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Linspire 5.0 Free For Limited Time
drunkennewfiemidget writes "The people at Linspire are giving Linspire 5.0 away for free (digital download only) until September 6th. Simply go to purchase the $49.95 digital edition, and then enter coupon code 'freespire' to receive a $49.95 discount." From the site: "'Freespire' was the term Andrew Betts gave to a private project he had been working on. The project comprised various open source components, taken from the freely available source repository for the Linspire operating system...Linspire has no problem with anyone using the open source code from our operating system - in fact we applaud such projects. The name Freespire, however, did create some confusion in the short time it was used...We thought it would be fun, for all of those who were looking at this project to experience a true 'Freespire', to give away a free digital copy of Linspire for a few days!"
Hey, BeOS did this right before they died too.
Looks like server suicide to me...
sigfault. core dumped.
I was hoping for the analog one...
get what you pay for
ie. nothing
Now, I'll admit I've never checked out Linspire before (I always used Debian, RedHat, or Ubuntu), but doesn't the GPL require that you give away Linux? I mean, I know you can still charge for it, but you have to provide the source code free of charge (AFAIK)
Can someone clarify this for me?
Just like driving a car:
(D) to go forward
(R) to go backward
my browser only supports analog downloads.
If you say "here goes my karma" I will bite you!!!
The server is slammed at the moment, guess everybodys getting it while its good...
because everyone is busy downloading the software? They've already posted warnings that the site is getting "slammed" and that the coupon processing doesn't always work. And the download is a separate step via BitTorrent, so it should be great-- the more downloaders the better. They recommend trying between 11:00pm and 5:00am Eastern Time.
Everything I've ever learned the hard way was based on a statistically invalid sample.
Does anyone know if one needs to provide any personal info to download the software, like your credit card #?
dang, already flooded
They'd get alot more attention if they did a gpl'ed version that was free and available as a torrent. This is nothing more than a not so subtle attempt to pump the number of installs that they can claim are currently running. Marketing ploy anyone?
Feed the need: Digitaladdiction.net
From what I have read, people haven't been all that impressed with Linspire. Even if it's free, is it worth the trouble with all the other distributions out there?
Laugh while you can, monkey-boy.
Linspire is actually quite impressive. It is a step in the right direction for desktop Linux. While not as easy to use as Mac OS X, for instance, it is still an ideal system to set up for office use, and is quite friendly to the new Linux user.
It provides an excellent stepping stone towards SuSE or Debian. A new user gets the basics down pat easily and quickly, and soon he or she is ready to use a more traditional Linux distro.
Cyric Zndovzny at your service.
What, were they running the server on Linspire?
Linspire -- the expensive Linux; A Linux forever crippled in the "root" user mask; awaiting to succumb to that unknown malicious program taking the entire filesystem with it; and allowing a desktop end-user that could erase a file as easily as were in a Microsoft Windows 98 C:\Windows\System32 directory: count me out! It's a sacrifice for no gain, but the prettiest desktop environment and an excellent ("Click'n'Run") system and application maintenance. This could all be done on Microsoft Windows and none would know it were Linux save the penuin icon and the GPL here and there. I had to say it, and one more thing to say; Linspire has caused an exctraction of currency in equal likeness to the history of Microsoft Windows; when it breaks (often), I'm contracted to fix it. Please everyone, avoid this Linux flavor unless you want to cure it of its illnesses. Network Redundancy Administrator, dude! Christ M. Gregory-Thomas
without prejudice
I've only seen Linspire once on a Fry el cheepo machine. When trying to add on a wireless adapter I navigated to their software page and while what I needed was offered on their software update, access required a subscription.
Does this coupon only apply to the software?
There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
Should it of?
Nope, just downloaded it.. it really is free :) you just don't understand the steps you need to take to actually download it :*
I've started using Ubuntu, which I feel is set up very nice as an office system. It is very well integrated, (for example) providing one good application for each of the normal uses rather than flooding the user with "Kate (an editor), KEdit (an editor), gedit (an editor), gvim (an editor)" all in the same menu.
How does Linspire compare? I've never tried it, though I'm currently working on downloading this to get a sense of what the buzz is about.
|/usr/games/fortune
Well, Lindows had to change its name to Linspire, because it was too much like Windows. Well, now Freespire is too much like Linspire. So how about we call it Freedows?
Mind you, Frito-Lay might raise an eyebrow.
This is just the basic OS, right? You don't get access to their repository, what is it, click n run?
