Screaming Penguin - Source Does Matter

WindowsBeta gives Linspire "Five-0" a review, and a thumbs up..

Linspire makes the jump from Windows to Linux easy. You will find free replacement applications for most of the popular Windows programs, and it supports most filetypes. The web experience is the same as on Windows. Email and IM is just as easy.

When it comes to applications and file management, linux still has a little way to go. While Linspire has replacement applications for most of the popular applications, the less used applications rarely don't. Also, you will not be able to run the exact same programs as your friends, making suport harder. Linux applications tend to be more advanced and can be more complicated than their windows counterparts.

It's also harder to navigate. While Linspire certainly looks good, its overwhelming graphics make navigating hard at times. Its hard to separate menus and there are almost no borders (And where there is, they are usualy faded).

In general, I would recommend Linspire to users who are interested in testing Linux for the first time.

Linspire has managed to make the best looking, and user friendly Linux distro I have seen so far.

Rating: 9/10

I guess I should feel... something for Linspire, but I don't. I guess if I was really looking for Noob Linux Lycoris seems much nicer and, yes, has a lot less confusing chrome. I do find it interesting, though. While the whole Geek world is talking about Gnome, it's KDE that the "usability" oriented distros go with.

While Ximian and Novell have done a lot for the Linux application space, I still can't help but think the whole of Gnome has been a waste of resources. It was a project formed out of religious zealotry about licenses, all of which are now moot points anyway. Moreover, while I think Mono is really great, the whole "GNOME Technology of the Week" development pattern smells a little... Microsofty to me.