Linspire was once the World’s Easiest Linux Desktop Operating System
The tagline is good, but how far it stands to that is the point 😦
With the releases of openSUSE 10.3, Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon and other Linux distributions like PCLinux OS, Klikit Linux, Linux Mint etc., *spire is way down and its still going down, down into deep …. 😦
I wouldn’t even bother to recommend *spire to any of my friends !
We had many news regarding Linspire,
1) Linspire CEO Kevin Carmony resigns
2) Linspire/Freespire not sticking to the release dates, getting postponed and finally releasing a dumb product without CNR and also many many problems (I have installed and now its in my rubbish bin)
I am sure many would come out saying that I have violated by invoking the Godwin’s Law. The problem is, if you really see dictatorship prevailing, what would you call it ? You cant substitute another word for it.
So whats all this about ?
Its been ups and downs for Linspire for the past one year and now the worse has come out. Linspire CEO – Kevin Carmony has resigned from Linspire on July 31st, 2007. More news here
Read the rest of this entry »
Here is a diagram by me which depicts what Linspire does 🙂
(Click to enlarge)
Is Linux Splitting into Two Factions?
Earlier, I wrote an entry on the Linspire and Microsoft deal which was based on previous Linspire Letter (LL).
There are many things said, announced by Linspire creating much hype, but there is nothing seen in action yet and how would one believe so much in Linspire when there is not even a Beta Release of Freespire yet ! Remember, Freespire is the test bed for Linspire. Now the Freespire 2.0 stable release would be test bed for the Linspire 6.0 release. Till today, there is nothing been productive from Linspire.
Microsoft, one of the world’s largest Software Corporation. So what is Linux 
. This is what every Business people would ask you if you try to explain about Linux to them. When I say Business people , these aren’t any Computer tech savvy, rather someone who is seeking IT in their company.
Ofcourse, all the top Linux Companies are targeting the above team of People and thus you see they are signing deals. I am not sure whether these deals have come out of the recent FUD about Patents with Microsoft or its just they are signing deals at this time.
One must have a look at Novell, Xandros and Linspire deal. If you look into each, you can see Linspire deal is slightly different from those of the rest two (now anyone have different views, please not here 
, this is entirely my view). This I came to know when we were discussing about all these Patent Protection, IP Infringement etc.,.
What exactly Linspire deal is for Linspire Customers.From Linspire Letter,
Note : I have changed the Title from How people get moved by the word “Proprietary” to “How people get moved by the word “Freespire”
From the Freespire Wiki Page
“Freespire is a community-involved, Linux-based operating system…….but also provides users the choice of including proprietary codecs, drivers and applications as they see fit….”
Sounds sweet isnt it 🙂
Freespire -Freedom of Choice , but I didnt find the FREEDOM and was thrown back by many surprises from the Linspire Corporation regarding Freespire and had to take this decision..
Below is my post,
From the day I came to know more about Linux, this was running in my mind,
Common Platform for All Distributions
We have more than 100 linux distributions listed in Distrowatch. Is there a single application package which tells that it can run in any linux distribution ? ( excluding source installaltion ). We havent yet achieved this eventhough we have many techniques and freedom to implement this.
And today, we have an answer from Mr. Kevin Carmony, CEO, Linspire Corp 🙂
This is really a big milestone. Thanks to Linspire and Canonical !
From the next releases, Linspire and Freespire will form the core from Ubuntu !
Below is their OS Building Block Stack. Its quite interesting 🙂
So, being said that Linspire/Freespire will have the core from Ubuntu, what are the differences that makes Linspire/Freespire unique?
Here are just a few of the key differences:
Linspire and Freespire are designed exclusively for desktop use. (Ubuntu is also designed to work for servers.)
Linspire and Freespire designed their user interface to feel comfortable for users familiar with or migrating from Microsoft Windows.
Linspire and Freespire include proprietary codecs, drivers and applications for out-of-the-box hardware and multimedia support.
Linspire and Freespire are targeted at non-technical users and accordingly take ease of use to an extreme.
Linspire and Freespire fully incorporate CNR throughout. (Ubuntu will be incorporating aspects of CNR technology in the future.)
Linspire is designed to be pre-installed on PCs, with OEMs in mind, and includes a revenue sharing OEM program.
Linspire and Freespire are KDE based (rather than GNOME).
C h a k s' C o r n e r 