Linspire launches Freespire

[helpme]

Who would have thought?


Freespire is a community-driven, Linux-based operating system that combines the best that free, open source software has to offer (community driven, freely distributed, open source code, etc.), but also provides users the choice of including proprietary codecs, drivers and applications as they see fit.
http://www.freespire.org/
http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/newss/6228/1/

[Ensnared]

Interesting. I'm not too familiar with that distro since I've never really bothered paying money just to try another distro, but I've read some nice things about it.

So I guess Freespire will be to Linspire what Fedora is to Red Hat, or Ubuntu is to... no, wait 8)

It's about time there's a free distro where multimedia works out of the box though. If anything, I think that's what will make it a popular distro for new people.

[Rikostan]

That is one of the very distros that I have no desire what so ever to try... I don't even really know why, I just have no interest in Freespire or Linspire.

[mishranurag]

I like this line!



Legally supports (or has one-click access to support): MP3, DVD, Windows Media, QuickTime, Java, Flash, Real, ATI drivers, nVidia drivers, Adobe Acrobat Reader, proprietary WiFi drivers, fonts, and so on.


Who would have thought?


http://www.freespire.org/
http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/newss/6228/1/

[leech]

A while back, they did an offer of a free copy of Linspire and my old boss gave it a spin. I can describe Linspire with one word. Polished. From the moment you turn on your computer and up to when the desktop was loaded, it was very unified and polished. Of course my biggest complaint was that it was KDE based, since I'm more of a Gnome guy. But it was pretty sweet. So if they can pass some of that polish into a Gnome distribution, I would be interested. Then again, we have Ubuntu for that :D Granted the boot up in Ubuntu is no where near as good yet, but it will be.

I think Linspire used Bootsplash, which is a good/bad thing. Hopefully Splashy and/or Usplash will get better soon. I know Splashy has GL support planned for the future, which would be mighty cool.

Leech

[tseliot]

Linspire livecd (which was freely available) was my first distro. It was so nice that I decided to leave Windows. Then I met Ubuntu, but that's another story...

Linspire gives a Windows user the idea of having a Windows that just works without stressing you.

I can't wait to try Freespire. It might help me to convert some friends of mine for which Ubuntu has failed (because of the lack of proprietary drivers).

[dabear]

Will this mean that we could get CNR into ubuntu? :D


CNR (click and run)
CNR (click and run) was introduced into the Linspire operating system in 2002, and Linspire has spent the last several years refining, enhancing and perfecting the CNR technology. Linspire will be open sourcing the CNR client for use in the Freespire project. Below is information that will be helpful for those who may not be familiar with everything CNR technology provides.

[stuporglue]

Although I don't care for Linspire the distro, I hope this makes it possible to use CNR to install proprietary codecs on Ubuntu.

I'd love to have legal MP3 and DVD support on Ubuntu

[Turgon]

I liked this one from the freespire FAQ:

16. RPM or DEB?

Debian rules! 'nuff said.



:D

[Qrk]

Sounds like it will be a hit. Linspire would really benifit from having a more active community. I think it will go a long way into getting a Free distro that "Just works"

I wish them good luck. Hopefully it will add another arrow to Free Software Quiver.

[Kernel Sanders]

Call me a cynic, but i'm sceptical as to exactly how "free" freespire will be......

*ponders* :-k

John :)

[zubrug]

I dont think they have a choice as alot of linspire's first time linux user's (as myself) are impressed and then drift off to other distro's (the culture of linux draws all who venture too close). There forums are quite scant of though.
would not surprize me if it is kubuntu based.

[Super King]

A while back, they did an offer of a free copy of Linspire and my old boss gave it a spin. I can describe Linspire with one word. Polished. From the moment you turn on your computer and up to when the desktop was loaded, it was very unified and polished. Of course my biggest complaint was that it was KDE based, since I'm more of a Gnome guy. But it was pretty sweet. So if they can pass some of that polish into a Gnome distribution, I would be interested.

That's pretty much the same way I feel about Linspire. The Linspire Live CD was the first time I had Linux on my own hardware, and everything about it is highly polished. While it's KDE-based I much preferred Linspire's modifications to the interface that tone it down slightly. All the important hardware was detected easily (like Ubuntu). Yeah, so it tries to copy the "feel" of Windows, but that's not all bad. Really, if I hadn't used Ubuntu for a class and fell for Gnome, I'd probably be a Linspire dude. I'll definitely be trying out Freespire at some point.

[BoyOfDestiny]

Call me a cynic, but i'm sceptical as to exactly how "free" freespire will be......

