Linspire gives Freespire 2.0 a proprietary twist

Dawn Kawamoto CNET News.com

Published: 09 Aug 2007 13:56 BST

Linspire on Wednesday released Freespire 2.0, its latest free version of the Linux operating system for desktops.

But this version of the open-source software throws into the mix the possibility of adding proprietary software, drivers and codecs from other vendors.

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 turnkey solution for mainstream desktop computing," said Larry Kettler, Linspire's chief executive, in a statement.

In addition, Freespire 2.0 includes a click-and-run (CNR) plug-in for the upcoming CNR Service. The CNR Service is designed to give people access to thousands of open-source applications with one click.

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The CNR Service will also let people access legally licensed DVD playback software, Sun's StarOffice, Parallels Workstation, Win4Lin, CodeWeaver's CrossOver Office, TransGaming's Cedega, commercial games and others.

Other software inside Freespire 2.0 includes 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.

Linspire signed a technology pact with Microsoft in June, with some critics saying it's got a bad deal.