"Former Linspire CEO Kevin Carmony was pretty gung-ho about the company's upcoming release back in June. He said it would 'fill some key holes in our current offering'. Unfortunately Linspire 6, released last week, lacks the refinements you'd expect in a distro you pay USD 50 to download. It drops some key distinguishing features, and in return gains only some Microsoft technology as spelled out in the Microsoft patent covenants Linspire agreed to. This release seems to be about deferring to Microsoft."
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Member since:2006-07-16
Umm, actually I DO get a lot of work done with my 3D desktop, thank you very much. I can easily navigate my virtual desktops with a flick of my mouse or my keyboard. Both Cube and Wall offer fast and efficient management of multiple desktops. My myriad of open windows and applications can be tamed by alt-tab (or fancier) Win-Tab. I won't even tell you how useful the 'expose' feature (shamelessly stolen from the Mac) is or the thumbnail previews that appear when I hover over a minimized window or application. The grouping feature allows many windows to appear as one that changes as it's spun around. The various transparency effects help to distinguish recently active windows from those that haven't been focussed for awhile. Finally, the speed and crispness of the 3D desktop greatly enhances my work flow. In summary, while it's true that not all of the effects have an intended purpose, many in fact DO. So if you don't want to use a 3D desktop yourself, fine! Who are you to judge whether or not it's useful for others?
Edited 2007-10-18 00:05
Member since:2006-06-21
If it tickles your fancy, so be it, don't get your panties in a bunch. But I find your claims highly dubious.
As opposed to what? Don't non-3D workspace switches work the same (mouse or keyboard)?
Are you kidding me? I doubt it's faster to render 3D effects as an animation then simply switch a desktop instantly. By the time the cube has rotated to one desktop you can cycle all of them in a non-animated workspace switcher.
And as for efficient, don't make me laugh. How is it more efficient to waste additional machine resources? Oh, you meant you are more efficient? OK, if efficient to you means "I'll wait for this pretty animation to show instead of getting work done".
I can't imagine how I'd ever come to have any use for any of these effects. It's always faster and more intuitive to actually flip windows or workspaces. But I'm glad you like them, it means the programmers didn't work for nothing.
Yeah, and my wooden fiber desktop greatly enchances my upper verticality body position and thus does wonders for my productivity. What is this, the TV shopping channel?
Member since:2007-04-11
I dont use 3D desktops either but its a standard.If the leading distros have it and you want to gain more mindshare along with some marketshare you have to compete on similar standards or then you just trying to appeal to a niche audience.Linspire isn't niche.
Otherwise I agree with everything you said 
Member since:
2006-06-21
Oh, enough already, leave the 3D desktop alone, people. Honestly, if only that was the only thing wrong with Linspire. 3D desktops are just a fad, good for showing off and that's all. Do you honestly get anything done with all the effects swirling around all the time, or do you only turn them on once in a blue moon, to show your friends?
The lack of a 3D desktop is the least of Linspire's issues. I'd say that not having a working package manager installed by default is a far bigger problem. This isn't Slackware, mind you, it's supposed to target desktop n00bs.
But I don't see what the big surprise is, anyway. Ever since the terms of the deal with Microsoft became known people have predicted that Microsoft will use them to do some very bad things to Linspire. Here it is, a distro stripped of almost everything it used to set it apart.