Unlike a name like Lindows, which people would never confuse with Windows.
If people continue to abuse this feature, I will have to remove it. - Slashdot Comment Box, 1998
Has anyone had much experience with Linspire/Lindows? What makes it better than all the other distro's...Fedora, Mandrake, Ubuntu, etc
Or is it just the same as the rest but with a shiny box and a pricetag?
echo $sig;
Just great...
I've been trying to just "order" the software for 3-4 hours, not download it, but the shop site is S L O W. Just had to go and post on Slashdot, didn't you? Coundn't wait until I finally got my "order" in. Just great...
Should it of?
should H A V E!!!
I could see a Linux poweruser not being overly satisfied with Linspire. If you're used to running Debian or Slackware, then you'll probably not be all that impressed. Linspire aims to make Linux easy to use. And in doing so they may alienate users who prefer the power of a more traditional Linux distro. But for a person who is new to Linux, it provides a very enjoyable and usable experience.
It all depends on what type of user you are, and what sort of system you're looking for. While it is great for new users or those who just want a system who works, it may not be what a person who's looking for a more hands-on experience would want.
Cyric Zndovzny at your service.
The digital art site, deviantart.com, had advertising from lindows offering 4.5 for free download way back when.
is down.
Now Linspire.
Can Microsoft be far behind?
After all, nothing kills piracy like free software.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
I think this would be interesting to know...
How long does the license last?
Till next version comes?
A year?
Obvioussly it's "free" right now, but when will they start charging for upgrades?
> Simply go to purchase the $49.95 digital edition, > and then enter coupon code 'freespire' to receive > a $49.95 discount. Yeah, that amounts to $49.95 - $49.95 = $0.00. Why not just give it away for free then? I guess when you see the words 'simply' and 'free', you should be on the lookout for a complicated way to pump cash around.
I picked the wrong day to update my iso collection...
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing. Emo Philips
A freely available operating system for PCs. Why slashdot you've done it again!
Whatever will you chaps come up with next.
We dream of the day when telegrams may be sent around the world for the price of a local telephone call. God bless you technological pioneers and God speed to your radical new endeavours.
I just noticed you say it's available in "digital form" too. Why I almost vommited my evening dose of laudenum in excitement.
Once again slashdot has lowered me to the lowest form of wit.
"The name Freespire, however, did create some confusion in the short time it was used. The name implies a "free" copy of Linspire, which of course it is not."
...) and was directly aimed at new Windows' users.
Now isn't Linspire the linux formally known as Lindows that was taken to court all over the world by Microsoft because of the "confusion" in the name?
As I can tell, he isn't making a fuss over the name freespire, but this is the exact thing he went to court over, trying to prove that there was no confusion with the name Lindows and Windows.
I do realize that there is a little bit of a difference between a linux distro that has a name that coincidentally sounds like Windows, and a linux distro that has a name that coincidentally sounds like a free version of another linux distro.
To say that that in the first case, Linux and Windows are totally different is true, however, Lindows wasn't just another linux distro, it was designed to look a lot like Windows (default wallpaper, start menu
I am a Linspire PC builder... and I love this OS. As far as Linux distros go, it might not be the "best" out there, but for Windows Refugees just turning to Linux - its perfect.
MadOgre.com
Maybe its just me, but does anyone see this more in the light of 'In order to create confusion between Freespire and Linspire, we are releasing our own Freespire on the Linspire site, so the sheeple will believe we created it, and won't find out we suck'?
-- I care not for your foolish signatures.
One thing I like about it is that apart from being Debian based, and therefore easier to manage as compared to rpm based distros, it's one distro that is beautiful (especially the fonts), and has everything about it working *as* advertised - out-of-the-box.
Yes, exactly. It is meant for new Linux users, or those who are not interested in becoming Linux gurus. New/common users are its target audience, of course.
Cyric Zndovzny at your service.
She looks like she's made of plastic.
Cyric Zndovzny at your service.
There's a very clear difference to casual computer users between dealing with these two screens:
Synaptic
Click-n-Run
UNIX: A computer user is defined as a programmer. WINDOWS: A computer user is defined as a consumer.
The best of all worlds.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
right on.
http://www.mininova.org/tor/18209
Alternate tracker: http://thepiratebay.org/details.php?id=3305164
Since the servers are pretty much crawling already, here's a link to the torrent
Did you all hear? The French are our bitches!
Since its free, that shouldnt be a problem.
