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Linspire Releases Controversial Version 6.0
christian.einfeldt writes "Today, Linspire releases version 6.0, its first new GNU/Linux distro in more than two years. With version 6.0, Linspire is betting that its business model of including licenses for proprietary software and formats such as Quicktime, Windows Media Player, Flash, Real, and Microsoft OOXML will win enough market share among mainstream Apple and Microsoft users to offset the backlash from opponents of proprietary software and formats. Version 6.0 also includes the highly controversial Microsoft patent coverage that has incited wide-reaching negative press coverage in the Free Open Source Software press, forums and blogosphere. But from Linspire's perspective, it's all about those new GNU/Linux users. '"Today we continue the Linspire tradition by offering the choice of a better overall experience for users new to desktop Linux,'" said Larry Kettler, President and CEO of Linspire, Inc. "Linspire 6.0 further bridges the gap between open source and commercial software, combining the best from each into a single easy-to-use, familiar and productive operating system."'"
Right here? This is me not purchasing it. :)
bork bork bork!
Didn't Mandriva just do the same - by default the download includes Nvidia drivers and PDF etc?
http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/09/1757214
liqbase
So the product is controversial because they worked with other companies (who may not be RMS's version of Open Source Advocates) to create a product that will work well with other systems and try to give features that Customers want. Life is sometimes a lot better when you decide to work with the system other then fighting it all the time. ... are not the enemies they are competitors. There is a difference between the two. Competitors you can work together for a common goal enemies you can't. Microsoft and Apple are willing to work with Linux distribution makers if they realize they can benefit from it. The Linux Zealots who have make Microsoft their enemy have loss out on a chance to expand what they can do.
There is a common misconception that everyone needs to change the world, for most people they just want to get by. Without the Morality of it all Linux is a Good OS not great but good, and technically not worth all the zealotry. So for the majority of people who needs a Good OS that is inexpensive Linux is a good option if they need to pay some price for a distribution to get improved compatibility so they can get along with their lives easer then all the better.
Microsoft, Apple,
So if I can now go to a web site and view Quicktime and Microsoft Format then all the better and if it is supported my Microsoft then there is a better chance (not complete) that the next version wont entirely kick me out).
Being a constant activist really wares people down and actually makes them miserable people. Where if you can work within the system you will feel better and probably get more good done.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
I've never used Linspire, but in terms of licensing file formats such as Quicktime and Windows Media, I think they're on the right track. People want an OS that works out of the box, and that includes media tasks. If it doesn't the average user has very little patience to make it work right.
They use to be Lindows. Until Microsoft sued them for their name.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Why no ment6ion of freespire? http://www.freespire.org/
Exactly. If you can't beat em...
You are not what you own.
I install Linux over Windows about once every three or four weeks for friends. One of the first things to do is add mp3 support, and also ATI or nVidia support if need be. This used to be a hassle with Fedora, so I switched to installing Kubuntu. Now, this may make our lives even easier. How many Linux installs get MP3, DVD, or other proprietary support installed anyway? Why should we bash a company that is willing to include it from the get-go. I'll look into the non-OSS version of Freespire this evening, RMS be damned.
It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
Except Lindows DID beat them, in the sense that Microsoft would've ended up losing 'Windows' if it went to trial. The rename was part of a deal they hashed out. I forget the rest of the details.
It's probably on the Wiki page if you care enough. I don't.
I know it's an oft-repeated argument, about whether or not to put the GNU/ on that product or platform. But extending the usual meme slightly may shed some new light on that debate. I'm just hoping it won't produce flame instead.
Linspire isn't just Linux. It's not even just GNU/Linux. Some might call it GNU/Apache/Qt/Linux/etc. Now it's GNU/Apache/Qt/Microsoft/Adobe/Real/Linux/etc. Pretty soon, your "free software" is going to have more corporate badges than a brand new laptop.
