Linspire 5-0: Surprisingly capable Linux desktop OS

I was happy to find that everything worked out of the box.  Picture, sound, everything.  That was not the case with previous versions.  What really amazed me was that Linspire 5-0 not only knew I had a Wi-Fi card in my laptop, but it had it working before I told it the name of my wireless network. This is a first for any Linux distribution I’ve ever played with.

During the test period, 5-0 has behaved wonderfully.  Even on my older laptop, Linspire is speedy and solid. I like a few of the programs that come with 5-0 including Lphoto (a digital camera/photo manager), Lsongs (a media player, Internet radio, media player), Nvu (for Web authoring) and the multi-format instant messaging software, which also lets you test Linspire’s PhoneGaim VoIP telephone service.

Linspire Linspire 5-0's desktop shows their CNR software warehouse.

Linspire 5-0 still features the wonderful, optional CNR (Click and Run) software downloading warehouse.  For a yearly subscription price, you can download and try hundreds of software titles that automatically install on your computer with one click of the mouse. It also keeps track of any software updates and invites you to download them.  There are also some pay-for software titles on CNR like Star Office 7, VirusSafe and SurfSafe (for parents and kids).

The only thing I would warn potential users about is when you first install Linspire you are directed to log in to the administrator account on your computer. To prevent serious computer screw-ups, you should follow the instructions at the bottom of the log-in screen to create another account for yourself (and one for other users) for your everyday computing.  Leave the administrator’s account only for when you need to adjust the operating system.

The digital version of 5-0 sells for $49.95 or $89.95 with a one year CNR subscription.  The boxed version of Linspire will sells for ten dollars more ($59.95/$99.95) at more than a thousand retailers nationwide later this month.

Linspire is becoming a very good, very slick operating system for PCs.  If you don’t need to run Microsoft Windows or Apple’s OS X for work or other reasons (say, if you own an iPod), Linspire 5-0 is quite capable of handling many of your computing needs.  It would be my first choice among the many brands of Linux for non-power users. I can’t wait to see what Linspire will do for version 6.

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