Never looked at linspire ( even before the name change ), but if its free, why not?
---- Booth was a patriot ----
From what little knowledge I had of Linspire, it seemed their goal was to intentionally rip off the look and feel of other popular software. They had an "LTunes" media player whose GUI looked just like iTunes, for example. I actually think this isn't such a bad idea. Making a Linux that looks and feels familiar will appeal to some people.
But I don't know much about Linspire under the hood. What sort of package management do they use? Which desktop environment? Does it do a lot of essential tasks "out of the box" like playing MP3s, DVDs, etc? How does it handle automatic software updates?
Can anyone who actually uses Linspire comment on what are the nice features it has that should cause somebody to consider using it, over other distros like Fedora, Suse, and so on?
Well, so does she, but I'd still hit it.
you still would have to pay a subscription fee to access the package repository after a brief trial period. That isn't exactly free. Stick with Ubuntu - it will always be free and is a much better distro to begin with.
It could be written in Perl. Try reading THAT over the phone.
Mal-2
How is the Riemann zeta function like Trump rallies? Both have an endless number of trivial zeros.
Linspire is a good DESKTOP operating system. If you use Linux on the pc or laptop computer it is the best for what it does.
The company isn't bad as the technical/Linux community think. They have a good marketing department, but clearly have not targeted us. That doesn't mean the operating system isn't perfect for this audiance. I use it and the company is learning and constantly improving it.
They lowered the price, which is a good start. They ARE listening. $20 a year for basically maintaining a non-free version of debian archives which includes alot of commercial software. The $50 license is actually Linux friendly since it doesn't limit the number of computers you can install it on (within your family).
Could it be more Linux freindly? Probably not. You can't target the average user and expect then to donate or contribute funds. SuSe has released a free version, and I think Linspire could do this too at some point but untill they get off the ground and have Linux users or average users purchasing CNR subscriptions it won't happen. You have to make money somehow!
my browser only supports analog downloads.
Versus DIGITAL downloads (in the article). Why are mods so quick to mod people down? Hell, I don't mind seeing that comment, was it so bad that he HAD to be modded down? I know this isn't going to change anything, but people, only mod down when there's something you feel is very unacceptable, not one-liners that seem offtopic.
Send email from the afterlife! Write your e-will at Dead Man's Switch.
Thought this would be a good post to air out my views on Software firms charging subscriptions for software (no sure linspire does this, but I know Opera & the OSS drivers do).
I whole heartedly agree with paying for software which I use on a regular basis/prefer, but would great software manufacturers PLEASE stop forcing the loyal users to have their money leeched away for the REST OF THEIR LIVES for the 'priviledge' of being allowed bug fixes/updates?!!
All this does is turn away users (like it did with me, Norton, and probably opera once my educational license expires..). Sofware should be a One-time fee in 'most' cases (maybe vital server software for administrators/companies..but not for casual home user applications)...I would like to know that I can leave a box for 50 years, come back to it at some later point, and just update without having to shell out my credit card - it's just a form of making a system obselete, and it's not very respectful to people who use your software out of all the competition. Also, I can see hypothetically (or perhaps paranoidly) that sofware manufacturers will just keep old bugs until the next Subscription update as a form of forcing people to upgrade of face extreme viral consequences (I've heard people accuse Microsoft of doing this). IT IS NOT COOL, AND MAKES PEOPLE HESITANT TO GET TRAPPED WITH YOUR SOFTWARE.
Like I said, this is not particularly aimed at Linspire (an OS is clearly a 'major app'), but is still applicable.
"You know you don't act like a scientist, you're more like a game show host." Dana Barret
Linspire has been offered free before. They did a special offer to DeviantArt members (to try to get them away from TEH EVIL WIND0WZ) where they provided the current version of the time for free. But, unless they changed anything since I last used it, they've tried to steer their users as much as possible to their subscription-based Click'n'Run Warehouse. You pay a subscription fee of $60/year and have unlimited access to downloads of pretty much any program you could think of (like...telnet). I actually had to have a friend help me find the shell console the first time, so I could run ssh &etc without having to subscribe. I tried running apt-get and had to engage in some tweaking of config files (assisted by a linux guru) that I would've never known how to do, in order to use it. As shipped (when they were still Lindows), apt-get's config file was broken, pointing to non-existent Linspire servers. I cannot confirm if this is the case in Linspire 5.0 as I don't have a test box to install it on. So... it may be free, but unless you're tech savvy (like most of Slashdot), you're likely gonna get unnecessarily gouged for the convenience of doing it their way.
