GNU / Linux Xandros bought Linspire
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The seller of commercial distributions GNU / Linux Xandros bought its competitor Linspire. Given the large number of systems and existing versions, this kind of rapprochement is never easy. However, the two publishers are both based on Debian, using KDE and make ease of use and compatibility with Windows applications part two of their main objectives.
While Linspire was not officially for sale, we learn the takeover of the Californian firm by the Canadian company Xandros Corp.. The principal shareholders of Linspire have indeed decided to sell all possessions Linspire: commercial distribution of the same name but also the community and Freespire installer Click’n Run, appreciated for its simplicity of use . According to Carmony, a former chairman of Linspire party in July 2007, Linspire would have been mismanaged over the past ten months, to the point of being sold off at -80% of its value earlier.
Linspire had previously hit the headlines in his trial facing Microsoft. The Linux distribution at the time, based on Debian, called Lindows and was attacked by the editor of Redmond for a name considered too close to hers. It must be said that the company called the compatibility with various Windows programs, thanks to a program based on Wine. Even if Lindows had won the first trial, the company has preferred to find another name to avoid cumbersome court procedures.
Linspire is a distribution fee GNU / Linux, which focused on ease of use. In 2006, Linspire created the free distribution Freespire, mimicking the model and Community Development with Fedora Red Hat or Novell with openSUSE. In February 2007, Linspire has decided to rely on Ubuntu rather than Debian for its future versions. Finally, in July 2007, Linspire announced that it has signed agreements with Microsoft aimed interoperability but also providing legal protection to users of its products. These agreements are close to those who are still underway between Novell and Microsoft.
If Based on statistics provided by Distrowatch popularity, Linspire has plummeted in recent months from the 62nd spot for the last twelve months the 84th for the last quarter. At the same time, Freespire also saw his popularity drop by the 27th to 48th place. If these statistics are based solely on the number of page views a detailed distribution and do obviously not a perfect indicator, it tends to confirm that the two versions of Linspire failed to attract a critical mass of developers or draw their pins playing in a field in constant evolution.
Xandros
Note that another company has also concluded similar agreements with Microsoft: Xandros Corporation. This company sells GNU / Linux distributions based on the defunct Corel Linux and Debian. Different versions of Xandros Linux are intended for use both family and professional. They are also the ease of use. They include proprietary software, CrossOver, a program based on Wine and offering compatibility with some of the flagship applications for Windows. Xandros has been included in the EeePC of ASUS. Although Xandros is not so far among the first distributors GNU / Linux, its popularity last year remained stable, turning around the 35th spot, according to Distrowatch.
This acquisition seems in any case not against nature insofar as the two companies seem to sell distributions to close objectives. Both are derived distant family Debian and foremost use the KDE desktop. As to what will happen in the name of the new entity, but also the community distribution Freespire, it would require a few weeks of patience.