Freespire Operating System

  Freespire is a community-driven, Debian-based desktop Linux operating system that combines the best that free, open source software has to offer (community driven, freely distributed, open source code, etc.), but also provides users the choice of including proprietary codecs, drivers and applications as they see fit.

Freedom of Choice

 Freespire believes that each individual should be free to choose what software is installed on their computer, with no limitations or restrictions placed on that choice. How you choose to maximize the performance of your computer is entirely up to you. (Please note that the following messages pertain to the regular version of Freespire, and not all of the features listed will apply to Freespire's OSS Edition.) 

Free Marketplace

 Freespire provides a "free marketplace" for any and all Linux software, including proprietary, open source, free, and commercial products. As with any free market, all vendors are "free" to participate and offer their wares, and the buyer is "free" to choose from the different wares without limitations or restrictions on their choice.

 

Easy yet Powerful

 Freespire believes technology does not need to be complicated to be powerful. Freespire strives through new and innovative thinking to find ways to keep the operating system secure, stable and powerful for developers and sophisticated Linux devotees, yet easy enough for someone new to Linux. 

File Compatibility

To interoperate with Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh computers, Freespire is designed to be completely "out-of-the-box" compatible with all of the popular Internet, office suite and media file types found in computing today, including doc, xls, ppt, mp3, avi, pdf, swf, mpg, wmv, jav, and many more.



Multimedia Support

Freespire comes pre-loaded and ready to support MP3, Real, QuickTime, Windows Media, Java, Flash, and more. No more hunting around, buying, licensing and then installing all the different multimedia support software. Everything is already licensed and ready to run, with optional DVD support just a click away with CNR.



Plug-N-Play Hardware Support

 

Freespire provides the most extensive hardware support available for desktop Linux, including drivers from ATI, nVidia, Intel, and others. Thousands of peripherals are supported without requiring the messy installation of drivers or other software. Just plug in the device and go. You can even keep your drivers up-to-date automatically with CNR's Update Service or apt.


Wireless Networking

 

Freespire supports the latest 802.11b and 802.11g wireless networking. Customizable profiles let you effortlessly shift between home, work and other networks without bothering with any messy configuration screens.

 

Security

 

 
Based on Linux, Freespire is inherently very stable and secure from viruses, spyware and other malicious software delivered over the Internet. Freespire defaults to user login (not root) and also comes pre-configured with a strict, built-in firewall for additional protection.


 

CNR Service

 

CNR is a one-click digital software delivery service for desktop Linux applications, libraries and packages.The CNR Service allows you to easily download hundreds of the most popular software programs for your Freespire computer with a graphical interface offering one-click installing, uninstalling and updating. If preferred, Freespire users may also use apt-get to freely install programs from the CNR Warehouse or other software repositories.


 

CNR Warehouse

 

The CNR Warehouse is a digital library of thousands of software programs for your Freespire computer. To help you find the best software for home or office, you'll find charts, searches, screenshots, descriptions, user reviews, and specifications for each program. When you find a program you like, just use CNR to automatically download and install the new software on your computer with just one click.

Click N Buy

 

Using CNR, Freespire users not only have access to thousands of free, open source software programs, but also to dozens of commercial software products available to purchase at discounted prices, such as StarOffice, DVD Player, Win4Lin, Transgaming's Cedega, Codeweaver's CrossOver Office, MyBooks, fonts, games, and more.

CNR Update Notification

 

The CNR Service will flash an icon on your desktop to notify you anytime an update is available to any of the software you have on your computer. This keeps not only your operating system up to date, but also any applications you have installed. 

 

CNR Aisles

 

Using CNR "aisles" you can create specialized groupings of programs from the Warehouse, allowing you to install multiple software programs with just ONE mouse click. Create as many Aisles as you wish and use them to set up new computers exactly the way you want with just one click, in essence, creating your very own, personal OS experience.



My.Linspire

 

CNR users can find their personalized account information page at My.Linspire.com. This page provides access to your unique account information, software programs installed via CNR, support forums and more. You can easily download and run software you have previously installed at any time, even on other computers.



Support Options

 

Have a question? Visit http://freespire.org/support anytime, 24-hours per day, for free access to information on the Freespire Wiki and Community Forums and other support options.



Customize Your Desktop

 

Freespire lets you easily change your system settings at any time with its easy-to-use Control Center, allowing you to make the perfect desktop that's just right for you. You can customize unique desktops for different users on the same computer.



