Freespire

A recent article mentioned Linspire Live edition 5.0 had been posted to the net with the company name and restrictions removed. My bet is that it was strategicaly placed there by the compnay itself for exposure sake. Linspire has taken hits in the past from groups that say they would use it if it was fully open and free. I think it is a market ploy to gain exposure much like the Xbox bounty. Exposure is everything for the small company. While they are gaining exposure in columns dedicated to Linux in magazines, they need to advance the exposure by finding their way into the more mainstream environment. Fortune, Business 2.0 and the like are where they really need to be. Linux adaptation has been slow to catch on except in the server market and Red Hat holds a significant lead in that area. Only through IPO's can money be raised to speed the development process. While the kernal is updated frequently private developers are still needed for the additional portions Linspire and like companies maintain. Perhaps Linsipre is looking for free code to incorporate into their project to speed development. Regardless of the nature of the move Freespire is on the net although it's origins are suspect.