*ponders* :-k

John :)

Freespire: A Linux Distro For When You Couldn't Care Less About Freedom
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20060424164142296

[htinn]

I don't know about this going "free" idea they have, especially since I still refer to it as "Lindohs" (which would make this "Freedohs").

[Super King]

Mmm...Fritos.

[macrohard]

Well I use both distros (Linspire and Ubuntu)

I always more or less had a hangup about the fact that CNR was not open-source,

Maybe with Freespire this might put Linspire overall into a better lite, or maybe not.

I'll wait till August when the first beta comes out to see how it goes and works....

[Sushi]

This is great news people :). I wont (propably) try out Freespire, but it's great to have one more alternative.

I wish them great success with their distro.

[awakatanka]

Its will just be a free linspire that sell there services to install proprietary drivers/codecs and software. CNR may go open but the service won't be free. Else its illegally

Smart move. Ubuntu said no to CNR service and now they make a free Distro that can compete to ubuntu and try to convert some users.

[hesee]

Smart move. Ubuntu said no to CNR service and now they make a free Distro that can compete to ubuntu and try to convert some users.

Did they ( Ubuntu/Mark/developers/users) say no to CNR? I didn't follow the conversation about CNR so closely...

[Sokraates]

I've started my linux carrer with SUSE 9.1 but drifted off to Ubuntu, since the community support was somewhat lacking.

Today there's OpenSUSE, but you still need to download a DVD or five CDs to have the full SUSE-experience (or you chose a single-CD fork). Another point, causing a gap between using the Live-CD and installing the distro.

Ubuntu-express is is the right way (in my oppinion) and hopefully Freespire will addapt the system. If so, you can finally show your friends a live distro and say: "Look, it just works. Care to install?".

As for proprietary drivers and apps, I see why free-as-in-speech advocates start crying fould. But there's a difference between drivers and apps. Apps can provide different features or load faster, providing arguments to use open-source instead of priprietary (or vice versa).

Now drivers are different. As a rule, the proprietary drivers work better than the open-source ones. I don't think that using the former will spur open-source developers to provide better drivers. They already do their best. Actually it might even hurt open-source developers since fewer people use their drivers and report bug or help to fix them. Then again, maybe the propietary developers will me pushed to provide better drivers for a growing user community.

In ths way, Freespire is a trade-off. But in my oppinion it's inevitable and it has it's merits. Looking at how many people use Automatix or how many How-Tos deal with installing proprietary drivers, one can't deny that a substantial part of the community want's them. I want them, too. And fortunately I'm experienced enough to install them.

With CNR open-sourced, I also hope to see proprietary third party-apps and drivers/codecs made available to other distros. I don't mind paying for software. Not all developers chose to give their products away for free. And if certain users don't want to pay anything, they have the choice to use open-source software. Or they use pirated software.

Unfortunately, right now one can only buy a distro to also be able to eg legally play MP3 or encrypted DVDs or you download a distro and install deCSS and what not. Not much of a choice here. I'd rather be able to use my favorite distro and be able to buy the things I need later on. Legally. Because I chose to.

And this is what it all comes down to: choice.

In the end I wish all the best to Freespire. It's a bold move. I'll deffinitely try it out.

[tseliot]

Its will just be a free linspire that sell there services to install proprietary drivers/codecs and software. CNR may go open but the service won't be free. Else its illegally

Smart move. Ubuntu said no to CNR service and now they make a free Distro that can compete to ubuntu and try to convert some users.
That's not true. If you use CNR you have to pay but using apt-get it's free of charge.

The website says:

For those who prefer the apt-get command line method of installing programs, the Freespire Warehouse of software may be freely accessed using apt-get to install free, open source software. (apt-get can not install 3rd-party, commercial applications which are sold, such as StarOffice, Win4Lin, etc., but these may be purchased and installed via CNR.)
Apps such as Win4Lin are not free no matter which distro you are running.

And CNR is optional. It "allows you to buy commercial programs, such as StarOffice, Games, Accounting programs, Crossover Office, Cedega, DVD Player, etc." In other words with CNR you can do things you can't with apt-get.

There will be 2 versions of Freespire:

There are two versions of Freespire available. The main Freespire version is approximately 99% open source, as it does include certain proprietary drivers, codecs and software in cases where there are no viable open source solutions yet available. For example, either out of the box, or through products in the CNR Warehouse, Freespire offers legally licensed support for: MP3, DVD, Windows Media, QuickTime, Java, Flash, Real, ATI drivers, nVidia drivers, Adobe Acrobat Reader, proprietary WiFi drivers, and so on. However, if you prefer, you can choose the version of Freespire which is composed of only open source code and contains no proprietary software whatsoever.