Crap... why can't it be available for analog download too?
I really need a new computer...
is this able to be run like a livecd like knoppix or is it hdd install only?
It must be really bad. I can't even download it on Bit Torrent. Could this be a scaling issue for BT?
You say things that offend me and I can deal with it. Can you?
I thought the premise of LINUX was that there was supposed to be a FREE version of each distro; this is a MUST..?!
with anyone using the open source code from our operating system. Really? You mean i can freely use KDE+Xorg+GNU/Linux? That's incredible!
Wondering why i am doing so strange posts? I am trying to get a "+5,Flamebait" or "-1,Insightful" rating.
looks like some culinary snob has decided that this food is not good enough, because the bodies are black. You, Mr. Moderator, are a racer.
Linspire has been free to download for months now. This report is old news.
This offer is going to Lexpire soon!
I'm d/l via this Torrent right now. Seems a little slow, but it's working...
I got one sitting right here, got it a month or two ago. My friend in town who has DSL downloaded it for me and burned it, and it came from their bit torrent link. free as in gratis. They offered it as the live cd version, but apparently you can install from it as well. You DON'T get the click n run access for free though, although this new one they are offering I guess you would. It's basically tweaked debian, kde desktop, lotsa smoothing and tweaking.
Am on cable internet connection, but the torrent is crawling, slower than when I had dialup (just a few days ago). Where are all the seeders/re-seeders? I'm doing my part by re-seeding, c'mon everyone, please help out. Thank you! Cheers!
No, she actually is made out of plastic.
Cyric Zndovzny at your service.
the slashdot effect is really annoying me right now, all of linspires servers are overloaded with the freespire thing, it seems i wont be able to get my version untill late, or, never... if that many people keep trying to download it, untill the 6th, im screwed
Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. - HHGTTG
Well, I booted it as a live CD.
First it gave me a Konqueror message that "/mnt/cdrom0 was not found." Okay, I can let that slide.
And I admit it handled my old ViewSonic 6 monitor much better than most other distros do, including Knoppix. None of them get the horizontal sync right, and I have to tweak the X config. No surprise, it's an ancient monitor.
Then I tried getting on the Net. This thing uses that stupid plug icon in the system tray. Tells you nothing but that you're not connected, but does have a button for starting up the network profile dialog.
So I fire up the Control Center and try to set up the default network profile. Won't let me save the changes (after stupidly prompting me to) because I'm on a live CD - evidently it's not smart enough to change the active profile on the RAM disk or in memory or wherever the active profile is being held. It just says it can't "switch the active profile."
Okay, the default was for my Broadcom onboard NIC. Frankly, I can't remember which one is the DSL NIC, so maybe it's the D-Link (I think I switched them the time I installed Mandrake 10.1). So I tried the D-Link interface - no go there, either. Since you can't save the active profile and you can't save to a live CD, if the interface is wrong, you're stuck with the command line. I'm not wasting any more time with it.
So I send a rant to Linspire's support about how Knoppix seems to be the only distro able to simply detect my SBC DSL and get me on the Net in a minute, with a simple wizard.
I submit the support comment - and get a bunch of error messages because their servers are hammered and nothing works on their site any more - supposedly - that's Robertson's excuse.
So I send a similar rant to Mike from his blog. He responds that I must have a unique hardware situation. Well, no, I don't - I have a vanilla AMD-based clone with standard NICs, and nothing has been unsupported from Red Hat 7.3 on.
He says saving to a live CD would be a problem.
Duh. So how come Knoppix can set my config up?
Bottom line: Linspire fails the Net test. If a new user can't get on the Net in five minutes, the distro goes. When I upgraded from Red Hat 7.3 a while back, I first put on Fedora Core 3. It failed the same test. Mandrake 10.1 succeeded with somewhat less futzing around.
Linspire (and Fedora - and every other distro that can't do this) needs to revamp their Net connection methods to do what Knoppix does - scan the NICs (ALL of them, not stop on the first one), detect the PPPoE concentrator, and configure the system for a DSL connection, including user id and password for the ISP - which should be the only thing the user really needs to say, that and yes I use the ISP's DHCP.
This isn't rocket science, geeks. Find out how Knoppix does it, and then ALL OF YOU DO IT LIKE THAT. Stop this "Not Invented Here" bullshit.
Richard Steven Hack - This sig is TOO GODDAMN SHORT TO DO ANYTHING USEFUL WITH! MORONS!
