desktoplinux.com — In a surprise move, Linspire is now offering its CNR ("Click 'N Run") software service at no charge to its Linspire and Freespire Linux distribution customers. In addition, the company will soon be open-sourcing the CNR Client.
Aug 30, 2006 View in Crawl 4
jc4pAug 30, 2006
holy crap! +dugg!Now I have it'll be harder to decide between Linspire and Ubuntu.
Closed AccountAug 30, 2006
So very true...I did a lot of research on various distros before leaving Windows earlier this year. I settled on Linspire because of it's ease of use, handsome GUI and of course,CNR. Seeing I'll be able to get CNR free from mow on really puts a smile on my face big time! My wish is for CNR to become standard for all Debian Linux flavors. In fact, Kevin Carmony even brought up the possibility of allowing Ubuntu to use CNR. I do hope this happens...You Ubuntu folks will really like CNR...I promise!
arnieboyAug 30, 2006
if and when CNR gets open sourced (and GPL-ed ??), I wont be surprised if its adapted for Ubuntu and released which will surely be a big step forward for Ubuntu itself.
quashAug 30, 2006
There is a possible closer relationship between Linspire and Ubuntu than you may think. About six months ago, Mark Shuttlworth, in a video-taped speech at a DebConf, make a comment about Linspire being based on Ubuntu one day, as both are Debian-based. He wasn't giving away a secret, but rather using it as an example of how Ubuntu's regular release schedule could benefit a distro like Linspire vs. Debian's more erratic schedule. Looks like Mepis was listening.Then, a few months ago, with Shuttleworth's approval, Kevin Carmony started a thread on Ubuntu Forums (<a class="user" href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=785265&postcount=2),">http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=785265&postcount=2),</a> feeling out the community about offering CNR to the Ubuntu community via apt. The thread got a lot attention but nothing has been heard since. But, it's clear that Shuttleworth wants to resolve some of the media issues with Free (libre) distros that remains a stumbling block in adoption. CNR could be his ticket. Linspire's revenue stream is mostly from OEM, so moving to Freespire wasn't a big deal for him in terms of revenue loss. And opening up CNR to other distros can only increase his user-base and revenue stream either through direct charge or ads. Remember: he's only getting rid of the subscription fee for CNR. He will still charge for some programs and CNR even charges for some programs they "modify" that are freely available elsewhere without pointing this out to their customers.Clearly, Shuttleworth and Carmony are in a dance with each other and what we're seeing here could be a prelude of something much bigger to come. I'm not much of a fan of Carmony but creating Freespire, killing the sub fee for CNR and open-sourcing the CNR code for other distros is something that certainly merits attention.
simonbpAug 31, 2006
Ha! Anything non graphical :) Why not just add RAM to that machine though? I know of a used place near me that sells 256MB PC100 RAM for about $10/stick (last I checked about a year ago). It should only cost you chump change to upgrade, and should leave you with quite a usuable system.The other specs are sufficient for running pretty much any distro.
djrobAug 31, 2006
From the official Freespire FAQ<a class="user" href="http://wiki.freespire.org/index.php/FAQ_Category:_About_Freespire_and_The_Freespire_Project#How_is_Freespire_different_from_Linspire.3F">http://wiki.freespire.org/index.php/FAQ_Category:_About_Freespire_and_The_Freespire_Project#How_is_Freespire_different_from_Linspire.3F</a>How is Freespire different from Linspire?StabilityFreespire: Bleeding-edge technology released early and often. More experimental, and at times less stable.
tkdwilsonSep 7, 2006
NOW their are stengths for both. Hard telling on the future. Eric Wilson