[AndyCooll]

Freespire is not for me it's too much like a certain other OS, but then again I don't think I'm the type of person they are aiming their distro at.

Linspire has always been aimed at Windows users with the intention of converting them to Linux. And they do this by offering a "look and feel" that such users will be familiar with. The Linux community will always need "introductory" distros such as this. And I for one hope that Freespire (with or without it's proprietary software) proves a success.

:cool:

[commodore]

So long Ubuntu. Freespire will be the most popular distro ever! Just because of the stupid codecs and stuff.

[Terracotta]

So long Ubuntu. Freespire will be the most popular distro ever! Just because of the stupid codecs and stuff.

If they base Freespire on Kubuntu, sure thing, if they just base it on linspire, not a chance.
(meaning: same repos and packages, oeh adept(package manager, installer and updater) will rock, once it is bugfree :|...)

[SeanTater]

For those of you that use IRC, there's a #freespire channel, devoted to these topics..

[zubrug]

I seriously doubt that any distro will be threatened by this. This announcement is really a marketing move for CNR which will most likely be available to use on other Debian distro's.
This is a great anouncement in regards to people trying linux for the first time.

[KingBahamut]

I remember freespire it its original glory (stumbles around to find an ISO), in which it was an open source build of linspire with debian repos. Oddly, it didnt take very long for Linspire (dunno if Kevin was at the helm on that , and if hes lurking around he can clarify for us) to come up behind it and nip it in the bud.

[tseliot]

I remember freespire it its original glory (stumbles around to find an ISO), in which it was an open source build of linspire with debian repos. Oddly, it didnt take very long for Linspire (dunno if Kevin was at the helm on that , and if hes lurking around he can clarify for us) to come up behind it and nip it in the bud.
This is from Freespire's FAQ:

25. Wasn't there a Freespire project released towards the end of 2005? Is this the same project?

Back in late 2005, Andrew Betts, a member of Linspire's Insiders Program, did an experimental project of creating a distro based on all the open source Linspire code, but leaving out the proprietary pieces (MP3, Flash, Java, etc.). Ironically, he gave his project the nickname of "Freespire," not knowing that Linspire had already started work on a same-named project. Andrew never intended for his project to become available for public consumption at that time, but it leaked out over the Internet to Distrowatch.com, where it was billed as something more than it was planned for. It created quite a stir at that time, and due to confusion over the term "Freespire," Andrew changed the name of his project to SquiggleOS. Development has since stopped on the SquiggleOS project, and Linspire was never directly involved in that project. Before the launch of this Freespire initiative, Andrew was notified of Linspire's plans and he worked with them, sharing his ideas for this project. Today, Andrew serves on the Freespire Leadership Board, and is thrilled to see many of the same ideas that he had for his "Freespire" coming to life in this community project.

[commodore]

People will now see Freespire as "Windows without viruses that's free of charge". They will never know the real meaning of Linux (which is community, open-source and free software).

[helpme]

People will now see Freespire as "Windows without viruses that's free of charge".

Will they?
I sure hope so.



They will never know the real meaning of Linux (which is community, open-source and free software).
Oh, I didn't know there was a real meaning but thanks for telling us...

[Sokraates]

If people start using Freespire they at least will learn some of the linux/debian basics: naming of partitions, apt-get etc. So trying out another linux-distro will be easier, since they will no longer be completely alien to the user.

[tseliot]

If people start using Freespire they at least will learn some of the linux/debian basics: naming of partitions, apt-get etc. So trying out another linux-distro will be easier, since they will no longer be completely alien to the user.
That's exactly what happened to me a year ago (when I left Windows)

[Ensnared]

People will now see Freespire as "Windows without viruses that's free of charge". They will never know the real meaning of Linux (which is community, open-source and free software).
The real meaning of Linux is "Linus' Minix" (or "Linus' Unix" - I forget).

Communities also exist for Windows users - if Windows-users want to participate in them, they can and they will. Just like Linux-users.

Open Source and free software are terms people will most likely discover if they start using Linux. But if they don't, so what - is that really such a bad thing?

[tseliot]

People will now see Freespire as "Windows without viruses that's free of charge". They will never know the real meaning of Linux (which is community, open-source and free software).
Freespire is the community-driven version of the Linspire Linux distribution gives you access to open-source software.

As in Ubuntu, you can choose to install or buy proprietary and commercial apps, or do not use them at all (there is a version of Freespire which includes only free software).

Many other distros offer the possibility to install proprietary codecs, drivers, etc. from their repos (Arch Linux, etc.) or include them by default (Mepis, PCLinux, etc.).