[
As simple as that. 99% of my Linux hassles is with proprietary, closed crap. Open stuff tends to Just Work after reading the friendly manual.
'Once scientists, even the dim-witted social scientists, get muzzled, the Western Civilization is finished.' - oldhack
Then a bigger problem was Linspire itself was poo. It had many broken parts, and their much-hyped CNR didn't offer anything that users wanted. But you did get a genuine, time-wasting infuriating Windows-like experience with bales of crapware, nagware, and trialware that just wouldn't shut up and go away.
To make matters worse, Carmony badmouthed FOSS principles and deliberately misstated the meaning of "free" in free software when he released Freespire. I know, the word "free" meaning "libre" is problematic anyway, and Carmony made it worse. He pretty much spit on the very community that made it possible for Linspire to exist.
So. Maybe a new CEO will make it all better. Time will tell.
we will end no whine before its time
Microsoft is willing to work with ANY Linux distribution that will sign an agreement to the effect that they are including Microsoft "property" in their release.
You might want to look at Ballmer's latest words about suing Red Hat users.
There are some people out there who do not WANT Linux.
They want free (as in beer) Microsoft Windows. But that takes too many words so they simply (and incorrectly) say "Linux". But what they really mean is "free (as in beer) Microsoft Windows".
Linux is not Microsoft Windows.
Linux is about Freedom (as in speech). But many people (and they are very vocal) do not want Freedom. They want "free" (as in beer) versions of proprietary apps to play proprietary content for "free" (again, as in beer) in proprietary formats.
"Microsoft, Apple, ... are not the enemies they are competitors. There is a difference between the two. Competitors you can work together for a common goal enemies you can't. Microsoft and Apple are willing to work with Linux distribution makers if they realize they can benefit from it. The Linux Zealots who have make Microsoft their enemy have loss out on a chance to expand what they can do."
I would suggest you to read up on the Halloween documents so you'll see how 'friendly' M$ is.
Patents Drive Free Software as Hurricanes Drive Construction Industry
Life is sometimes a lot better when you decide to work with the system other then fighting it all the time.
No! Commercial software is the equivalent of an innovation tar pit. You are pretending there is some kind of peaceful coexistence when no such thing exists in commercial software. They made an old movie with a fairy tale ending that illustrates the reality. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031679/
Unless you like paying more for communicating less with others, you will reconsider your position.
Linux is a Good OS not great but good, and technically not worth all the zealotry.
As a sysadmin, Linux is heads and shoulders above windows. Transparent, logical, flexible while remaining secure. The same cannot be said for a Win32 server. Auditing? Very limited and cryptic. Logging? Cryptic and inflexible. Secure? Who knows! Flexible? Certainly not as delivered. Don't get me started on the when the myriad of license limits kick in.
Is Linux the best tool for every job? No. Please take this opportunity to establish a little more objectivity.
Got Trader Joe's? friendwich.com RSS feeds work now!
This is great. The first thing I do when I setup a new Windows/Mac/Linux machine is to install all the standard stuff that nobody includes. Ex:
... ...
Windows: WinAmp, XVID, FireFox...
Mac: Flip4Mac, VLC, DIVX,
Linux: MP3 support for XMMS, Video drivers,
I understand why Linux distros can't install this stuff. It requires licenses, and the OS is free.
But I would gladly pay $50 for a distro that had this. Most end-users would too (many of them pay me far more than that for time it takes me to do it manually). The Slashdot editorial ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hheadline makes it sounds like Linspire paid for a Novell-like or SCO-like patent license. That isn't what the press release says. It says they included some codecs.
Every year is supposed to be the year of "Linux on the desktop" yet whenever an article comes out about Linspire trying to make that happen, all the geeks jump on them like they are awful. Linspire is trying to make Linux easy and friendly and a pretty package. Yes, they rebranded RPM/DEB modules as "click-and-run" Yes, they pay licenses for stuff so you don't have to download it. They provide a service to the end-user, and we should be happy for every new Linux user who installs it and says "Hey, this is really great! It has everything I need" instead of complaining and making them look like Microsoft's evil twin brother.
