A new Linux recommendation

[jack at coats.org (Jack Coats)]

>From what I can tell, Linspire is reallly an attack at Windows (Thus its 
origional name Lindows).  People there are used to paying for stuff, and 
compared to the price of Windows and the stuff it takes to make it useful, 
Linspire is still OK.  The CRN (basily a subscription software shopping cart 
with automatic install) is OK.  Cheaper than buying Windows software off the 
shelf, and you can install it over the net.  Linspire sucks for folks with 
just dialup (that is where I am for now).

With some more work in UBUNTU on the installer and possibly on a method to 
help with the shopping and selection of sofware (and its install with all 
prerequisite and co-requsisite software) it could hit the same audience.

---------- Original Message -----------
From: "Mark J. Dulcey" <mark at buttery.org>
To: Nicholas Bodley <nbodley at speakeasy.net>
Sent: Thu, 06 Oct 2005 22:46:43 -0400
Subject: Re: A new Linux recommendation

> Nicholas Bodley wrote:
> 
> > Although some might scorn it, Linspire is at least worth knowing about, 
> > imho. If you need to locate a low-cost Linux box, start at the Linspire 
> > Web site. I have a Wintergreen Linspire box from TigerDirect that is 
> > waiting for me to get my place in order.
> 
> Linspire may be worth knowing about, because it has some buzz 
> outside the traditional Linux community. But I'm underwhelmed by the 
> actual product. One big downside is that it's licensed on a per-
> machine basis, so it's not the best choice for a no-budget 
> operation. (If you buy a copy of Linspire as an individual, you can 
> install it on all the computers you own. But if you buy one for an 
> organization, you can install it on only one system.) Its main claim 
> to fame is the Click-And-Run Warehouse (CNR), which requires an 
> additional subscription fee.
> 
> As for the distro itself, it's nothing special. It's based on Debian,
>  and shares many of its merits, but aside from CNR, doesn't bring 
> much to the table other than a graphical installer. If you don't buy 
> CNR, you don't get updates, not even for security issues, and the 
> updates aren't all that fresh in any case.
> 
> One advantage of Linspire is that they have had some success at 
> getting computer manufacturers to make low-cost systems that come 
> with the OS pre-installed. Unfortunately, they haven't had much 
> success at getting them to move it up the food chain; all you can 
> find easily are bottom-of-the-barrel systems.
> 
> All in all, I think Ubuntu is a much better choice for the kind of 
> users that Linspire is aiming for. The price is right, and updates 
> are more timely. The installer isn't as pretty, but the finished 
> result looks at least as good. 
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------- End of Original Message -------