I purchased a 2CD version from Tiger Direct for $19.The second CD is just a come on for CNR but is not necessary for installation. It came with a registration # but I was never asked to register it and have not done so. It is great for beginners but it tends to steer you toward CNR. I haven't used CNR and have installed several programs myself, no differently than other distros. I've tried SUSE, Mandrake and Ubuntu but none of them ever worked properly (Ubuntu wouldn't install properly at all). Linspire is the only one that worked right from the start and I recommend it to anyone who just wants to get away from windows.
perhaps the servers will be "busy" until the 6th. Could just be them redirecting traffic to the "Bad Request" Page and then it magically is fixed the 6th.
I dont understand how this would be any different from doing another build? Build the box and load the OS, same way with Yoper, or even with slackware.
"And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the World"
1 John 4:14
i wonder if i'll be able to get it before the 6th..
//WR
Why don't you come suck it and see?
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
Maybe because they're not virgins who live in their parents' basement, and want to use a computer rather than maintain one. Dell, HP, IBM and, uh, Apple are doing pretty well out of selling computers + operating systems and software that just work.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
http://tracker.linspire.com/torrents/linspire_5.0. 59.torrent
What is the licensing for this? I tried looking on the site. Once I've downloaded, how many pcs can I install on? Or do I have to get multiple licenses?
its not such a bad distro, most normal non-techies would pay for something like it something that just works. It's got everything you need included for movies, music and chat which is pretty much everything people like my brother and sister are after.
Is it Free?http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
http://bagina.net/linspire_5.0.59.torrent -mirror
. 59.torrent -original
http://tracker.linspire.com/torrents/linspire_5.0
I always thought that number of uninstalls would be a better indicator of quality.
Umm no thanks. Too much free stuff floating around. If you can;t sell then you ought to close your shop and do goat herding. Don't just go "free"ing your stuff.
Java Oracle Linux Enthusiast
The article is about the installable, full version of Linspire.
This isn't rocket science, geeks.
And you not even willing to pull up a CLI. Hmmm, I doubt Linspire will be paying you to have these changes made.
The whole argument of the Lindows case was that MS had gotten the trademark for a generic word used to describe the type of system they were selling*. This should not be possible, and thus the whole Windows name was kinda iffy. That is why MS made a deal with Lindows, who on their side milked the whole issue for pr and money. Personally I wish Lindows had stuck with it and gone all the way.
* It is a bit like trademarking the word "car" for a car product after the word had been established as meaning what it does, and then suing other companies for using the word "car" in their name. it should not happen under trademark law.
Is this some new way of killing a server? Suicide by Slashdot?
I guess it would be a bit like suicide by cop...
Robert B. Marks
Author, Demonsbane in Diablo Archive
As far as linux goes, its pretty nice. The live distro booted fairly well on a 4-year old Toshiba laptop. Meanwhile, as i posting this comment from said laptop, my iBook is installing it on Virtual PC so i can test something other than the live version. i tried it back when it was Lindows. its been improved since then, and im fairly impressed. but i wont ditch the usability and simplicity of my beautiful mac.
The servers are very busy. When you are in the process of going through several screens to "buy" Linspire for "free" with the coupon code, very often you will be redirected to a "busy" page. Refreshing the page will not resubmit your request, it simply refreshes the "busy" page, so very often you have to start over. Sometimes you can go "back" to the previous screen and try again, and sometimes going "back" just sends you to the "busy" page. So...
On every page where you have to continue, check whether the link can be opened in a new window/tab. Some steps can, some can't. Open the next step in a new window/tab if you can. If it comes up "busy" just close it and try again from the previous screen that is still in its own window/tab. Repeat this until you are done.
assert(birth_date<time-86400)
You seem to be missing the concept of racism. It works both ways. Maybe there were no 'black people' that were available to take the postions of power; maybe the people who were chosen were the best. New Orleans has PEOPLE in it, and PEOPLE are in charge of recovery. Your comment is more racist than anything I have seen in recent times.
I was at microcenter yesterday.
I bought two copies of Linspire for 1 cent each.
It didn't say on the box what version it was other than "OEM Edition".
It is probably an older version, but at 1 cent per copy I couldn't help picking up two.
I think I may leave one at work as an incentive for the windows users to take it home and give a try.
We will ruin it for everyone. Not only will this Slashdot Linspire, it will also triple the amount of Linspire's available. Now ~67% will be aquired for free!