And they're going to sue Linux users because of patent infringements. Could just as well have been trying to keep up appearances after paying off some startup Linux company.
The rest of the deal was Microsoft paying $20 mil to Linspire and Linspire giving MS the Lindows trademark. I did end up getting curious.
I guess this post will be voted down into ovlidium. Anyway, I have to say this:
I've been using Linspire since their first beta (when they were called Lindows). It was a pretty decent distro, like a "moderm Debian, with KDE as default desktop manager". It had the "problem" with the root issue, but there was anything that prevented root to switch to a standard non privileged user. Lets go to today situation. This version is based in Ubuntu (instead of Debian), so it starts with all feature most Linux users wants (since Ubuntu is without dispute, the #1 Linux distro). Most people I know install over Ubuntu the "automatix" or some script to install Flash, JAVA and all codecs 99% desktop people use (remeber that a base Ubuntu installation don't even play mp3). I also use Ubuntu in another machine (have 2 notebooks and 1 server), but I bought a HP Pavillon dv5000 (Turion 64 model) and Freespire was the only distro that recognized the wifi card out of the box. You can make it work with Ubuntu and the Windows drivers, after following a 3 page step by step guide. I love Linux and love learning, but there is a moment when I want to do samething else than working for my computer.
The main difference now in Ubuntu and Linspire is the Linpire is defaulted to KDE instead of Gnome. CNR (Click and Run) is another important difference, but I guess Ubuntu will have day in the future).
So from a technical perspective, Linspire now is not so bad (in my opinion, it is even better, but this is debatable).
From a legal perspective, Linspire did a deal with MS not to promote MS claims on their patents as most people says, they did it to protect their clients (they are a commercial distro) and they use this fact to sell security (buy our distro, you won't be sued as some non computer companies were sued by SCO). From a commercial view, it was a smart move. I would like to see Canonical and Red Hat what they will do when MS lawyers go for them.
Regarding open source, Linspire did a lot contributions like Gizmo, Nvu, Lphoto and now the CNR (cnr.com), they are all open source (not just free). But the most important contribution is Freespire 2.0 (www.freespire.org) that it has also most of the propietary codecs, but without the Linspire brand (for what is worth).
IMHO, Linspire doesn't deserve to be treated as it were the LinuxOne stock scam (remember 1999?).
DNA in your Linux: DNALinux
Linux is NOT "free-as-in-beer Microsoft Windows" nor was it designed to be.
Correct, but confusing
People want something that works, is easy, and is not expensive. Linux (the kernel) doesn't really care about whats going on in userland. Linux ( the Gnu/Linux Distros) can be windows like and Lindows/Linspire specifically was designed to be. Most aren't, but you cant really say that Debian is somehow more linux than Suse, Ubuntu, or even And thats cool. No moral or ethical violations need occur.
Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
Msft strives to be antagonistic to everybody, especially msft customers. Maybe you're not away of msft's long criminal history?
Msft claims that linux violates msft patents. Why doesn't msft put up or shut up? Msft has been making these specious claims for years. Logically, if msft had evidence, then msft would present it. Unless it's just another msft fud campaign. Right?
Msft has been caught red-handed in *numerous* outright lies and scams: how about bald face lying to the US-DoJ?
How about outright stealling stacker technoloy? How about the letters from dead people campaigns? How about fronting with fake think-tanks? How about astro-turfing with a letters-from-dead-people campaign? How about the obvious corruption in the OOXML scam? How about paying another company many millions to have that company file a totally bogus lawsuit against IBM, just to FUD Linux. How about bogus benchmarks, and bogus TCO studies. Please, name another major software company that does all that.
He changed the license from the original. He specifically chose the GPL. It was a conscious decision on his part.
Though not necessarily for the reasons you assume.
Did I say that his goal was "to change the world"? No? I didn't think I did.
