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Chances are that you think Linspire lets you run Windows applications, that you have to run it as root, and that its really not quite a proper Linux.
Wrong, wrong, and wrong.
At LinuxWorld in Boston the week of April 3, CEO Kevin Carmony explained what Linspire Linux is, and isnt, all about.
Carmony said that people are still getting these things wrong. Yes, in the beginning, Linspire had the goal of letting Linux users run Windows applications with Wine, but it dropped that theme years ago.
As for requiring you to run as root, that was, Carmony said, only the case with an early alpha release that was never put in the publics hands.
As for not being a real Linux, thats nonsense, too.
Linspire Five is a Debian-based Linux, and the company itself is a leading member of the DCC Alliance.
But Carmony does admit that Linspire is “something of a black sheep in Linux distributions.”
Thats because Linspires goals arent quite the same as other Linux desktop distributions. The companys sole focus is on a “consumer-friendly Linux that your grandma, sister or brother can use.”
Some people seem to think that Linux is a secret club, where you have to pay your dues before you can learn the secret handshake and run it. Thats nonsense as far as Linspire is concerned.