just installed it, its good, but its too much of a hassle getting make and all the c++ tools. i had apt-get working, but finding out the names of the program was just too much work, when something like suse will install it all by default. linspire 5 is awsome, but im still sticking with suse and ubuntu.

I was interested in learning more about the 5-0 release, but as I was searching their site, I found that they were selling an anti-virus program. It turned me off that they are (apparently) taking advantage of the fear that so many Windows users face to find more ways to make money.

http://www.linspire.com/lindows_storefront.php?own=yes

I respect your right to love Linspire, I really do. I tried it and didn't care for it much, but who cares what I think. If you love Linspire because it's Linux based, good for you!

thats it, linspire is officially bringing down the linux market. no more linspire for me. the whole point of switching to linux (as they advertise) is for an easy to use stable OS that is virus/spyware free. then they go and contradict their virus safe OS ad and sell antivirus software. hrmmm.

Hold on there - you don't think there is value in scanning incoming and outgoing mail for a virus? Think about novices who will forward an email with an attached virus to everyone in their address book - even though the virus didn't infect the Linux user. the end result is just as bad.

Also, what if that user has wine installed, and in their window manager has .exe or .com files associated with wine? Then, in that case, a virus could conceivably run under Linux. Granted, any damage would be confined to ~ but it does not negate the possibility.

How about the fact that, even if linux viruses are not yet widespread, they WILL happen? Sure, the unix permissions system is likely to protect the system, but what about all my personal files? I'd consider that fairly important as well.

Granted, it could be useful, but the idea behind the product seems to be to make money instead of providing a useful service to the Linspire customer. A lot of ISPs are scanning emails for viruses now and the main threats seem to be viruses that are spread by computers that are infected, not necessarily users that email viruses to their friends. The only viruses that I have received in the last three years through email have been from people who had no idea that their computer was sending them out. I don't use wine, so I could not tell you if it would be useful or not.

The advertising clearly states that they are marketing to protect Linspire. This is from the page that I posted:
Protect your PC from damaging computer viruses - add VirusSafe protection! Includes:
- Start scans manually, or run in "scheduled" mode
- Automated virus definition updating
- Tight integration with Linspire
- Ability to prevent transfer of Windows-based viruses to other, non-Linux computers

So, like I said in my original post, [apparently] they are trying to provoke fear in order to sell a product. It gives me a bad feeling when parents, organizations, companies or governments use fear to provoke unnecessary actions.

well....they didn't "pwn" any distro, they just made a lot of disks.
the linspire-" distro" will never be more than a "debian-for-people-that-don't-care-to-throw-away-money "-distro.

also, your worried about virus attacks,: what about spyware....!
linspire is just spyware:
you can only get updates at their site, you gotto pay and login, so they keep a nice record of anyone.
i wonder what more data is sent to linspire, apart from the needed info to update.
( btw. very M$-like...)
in this world, such databases are worth a lot....

as a Slackware-user i can download anything from any mirror i choose .
so, a good well meant advice : take another distro.

egag

I have been thinking about the antivirus product. I still don't think that it was a good idea. I think that it would have made much more sense for Linspire to develop an easy to use firewall program. I am behind a router, so I have not worried about firewalls too much. Is Linux safe "out of the box" if one connects to the internet without configuring a firewall?

That would largely vary from distribution-to-distribution, but generally, the answer is a resounding NO. Many services are enabled by default on many distributions: these services can pose a security risk, especially if not kept up to date. Some distributions don't even ship with iptables in the kernel!

Maybe this whole MS-Linux junk was created deliberately created by Microsoft to hide they fact that secretly they own Linspire? *looks around shiftily*

So far I have used Mandrake, Knoppix, Redhat, and Fedora, and Fedora comes out on top. Have there been issues? Sure, with one computer I have that uses the NForce 2 chipset. Fedora Core 2 will run ( and even network, more than Window XP will do ), but I did need to install their drivers to get my sound working. Not a big deal, and I dual boot Windows XP on that box and had to do more work do get XP to recognize the hardware than I did with FC2.

That said, after running Fedora on 4 computers for little over a year, I am going to try out Slackware and Debian using VMWare ( www.vmware.com ) to see what they are like. Oh, and I do not run any antivirus software on Linux, but have shared out Linux files with Samba and had a Windows box scan all of my Linux boxes and no viruses were found ( Norton AV 2004, latest definitions ). I have not ever receive email with virus-laden attachments, so I cannot attest to if there are Linux distro viruses or not ( remember, Linux refers to the kernel only, distribution refers to the everything else that came packaged with it ).

The only problem I am having now is trying to upgrade Evolution using Yum as it cannot any newer versions than what I have installed ( 1.4 ). If you know of repository with the 2.x version on it, I would be much obliged if you post it's URL in this thread.

Thanks,

My take on this new release by Linspire is that it appears from face value (I have only seen the screenshots), to be well polished and the way it has been configured makes it aesthetically pleasing for people who are moving from Windows or Mac. To me it seems like a nice distro for people making a transition to Linux or those that do not posses great computing skills but would like to use Linux. It does not seem to run as root by default anymore, so security has been improved. As for Click and Run, its a good method for installing programs, but I have my reservations about the amount of money they charge for its use. It would be fair for it to be free since people already pay for the distro. I know apt/synaptic can be used to install packages, but thats for more technical people.

what's the coupon code for five-0?? i see that good 'ole 'deviant9' and 'lindows' no longer work..

I think this ongoing misinformation needs to be nipped in the bud.

The writer is perhaps unaware that the company to whom Linspire has contracted out the anti-virus software - and to whom Linspire actually pays a fee for each download made - is a recognised anti-virus software manufacturer, well established in the business, and whom has provided this anti-virus application suitable for running on Linux operating systems. Indeed many Linux OS owners - not just Linspire owners - actually pay for this and other similar *nix anti-virus solutions.

The reasons why anti-virus installations for *nix are a good idea have been adequately covered by other writers, and in other locations. Try Central Point software, for example, the makers of Vexira. http://www.centralcommand.com/index.html
I wonder if the author of the original post is aware of the (true) historical anecdote about the misinformation spread abroad when Alan Michael Sugars, the founder of Amstrad, was severely criticised for marketing a computer that appeared not to have any cooling fan in its computer case.

In actual fact, the CPU and other heat generating stuff was mounted inside the monitor, where there were fans.

This misinformation so greatly affected Amstrad sales that they were forced to put a completely unnecessary fan in the case, which users who knew what they were doing promptly removed to cut down on the noise level.

Just an instance of someone making false statements, and the rumour snowballing.

I was taught as a child that if you are unable to make a valid comment, it is really dumb to show your ignorance. When I was a kid, there was a saying "It is better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and dispell all doubt"

Perhaps the writer now understands this lesson I learned 60 years ago.