Connect to the Internet

 

Freespire provides all the tools and simple-to-use Wizards to let you quickly and easily connect to the Internet using dial-up, DSL, WiFi, Cable, and Broadband connections to ensure Freespire supports the most popular ISP providers.

Internet Suite

 

 
Once connected to the web, Freespire's specialized versions of Firefox and Thunderbird provide all you'll need for web browsing and email. Of course, you can always install a different browser or email program from the CNR Warehouse using CNR or apt-get. Freespire even provides a utility for switching which browser and email client you wish as your system-wide default.

In-line Spell Checking

In-line spell checking in email, web browsing, instant messaging, etc., is just one example of the innovative features you'll find designed into Freespire. Whether you're posting to a forum, editing a wiki in your browser, drafting an email, or IMing with friends, the suggested words with correct spelling will instantly appear.

 

Freespire Community

 

Freespire is a community-driven project. We invite you to get involved and help with Freespire in whatever way suits your time and talents. Everyone is welcome to participate, whether doing development work, helping with translations, providing graphics or help documentation, supporting other users, or simply spreading the word about Freespire.

Freely Share It!

 

The best things in life are meant to be shared, and Freespire is no exception. Freespire is always made available for free use, distribution and modification, now and forever, so spread it around! To learn how to make as many copies of the Freespire CD as you like, and pass them out to friends and family, visit www.linspire.com/shareit.



Free Internet Calling

 

 
The popular Gizmo VOIP software lets you talk to your friends all over the world for free. You won't have to pay long-distance phone charges. Call computer-to-computer, set up conference calls and check voicemail - all at no charge. Or you can "Call Out" to offline telephones for as little as a penny per minute, and automatic account creation makes Gizmo a snap to set up.



Lsongs

 

Lsongs is Linspire's open source, all-in-one music manager built-in to Freespire and ready to help you rip your favorite music, organize it, play it, sync it to portable players such as the iPod, and burn it to your own music mix CDs. Lsongs provides everything you need to easily manage and enjoy your music collection.



Lphoto

 

Freespire includes Linspire's Lphoto, the best open-sourced, all-in-one photo manager available for Linux. Import, organize, edit, crop, enhance, and share photos from hundreds of plug-n-play supported digital cameras. Even use your photos as a screensaver, create a web page and make video CDs.



Nvu

 

The complete web authoring system for Freespire users, Linspire's open-source Nvu rivals other expensive programs such as FrontPage and Dreamweaver. Nvu makes creating web pages a snap and then using its built-in ftp file manager, allows you to publish your web pages with just one click.



OpenOffice.org

Be more productive with Freespire's pre-installed version of OpenOffice.org, the office software suite which includes Microsoft file-compatible word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software so you can easily read and share documents.



Audio Assist Tutorials

 

Freespire's Audio Assist Tutorials are designed to help those new to Linux or Freespire quickly learn how to get the most out of their computer. Once you're running Freespire, you can use CNR or apt to install these easy-to-follow, voice-narrated tutorials to walk you through, step-by-step, things like setting up your email, connecting to the Internet, networking, and much more.



Instant Messaging

 

Stay in touch with all your friends using Freespire's version of the GAIM Instant Messenger. GAIM supports AOL, AIM, Yahoo, MSN, and other messaging networks, and includes plenty of advanced features such as tabs, chat rooms and buddy notification.

 

Freespire 2.0 begins with Ubuntu (Version 7.04) as its baseline and then adds software from six broad categories, further expanding Freespire's capabilities:

1. CNR Plugin provides free one-click access to thousands of open source applications, as well as options for legally licensed DVD playback software, Sun's StarOffice, Parallels Workstation, Win4Lin, CodeWeaver's Crossover Office, TransGaming's Cedega, commercial games and many more.
2. KDE is added for an easier-to-use and more comfortable interface, with a familiar look & feel for Apple Mac and Microsoft Windows users.
3. Enhanced applications and features are added for enhanced usability and ease of use, modifying software applications like Firefox and Thunderbird, along with adding Linspire-sponsored open source software like Nvu, Lsongs and Lphoto.
4. Proprietary software is added when necessary, like Java, Flash and Adobe Acrobat, to provide overall increased interoperability.
5. Proprietary codecs are added to expand multimedia compatibility and provide a superior overall experience so users can listen to MP3 files, play Windows Media files, and much more.
6. Proprietary drivers are added to expand hardware compatibility and provide optimum 3D graphic card support, better WiFi support, and more.