like the Bootable Repair CD's) with FULL HARWARE access and NATIVE SUPPORT for Windows Applications.....It could use a special NTFS or FAT partition to store everything and always run in Parallel to Linux, thus allowing for instant exchange of information/data between the two with NO REBOOTS and with near 100% performance.
Firstly doesn't that defeat the object of having free software? GNU/Linux is supposed to be an alternative to proprietary software not a partner.
And no, I'm not a ubuntu/Linux fanboy, Just trying to point out that your arguments are flawed. - koick, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Listen, the more penetration Linux distros get with your average ma/pop/AOL luser, the sooner we can say buh-bye to the M$ empire and the better off everyone will be. It's a critical mass issue. I still don't think Ubuntu/OpenSuse (dunno about Linspire) are *quite* ready for average joe desktop use, but are getting close....
- supervapio, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Well... What an epatage!
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1 The ironic thing is with Vista,it takes all that extra oompth to do the fancy graphics...Just compare the specs it takes to run XGL on SUSE vs what you have to do to get the fancy stuff on Vista...
No contest there,Linux wins. - ghostaliaz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Please (Freespire/Linspire/Lindows) Sucked then and (Linspire) sucks now. Yes Ubuntu & maybe Open Suse, but to me the pick would be (Mepis Linux) Mepis is my favorite out of all of the other Distros, but that is only my opinion. http://www.mepis.org/
http://www.mepislovers.org/modules/newbb/
check it out. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1 You say these distros are worthless, but you don't say why.
I have used Linspire as my main OS since Jan. of this year and it's been a great distro.. The support is excellent and the forums very helpfull. No RTFM there.
I have not used Mepis,but that does not mean I think it sucks. it just meant that my research lead me to believe this distro met my needs best as a person leaving Windows who wanted the maximan number of bells and whistles in my distro.
Linspire provides that. In fact, they are the only distro who can distribute a lot of codecs under Linux completely legally,thanks to the little altercation with Windows that they won some years ago.
As to the goals of Linspire/Freespire,you might want to go here:
http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=18176
- AICkieran, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"and offers *a lot* more packages to be installed 'out of the box'." Some people would call that bloat. who needs 1222129384759820 word processors out of the box?
- chakkaradeep, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Here is my blog on which I wrote about Freespire when I tested.
http://chakkaradeep.livejournal.com/744.html
I can see many have not understood about Freespire.They have tested the hot distros out there now and Freespire is not an exception. Today, Freespire has made my life simple and I dont have to search,find how to install those mp3 plugins,firefox plugins....its there out of the box.... - remydlc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1GUYS!!!! SLED 10.1 really rocks, I'm a unix/linux sys eng/admin and since day one i started using linux (redhat 6, mandrake 6 and my favorite back then, slackware) i've been saying that linux is not ready for the desktop until suse linux enterprise desktop 10.1 was release by novell.
this ***** really rocks believe me, the dummer windows user can even re-install, do whatever he can't do in windows with not support at all... gui... what? a beauty.
i just came from trying ubuntu once again, but hey, for a linux newbie Novell just hit a grand slam with this sled version. give a try, just make sure you a get a the evaluation serial to activate the xgl/3d desktop.
sled 10 of 10
ubuntu 7 of 10
windows 5 of 10 (hate spywares, $$$ to spent after the install) but it ease of use gotta give 8.5 of 10
fc5 8 of 10
freespire 6 of 10 ( why use this one when you have ubuntu) - AICkieran, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Correction:
And there isn't ONE piece of software that i use in windows that i need in windows which doesn't have a Linux alternative. - chakkaradeep, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Well said!
- AICkieran, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Free[dom]
``Free software'' is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of ``free'' as in ``free speech,'' not as in ``free beer.''
Many people believe that the spirit of the GNU project is that you should not charge money for distributing copies of software, or that you should charge as little as possible -- just enough to cover the cost.
Actually we encourage people who redistribute free software to charge as much as they wish or can
Sums it up. - drapelyk, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1that said the distros can just as easily be installed on notebooks... nullifying the "Desktop" title
- remydlc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0ghostaliaz,
it is just amazing the team work they did with gnome, kde is going to come just the same for next release of opensuse, so sled may have it the same way sometime soon too. Man it just Novell behind it, what can you expect? ( I'm not a novell or any other company fan or hater, no even in sports i have team preference)
It JUST CHANGED MY MIND REGARDING LINUX AT THE DESKTOP, maybe bill gates is giving a try by now b/c this would be the xp killer. at MS they are developers killing themselves to add vista the stability, malware free os, suitability, and cuteness that this distro along with others have . I even heard that vista has few viruses :-( so i dont know what that thell they are doing with Vista. my predictions are withing the next 5-6 years ms only going to have 75% of all desktops pc, they all going to be taken away by osx and sled. - Zerocool82, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Question why would you want to use FC5 for a desktop when it's meant to be a testing ground for Red Hat? I know FC5 is cool but I'm not sure that I would want an distro that is not for long term. Or a distro that your have to install more than one CD. I know you get a lot of stuff but going over 2gigs is crazy. Oh and Bunt is for desktop use. And FCC5 is just a testing project. There's beta stuff in there too.
What is Fedora? Fedora is a set of projects sponsored by Red Hat and guided by the contributors. -
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