[kabus]

Freespire: A Linux Distro For When You Couldn't Care Less About Freedom
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20060424164142296

Thanks, that's an interesting read.

[tikal26]

I really have no desired to try freespire, nevered like linspires, but I am glad the opened sources CRN. I would really like to get free codecs and stuff. I think taht otjer distro's offereing CRN would help bring linux to new users and that can only be good.

[Sokraates]

CRN alone won't bring new users to linux, since CRN is only for software you have to pay for. Many people, who switch to linux, do it, because they don't want to pay anything for the OS or the apps they use.

The important part is to give the linux users existing the possibility to purchase certain software (well, mostly codecs) legally. Right now most of is use them without proper licensing.

[jesse]

I plan on trying Freespire and especially look forward to CNR and the ability to install codecs legally being ported to other distros, like Ubuntu or even Fedora. It will bring more people to Linux who otherwise wouldn't even think of trying it.

As for those who refuse to mix their open source Linux with any closed source software, I would like to say that I think the way certain users treat Linux as if it were a religion is silly.

And for those who assume that because it's sponsored by Linspire it will resemble Windows too much, I would like to say that anyone who knows enough about Linux can even turn Linspire into something that looks a lot more like Ubuntu or Debian than stereotypical "Lindows" and can easily wipe out any similarities with Windows.

I once installed Linspire 4.5 on my laptop, used CNR to legally download the codecs, etc and even purchase a few things I wanted while it was still Linspire (like the MS fonts that come with Star Office that you don't get with OpenOffice, such as "Arial narrow"), and then enabled the debian repos in sources.list, installed synaptic and quickly turned my Linspire system into a Debian system (even with Gnome working) that, unlike regular Debian, still had the proprietary stuff on it leftover from the Linspire install. And the end result didn't look anything like Windows.

I totally see the point of something like Freespire and think it's about time.

[htinn]

There's more to the FOSS argument than just "religion". There is a serious problem in using non-free software.

Companies who package and sell software have a huge stake (billions of dollars) in making certain that you pay them for future versions of their software. Those companies will be strongly tempted to move away from Linux, particularly because of the demand for open standards, which are far less profitable than closed standards. For example, MS Word vs. Open Office.

Having said all that, I know it's not realistic to expect people to avoid using non-free software. Several people I know and respect use non-free software without giving it a second thought. I view having a system with completely free software as a goal, not as a necessity.

[jesse]

Yes, if only everyone avoided closed source and used only open source.

If only all of the online radio stations I listen too streamed in OGG instead of MP3, Windows Media format, etc.

...But they don't.

If only I could tell the translation company that I translate documents for that I'm only willing to use open-source fonts in documents I produce for them using OpenOffice, and that they subsequently receive and open in MS Word without even knowing that I don't use Windows too but something else that's better and can't get viruses they might send me accidentally.

...But I can't take that attitude, because I have to keep the formatting created by the client who produced the original document in MS Word, and if they want Arial narrow, then Arial narrow has to be there.

If only I had a portable music player that played OGG instead of MP3.

...But my mom bought me an Ipod for my birthday, and it doesn't support open formats. Besides, if I have purchased music in mp3 I want to be able to listen to it.

It would be wonderful if proprietary software were not necessary. But it's an idealistic expectation. No one will switch to Linux if they continue to be locked out of so much technology and have to do things like use Automatix to get things working. Freespire is necessary, and its creators are not traitors or blasphemists. :KS

They are helping Linux as a whole and should be commended. If only they had done this sooner instead of focusing so much on commercial Linspire.

[Sokraates]

The consumers were not ready for asuch a product before. Maybe they still aren't.

The foundation for the Freespire version including proprietary software and CNR offering paid downloads is the awareness, that IP and patents exist and you sometimes have to pay for things we consider to be available for free (eg codecs, fonts). I don't say it's good or bad. It is the way it works today.

A couple of years ago most users would have thought: "Why pay, when I can download them for free."

We'll see if enough consumers will make use of CNR to download codes etc. Personally I think that linux users are generaly more aware of IP than windows users, who are quite used to have pirated apps, because the "need" them. It wouldn't hurt to make the industry realize, that linux users aren't communist rebels but paying customers.

[Sushi]

People will now see Freespire as "Windows without viruses that's free of charge". They will never know the real meaning of Linux (which is community, open-source and free software).

I didn't know that there is some kind of official document that tells everyone the "real meaning of Linux". I assume that the document is signed in blood by Linus Torvalds and Richard Stallman?

Linux means different things to different people. Some see it as a free OS. Others see it as a political movement. Others see it as a statement.