Freespire 2.0 released with proprietary mix-in
Who says nothing in life is free?
Linspire announced Wednesday it has released Freespire 2.0, its latest, free version of the Linux operating system for desktops.
But there's one twist. This version of the open-source software throws the possibility of adding proprietary software, drivers and codecs from other vendors in the mix.
Think of it like adding sugar-free Splenda to your morning coffee, only to find there's actually a dash of sugar in the powdery substance to make it taste better.
Linspire is using Ubuntu 7.04 as its baseline and offering software from six categories, some of which will include proprietary software.
"Freespire 2.0 picks up where Ubuntu leaves off by adding proprietary software, drivers and codecs, to make for a more complete turn-key solution for mainstream desktop computing," Larry Kettler, Linspire's chief executive, said a statement.
In addition, Freespire 2.0 includes a Click-n-Run (CNR) plug-in for the upcoming CNR Service. The CNR Service is designed to give people access thousands of open-source applications with one click.
The CNR Service will also let people access legally licensed DVD playback software, Sun Microsystems' StarOffice, Parallels Workstation, Win4Lin, CodeWeaver's Crossover Office, TransGaming's Cedega, commercial games and others.
Other software inside Freespire 2.0 include KDE, which is designed to improve the interface for both Mac and Windows users. The proprietary software that can be added includes Java, Flash and Acrobat.
Maybe Linspire will next find a way to cook up a real sugar-substitute.
Dawn Kawamoto covers enterprise security and financial news relating to technology for CNET News. E-mail Dawn. 
Good idea.
It sounds like, with other Linux distributions, Linux Religion comes first, and user convenience comes last.
- This is NOT free
- by ewilts August 8, 2007 9:51 AM PDT
- The philosophy behind Linux is "free as in speech" as opposed to "free as in beer". Although Freespire may be "free as in beer", by including proprietary components, it's no longer "free as in speech".
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- Why does it have to be "Free as in Speech"
- by harperjm--2008 August 8, 2007 10:05 AM PDT
- Can't it just be "free as in beer" like you said. It's more useful to me as a free and legal product than as a way to demonstrate freedom of speech. I can think of many free and useful products and services that I'm happy with that are protected works. This web site, I believe, is one of them.
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- Tomato, Tomatoe
- by thedreaming August 8, 2007 11:51 AM PDT
- Did you pay for the download? No? Then it was free. Why are you complaining about something that costs you nothing? Who cares whether the components are proprietary or not, so long as they work and no one sends me a bill, I'm happy.
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- Oh Noes...
- by SeizeCTRL August 8, 2007 12:02 PM PDT
- Wow, this is just sad.
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- Free + Free
- by arluthier August 8, 2007 12:16 PM PDT
- As in Beer and Speech!
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(8 Comments)Just because you don't have to pay for it doesn't make it free. You're giving up your freedom and you don't have the same rights with the proprietary components as you do with the open source components.
This doesn't make it a bad product - it just doesn't make it free.
When it comes to drivers, I might prefer the manufacturer driver to that of an open source. Where is the harm in that?
The fact that it contains non-open source drivers does not make it any more or less free than open source counterparts.
The best thing Linux can do right now is make the whole user experience easier and more enjoyable... else it risks staying in the back server rooms and will never be taken serious as a desktop OS by the mass market.
If you want it free (beer) and you want it free (speech) just go to the dang website and look! There is a version of it that is proprietary free.
http://wiki.freespire.org/index.php/Download_Freespire#Freespire_OSS_Edition
Some people just aren't happy no matter what.