We reviewed the 2.0 version which is based on Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn along with additional software from six broad categories:
- CNR Plugin
- KDE
- Enhanced applications and features
- Proprietary software
- Proprietary codecs
- Proprietary drivers
More information about Freespire can be found in the official website or in Wikipedia.
For this review we used our C-1110.
The Live experience
Booting from the Live-CD we just downloaded gives us the choice to directly install Freespire or to start a live session. Since we wanted to have a first impression of this distribution, we choose to go live first and then make the full installation later.
Booting time, from the first screen to the End User License Agreement took four minutes. This is a long time if we compare it with other distributions we reviewed. However, since Freespire does not seem to be a mainly Live-CD OS but instead a desktop replacement, we feel that this time is acceptable.
After the End User License Agreement screen, we must adjust the volume, choose a couple of configuration options and at then, at last, we can see the Freespire desktop.
The first impression is not so great, the selected icon theme, the kicker (main Kde panel) configuration, the cursor theme, unaligned icons on the desktop and the clock configuration feels a little unpolished.
The general performance rather poor. The system reads the CD on every action we made (even when we opened some menus more than one time). The CNR icon on the desktop gave us an error message and session was slow in general. If we were to judge Freespire based on the live session, we would certainly not install it.
Installation
First we choose the keyboard layout, then we have two options: "Take over an entire disk" or "Advanced Install". We choose to take over the entire hard disk. After that, we must give a name to our computer and create a user (Full name, user name and password). After that, we must confirm that the data is correct and then we will have the last chance to cancel the process. We must say that this is the most user friendly and simple install we made and it took no more than 11 minutes.
First boot:
A lot faster than the live session, we found ourselves with the Kdm welcome screen. Again we must accept the End User License Agreement and then again we must adjust the volume; after that, another configuration screen.
Now we can see a "web browser" based on Firefox that takes us directly to the CNR login page.
We must note that the default search engine in the web browser is Live Search and not Google (the usual Firefox search engine).
The web browser has some details to be fixed:
• If we open some page from the desktop icon (like CNR), the splash screen doesn't close until we click on it.
• Opening a new tab means opening a new "home page" and not a blank page.
These details can be easily fixed using about:config, but many users are totally unaware of these configuration options.
Package management
For package management purposes, Freespire has two options:
1. Advanced Packaging Tool or APT: is the package management front-end used by Debian GNU/Linux and its derivatives
2. CNR (Click and Run): is a software distribution service created by Linspire and is based on APT.
APT well known by us. Using this option, we were able to install, for example, Kaffeine.
Then we tried CNR: A wide selection of software is available; one click and Inkscape is installed.
We did not have the same luck when we tried to install Virtualbox: we first needed to install the appropriate kernel modules before we were able to make a successful Virtualbox installation. It seems like CNR was not able to fully manage the dependencies for this package.
Conclusion:
Despite a relatively negative live experience, after installing Freespire to the hard disk, we have found a solid and interesting distribution. Of course, there are some details to be polished, but we find it highly recommendable for new users. The install process is extremely fast and simple; the package management with CNR is the most user friendly we have tested so far.
For experienced users, some customizations may be annoying, but for new users, this is definitely one of the first options to consider.
Links:
Official Website
CNR
End User Licence Agreement
Freespire at Distrowatch
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