Linux Distribution Choices, Choosing your flavor

I changed the topic of this thread to something a little more general.
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You might want to see what your options are on cell phone network hardware. Linux compatibility is best when used with the most common devices. That way there is a greater likelihood that someone has written drivers for it. There are too many cases where Windows drivers exist but drivers for Linux do not.

As for Wubi, I tried it last week to install Ubuntu 8.04 on my Q6600 quad core pc. I was expecting a virtual system running under Windows. What I got was a dual boot setup with all the Linux OS files existing inside a Windows folder.

Otherwise, Ubuntu acts as though it is installed on it's own partition. Wubi is not much more than a drive partition emulator. A dual boot manager is still in place at power up. You select which operating system to load as with a normal multi OS installation.

The only advantage to installing with Wubi is that you get to leave the entire hard drive formatted in a Windows friendly partition scheme and you are able to uninstall the entire Linux operating system from within Windows. There weren't as many bells and whistles as I had expected but Wubi is still well worth the trouble if you like what it has to offer.

My problem with Linux, is that I am still on dial-up, and from what I can see, it makes matters much more difficult.
I am thinking about using my cell phone for internet service. I have to buy Alltel's connectivity kit ( a program on disc, and a usb cable ), and add the service for $25 a month. I was wondering if it would be Linux friendly.
- Jamie
P.S. Haven't started using WUBI yet. I will soon though.

I have Wubi downloaded ( I found out about it a couple of months ago ). I have a copy of Ubuntu 7.10 on disc ( no way I can download it on my internet connection ), at least Wubi will detect the disc, and install from there.
I have to make some more room on my 40 gig hard drive, I am going to remove some of my music, so I can install both.

No, I had not heard of Wubi until you asked about it here. I read over the website and it sounds like a great product, definitely worth a mention in the 535 podcast. I'll test drive it first and see how it works on my newer desktop system.

It looks like a way to have our cake and eat it too...no pesky dual boot. I have learned that when you dual boot Ubuntu, some command line editing of the Grub boot loader is required to put Windows back at the top of the boot list.

Using Wubi will bypass that. It's seems like it's running Linux as a virtual machine, and that may indeed be how it works. I will definitely check it out. Thanks!

I never installed Linspire. I still have my other computers in storage, and do want to make a Linux only PC.
I am planning on installing Wubi & Ubuntu on this PC. Do you have any experience with Wubi?

Thanks.
- Jamie

Linspire was ok for what it was. I have since moved on to Ubuntu but hated the default color scheme, login, GUI so I switched to Kubuntu. I was already used to the KDE desktop environment.

Kubuntu is not quite as polished as Ubuntu, but does have easy access to the excellent Unbutu resources repository. I was forced to do some console command line input to get everything working right....heaven forbid....it's Linux !!!

How'd this work out for you?
I wasn't aware of this offer ( I've been out of touch for a while ).
I've just ordered the newest free copy of Ubuntu, and am interested in trying it out. I have a renewed interest in Linux now. Although, I want to keep it simple for now.

Looking for "Freespire" (a free copy of Linspire)?
You've come to the right place...

"Freespire" was the term Andrew Betts gave to a private project he had been working on. The project comprised various open source components, taken from the freely available source repository for the Linspire operating system. Somehow his project got submitted to distrowatch.com as a bona-fide Linux distribution. Andrew found himself confronted with a great deal of confusion surrounding the project, so he quickly changed the name to avoid further misunderstandings. (You can read more about this project at http://freespire.org.)

Andrew's project highlights the spirit of open source software, and it encourages discussion, development, and so on around Linux, which is always a good thing. Linspire completely supports the GPL and the spirit of open source, so projects like this highlight the value and dynamic of the GPL and open source. Linspire has no problem with anyone using the open source code from our operating system – in fact we applaud such projects.

The name Freespire, however, did create some confusion in the short time it was used. The name implies a "free" copy of Linspire, which of course it is not. The very things that were taken out of Linspire for Andrew's project are in fact some of the very things that make Linspire, well...Linspire. One of the main differences between Linspire and other Linux distros (Mandriva, Ubuntu, MEPIS, etc.) is that Linspire does include a lot of legal and paid-for 3rd-party licenses for things like mp3, Java, Flash, Quick Time, Windows Media, Bitstream fonts, Real media, music, etc., and this is all pre-loaded, tested and ready to use. Take all that away and you don't have Linspire, you have something more like other Linux distros. So you see, the term Freespire (free + Linspire) is actually an oxymoron and would be a term like VanillaChocolateCake, where you take out all the chocolate.
Andrew has decided to change the name of his project to 'squiggle' to avoid any confusion.

The only true "Freespire," would need to be a FREE COPY of the real LINSPIRE. We thought it would be fun, for all of those who were looking at this project to experience a true "Freespire", to give away a free digital copy of Linspire for a few days! This is actually a great way to highlight what it is that makes Linspire special and unique, and different from other Linux distributions.

For the next few days, you can obtain a free digital copy of Linspire by following the instructions below.

Hurry! This truly "free” Linspire offer ends September 6th, 2005!

Get It NOW

Step 1: Redeem the Coupon
Click the “Get it Now” button above
Click on "Order" button for Linspire Five-0
Click the "Buy Digital" button
Click the "Apply Coupon" button in the shopping cart
Enter "freespire" (without the quotes) and click the "Update" and "Continue" buttons
Check out of the shopping cart
Create a My.Linspire account

Step 2: Download the Software
Click on the My Products>CD Downloads menu on the left side of the screen
Select the ISO you want to download from our servers or via BitTorrent (Linspire Five-0)
Download it to your hard disk, then burn an installation CD using any modern CD-burning software (e.g. Nero, K3B)
Once you've got the install CD, you'll be able to run Linspire from that CD without installing to a hard drive (we call this running in "Live CD" mode), or you can install to a partition.
If you need further assistance, please see http://linspire.com/installhelp


I just did it and downloading my copy right now for free. Make sure you follow the steps above, no credit card or anything needed.