Why isn't Linspire a free download, It's A Linux distro, I thought you could
download Linux for free.
I can understand the $50 annual fee they want for updating and installing new
software. but tacking on a additional fee of $50 for Linux is wrong.
I went to their website and couldn't find a free download.

Jim

AFAIK, Linspire (actually Lindows) is Licensed software and you wud have to buy it from a shop and you will be provided a license. Secondly, Linspire is for users who have been using Windows for a long long time and need to use linux for some reason. It give a very similar interface as that of windows and allows functioning in the way GNU/LINUX does.


However, I would recommend (even if you are an ardent windows user) to go for other distros like FEDORA, DEBAIN, SLACKWARE OR MANDRAKE OR YELLOW DOG whose free downloads are available at
http://www.linuxiso.org

and all the reviews are available at

http://distrowatch.com

Have a nice time!

Well believe me I do use Fedora Core , but I 'am looking at it for a new , previous Windows users, because it is
a more friendly usable Linux distro than is Fedora.
But Linspire being a Linux program , I don't see how it is they can charge for it , when it's LINUX.
You can give me All kinds of D--- excuses but it's Still Linux and Linux is Suppose to be FREE.
I getting the impression that we have got ourselves a new Linux/Microsoft company out there.

Jim

Read the GNU General Public License: it says that I can sell GPL software for whatever I want, provided I still give the person I sell it to all the same rights I have, including reselling it. Additionally, not everything in Linspire is open source. As I understand it, their CNR system is closed source, which means they can charge whatever they want. I personally am not a fan of Linspire, but I understand their desires.

anyone who wants to can charge for linux. "free" has nothing to do with price, but means you're free to do with it whatever you want provided you fulfill a few requirements if you're redistributing it.

http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html

Hey, I have a copy of Linspire 5. They got me from there marketing and all so I purchased it and wanted to experience the Linux side of things. Anyways, after a week, I downloaded a different distro, and havent never went back to using Linspire. I have now been using Linux for over three months and I am using debian right now, and it works great.

Here is a few facts with Linspire:

-Linspire does have the right to sell their distro just like anyone else can. Linspire isnt the only one that sells Linux. As long as you can get Linspire's source code, which you can, Linspire can sell all they want. They have the CNR because anyone has the right to download and modify Linspires source code, but the CNR service is what will always make Linspire unique.

-Linspire is very slow!! If you are going strait from windows to booting into Linspire, you will get very frustrated. Bootup time is very slow and when you do get into the desktop, it really doesnt feel like you any windows desktop. It takes forever for the apps to load...(especially their "Linspire Internet Suit" and OpenOffice.org") Right on bootup I was already using swap.

-Linspire uses outdated packages. A big problem with this is if you try to install applications that didnt come from CNR, most likely the application will require newer dependencies then what you have installed so you will be stuck and not be able to install. Also, when using the CNR to install apps, their servers are very slow and takes forever compared to installing the same application through Debian's apt-get.

-Linspire doesnt come with the developers pack (you have to install it though CNR), which means you cant install apps from source and it doesnt come with a lot of common commands, not even the 'man' command...

-And last, Linspire tries hard to keep you from ever getting to the Shell. Which can be good for maybe someone that just wants to use the internet, maybe type up something through OpenOffice.org, and install applications through the CNR, but if you are wanting to experience Linux, you have to at some time, access the Shell, and experience the power behind what linux can do.

Well, anyways that was my 2 cents. Hope that helped. =)

The GPL that covers the Linux kernel and the GNU utilities and lots of other software does not preclude anyone for charging a price for creating a complete distro from these parts.
It is very time consuming creating a distro and the people who produce them are quite within their rights to require a payment for their work. Linux is not necessarily free. The GPL requires you make the source code available to anyone who uses your product and allows them to pass it on freely or for a charge. Their choice. If you want a free distro then steer clear of Linspire.

So by this logic, Red Hat Enterprise should be free?
um, no

I pay for Linspire because it is a high quality commercial product
that allows me to easily use Linux as a novice or hardcore user.

Redhat Enterprise is free, it's called Centos.
Check it out at centos.org.
Jim

Have you tried Mepis?

I have used Red Hat, Red Hat Enterprise, Fedora, SuSE
and a few other distros. Linspire is Debian based, which I prefer.
I am happy using Linspire.

as for what epod69 wrote:
1.Linspire runs fine on machines that are 1Ghz and above
2.Their packages are not the most recent, due to stability, tested packages and quality control. This makes for a more stable system.
3.The developer package has not been released for ver5, but is coming soon.
4.Um, Konsole is a program for shell access

I would suggest checking out their official site, because most Linux users on here hate Linspire.

Not sure if this is the most recent developer edition, but here is a link.
http://info.linspire.com/developer/

Mepis and Ubuntu are also Debian-based, and they're free. They also run fine on machines that are > 1 GHz, and their packages are also the most recent. There are different repositories for stable, testing, unstable, and experimental. If you like stable only, you can use only the stable repositories. From what you list as reasons to use Linspire, there's no reason you can't use Mepis or Ubuntu. Just give them a shot. If you hate them, you can always go back to Linspire.

No need for me to change to another distro.
I support Linspire and what they are doing for the Linux community.

You can also install "man pages" from CNR or use the built in --help system at the console.
instead of "man dir" try "dir --help"