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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...
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!!!
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 #?
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?
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.
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.
Linspire is far more specific, in terms of applications. The user really isn't informed what specific editor or browser they are using. It's just labelled "Web Browser" or "Mail Client" or "Text Editor". So it does take away a lot of the confusion from new users. It feels far more integrated.
To be honest, I'd say Linspire is somewhat easier for a new user. But they would likely be quite at home using Ubuntu, especially after becoming familiar with Linux.
Cyric Zndovzny at your service.
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
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...
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.
thats because the server is probably in New Orleans.
FragHARD or don't frag at all
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."
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.
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.
From what I understand, the confusion between Lindows and Windows was hypothetical. Microsoft took them to court over the possibility that it would confuse the user.
In this case, it was actually confusing users. If you read the old Freespire site, the author explains the confusions that were going on and why he decided to change the name. There was no force from Linspire to change the name.
Web Design Tips
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.
Since the servers are pretty much crawling already, here's a link to the torrent
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.
The apt-get sources is still commented out in 5.0, but points to the standard Debian repositories. Two seconds in vi (ten in emacs) and you're in business if you can't find twenty bucks.
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!
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)