Sounds like that was an allusion to 'Linux is about Freedom', which seems an attempt to refute the notion that including closed-source packages with a Linux distro is OK. This was the original point of the thread, correct? There are two problems with this: 1) it puts words in Linus' mouth which his previous statements tends to refute, and 2) it blurs the line between the kernel and the distribution.
From what I can tell, Linus doesn't like including closed-source *drivers* in the kernel because it makes maintenance a nightmare. But that has nothing to do with closed-source *applications*, which I've never heard Linus have a real problem with.
Linus is frequently on record as saying he puts the goal of making top-quality software higher than any political agenda. See any of his many comments against the GPLv3.
I had been prepared to buy Linspire, or at least get their Click&Run service. I do think that the next leg of Linux's path to maturity involves commercial (not necessarily proprietary) software that runs on the Linux platform.
Then I go visit the Linspire web site, listing all the features:
Plug'n'play drivers: yea!
Multimedia support: yea!
Respects Microsoft IP: --WHAT!??
Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me. Linspire's been having sex with Microsoft.
Oh, well. Was nice knowing you. I'll stick to (k)Ubuntu, myself.
404555974007725459910684486621289147856453481154 in hex is "You sank my Battleship?"
[GPG key in journal]
Quicktime is absolutely, 100% non-proprietary at this point... h.264, MPEG-4 (ASP), AAC, MP3, are all open standards. They require patent license fees, but so do most open standards, including the WiFi card your probably using...
Windows Media is at least mostly open, with VC-1 now an SMPTE standard.
Microsoft is working towards standardizing OOXML as well. It's getting a lot of heat for not being entirely free, while ODF is, but that doesn't make it proprietary.
Real also isn't a very good example, with a player having long been provided for free use on any available Linux system.
Of note is that only the Slashdot summary made these mistakes. TFA did not mention these as proprietary. It did incorrectly mention many other open standards as being proprietary: MP3, Java, PDF, Flash, etc. though at least Flash was proprietary in the past. It also confuses proprietary software (closed implementations) eg. Acrobat, and proprietary standards eg. PDF.
Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
Hey, what's the name of that distro Stallman uses again? The one that's '100% Free Software'?
Oh, yeah, UTUTO.(accept phony certificate).
"El Proyecto UTUTO es un proyecto de investigación y desarrollo de tecnología informática de aplicación social, con el objetivo de incentivar y promover la generación y apropiación del conocimiento en los paises en desarrollo, reduciendo la (así llamada) brecha digital entre los países que lideran el desarrollo tecnológico a nivel mundial y aquellos que hasta hoy se limitaban a importar y consumir desarrollos extranjeros.(...) Declarado de Interes Nacional por la Honorable Camara de Diputados de la Nación Argentina" --- HOW-TO-BREED-A-LINUX-HATER-HOWTO.
Main difference between the BSD license and the GPL license: one is from California and the other is from Massachusetts
I was following with great anticipation the release of the next freespire version back in June. Then just before the beta they announced the patent deal. After that I followed the discussions on the freespire boards. A lot of a good people left to http://www.klikit.org/. I stopped following after a while. It was about a 50/50 split between those who were upset and those who were not. Most (and I have seen a lot of this in the comments here) that were not upset seemed to have confused the licensing agreements Linspire had done in the past for codes and such with the current deal that also included patents. Which in the minds of most people crossed a line they hadnt before. This had nothing to do with the user experience or usability.
I liked the idea of legally watching a DVD or listening to an MP3 on Linux a more stable less vulnerable OS. I also liked the idea of having a distro I could recommend that was legal in this regard. You would be surprised how many people get scared when they see a window tell them that by continuing they might by breaking the law.
B5 71 ED FB 55 D6 4E 68 07 25 E2 FA CA 93 F0 2F, is mine! All mine!
So you mean all the people using Linux without buying a distro are going to use their clout as non-paying customers to not buy Linspire too?