First Impressions of Freespire 1.0

Nate writes "Freespire 1.0 was released a few days ago, taking the desktop-oriented Linspire distribution and making it freely available (as in beer) to the world. Linux Format has some first impressions of the release, focusing on its much-trumpeted media playback facilities thanks to codec licensing. Flash, Java, DVD and WMV support out-the-box — could this climb to the top of the desktop distro ladder?"

Comments

Time will tell

[suggsjc]

Flash, Java, DVD and WMV support out-the-box

Maybe a good start, but it will take a lot more than that to

climb to the top of the desktop distro ladder

Granted I would think that Linux users are more likely to try different flavors, but to really get to the top takes a lot of time and effort. Slashvertisements might get a couple people to jump, but rises in distros are probably a more organic thing that happens from a solid product (think Ubuntu).

Re:Time will tell

[dsginter]

That's all great but can you tell me the easiest method of getting Ubuntu up to speed with all the codecs, DVD-playback, flash, et cetera... LEGALLY?

The available scripts out there (Automatix, EasyUbuntu, etc) are not legal in the United States thanks to the patent quagmire. This preempts the use of the distribution in a large way (e.g. - most businesses simply can't afford to break the law, no matter how wrong it is).

That said, I *would* like a suggestion to this issue. I'd really like to get up and running on Linux legally. Freespire seems appealing in this respect.

Re:Time will tell

[MrZaius]

The available scripts out there (Automatix, EasyUbuntu, etc) are not legal in the United States thanks to the patent quagmire. This preempts the use of the distribution in a large way (e.g. - most businesses simply can't afford to break the law, no matter how wrong it is).

How many businesses in the US actually care so much about MP3 and DVD support that they'd choose an OS based on it? Flash support is readily available as a browser plugin, and easily installed even without the aforementioned scripts. That's the only thing that could possibly be considered relevant for business users, and even that's a little iffy.

Distro ladder

[dhasenan]

"could this climb to the top of the desktop distro ladder?"

Not without geek support, too. And Linspire has a poor reputation currently--no telling how long it will be before that goes away.

Still, it looks like at least a typical distribution for quality, though the boot times are somewhat worrying. (Four to five minutes? That's running full hardware detection each time, by the look of it--that's how long the Ubuntu installer takes, IIRC.) Still, that can be solved; the question is whether geeks think it's worth it to have proprietary codecs by default rather than simply apt-getting them. (And if they do, we'll soon see an alternative Ubuntu installer that does just that.)

Re:Umm no

[discord5]

At work, my machine is on 24/7, and reboots only when it has to. At home however, I pay the electricity bill, and there is no real use in leaving the thing on 24/7. Uptime is nice to brag about if you don't have to pay for it.

Re:Got root? (Flamebait)

[bigredradio]

Flamebait anyone? This has not been an issue for a while. You have always been able to create users. I think most people reading slashdot do not get the concept behind freespire or linspire for that matter. It is about switching users from windows. If you say, install Ubuntu and go back and try to find a repository online and add to synaptic or apt-get. Then install a the proper codecs. The first thing they will say is, what is a codec? What is a repository? Where is apt-get? They just want to install something that works. They are not hobbyists. These users could care less if they run as root. They don't know what root is. I get sick and tired of people bringing up non-issues for "joe six-pack". Having to go elsewhere for codecs to be able to play mp3s/DVDs/Flash IS an issue fro joe six-pack. I think most of the animosity comes from the fact that freespire and linspire are distros that do NOT cater to YOU!!!