As reported at DistroWatch: A demo version of Libranet GNU/Linux 2.7 Classic edition has been released as a free download. This is a single CD variant of Libranet 2.7, which was originally released in September 2002 and which is meant to be a way to try out Libranet without any financial commitment.
Free Download: Libranet 2.7 Classic Edition
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Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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Wow, they really butchered this Free version. I guess they’re free to do as they wish, and i shouldnt complain too much cause if i really would want that stuff i could go and pay for it. While i dont see myself ever switching to libranet, i have a few friends who use it and love it, the older free version that is. I taught them how to apt-get stuff from the debian archives, so they’re set.
Good to see them release another free version that is.
Good to see them release another free version *though*.
Preview would be such a nice feature.
While i dont see myself ever switching to libranet, i have a few friends who use it and love it, the older free version that is. I taught them how to apt-get stuff from the debian archives, so they’re set.
Good to see them release another free version that is.
Ohhh great. Why should you financially support a piece of software that you love and use, that took substantial effort, time, and expense to release.
And then people turn around and bitch about the lack of software on Linux…could it be the result of this “jump the fence for free admission” attitude that Linux users have as a whole.
I’m a poor college student…but I still find the means to purchase a boxed Linux distro every major kernel upgrade or so…just to help support commercial Linux vendors…i’ve purchased Mandrake and Red Hat in the past…my next time around I’ll probably be buying SuSE…never tried it yet.
It’s not that expensive to pay for a distro every now and then. I could think of a lot worse uses for 40-50 bucks
I downloaded their 2.0 version, and I was impressed. I even grabbed(bought) their 2.7 version and was more impressed.
People moaned and groaned that 2.0 essential edition was stripped down version, but hey all you need to do is update your sources list and than just run
apt-get update
apt-get dist-upgrade or apt-get upgrade
and than just sit back and relax and presto you have an instant 2.x system. Don’t even need to break a sweat. Just have handy a good high speed connection and whala.
Libranet is worth my 25 bucks. . .my laptop runs as my test server and believe me, it runs smoothly.
Wouldn’t you be able to change:
#Libranet
deb http://libranetlinux.com updates/2.7/
deb http://libranetlinux.com security/2.7/
to
#Libranet
deb http://libranetlinux.com updates/2.8/
deb http://libranetlinux.com security/2.8/
And be up-to-date?
Sure…why should the developers of Libranet be able to support their families? It’s much more important that you have a free lunch.
JACKASS!!!
You might as well just bit-torrent a volume-license copy of Windows XP Pro
You have a valid point. I’d really like to see those friends of mine pay for Libranet, and i’ve suggested it, but in the end, it is their decision. They have not stolen it, it was free.
The reason that i like there being a free version of Libranet, is that it has become something that i can help a friend install, and then not really have to worry about it that much. They can usually manage it on their own afterwards. It makes a great entry into GNU/Linux, and works. I cant expect them to buy something, in hopes of liking it.
As for myself… if i could buy a REAL boxed version of Debian (something i could put on my shelf with pride), i would, to support them. I’ve also been considering giving them a donation, because i like their product THAT much.
Libranet is my desktop of choice. I bought 2.8 and I am never going back to a non debian based system again. Congrats to the Libranet and Debian developers. BTW: I highly recommend 2.8. Definitely worth the dough.
Unlike so many other Linux companies now and before, Libranet seems to have a good and realistic business model.
Yeah, sure it would be nice to see every commercial distro maker and distributor to offer all their products for free for everyone. But, that’s not a very realistic expectation. It’s beyond me how some people can mock Linux companies like Libranet if they just dare to charge a reasonable sum for they products? That’s just business as usual, and usually the prices for commercial distros are not that bad either.
As for Libranet, you get a 30 day money back quarantee if you buy their latest flaggship edition (2.8, $69.95 for home user or small office, cheaper for existing users, students or seniors), so trying it for free is not out of question. Now, what else could you ask from a Linux company?
Libranet like any company needs to make some profit to survive. It seems to me that Libranet has chosen a smart business model, not concentrating on grandieuse marketing efforts etc. but they have only a small company where they try to work hard by making an easier and better Debian-based distro for common PC users. Their good business model is proved by the fact that they are still here while many other commercial Debian-based distros are dead and gone.
I must say that even as a home user I rather support Linux companies that are likely to still be around in a few years time, than some other companies continually struggling finacially. That conclusion would only be stronger if I looked at it from a business user’s point of view.
I hope that when thinking about Linux companies some Linux fans could forget for a moment idealistic dreams of some better society where everyone is now finally happy and problems are no more because all software is finally uncommercial and unpropreatary free software… – and instead could see Linux companies just like any other companies.
For a long run, you just cannot run a good business by giving away all your products for free. In business world a good business model is a necessity. Libranet seems to have that.
Libreanet is my desktop of choice, I have used others and would not knock them, but let me tell you I will never use a RPM based system again.
Another thing I have purchased 2.8 and I will pay these guys for upgrades from now on, they have done a great job.
It’s things/people like you that make me want to bundle the whole thing up along with corrected pointers to the sources list and throw it on a P2P network care with credits going towards “[email protected]”!
Do you think that by cursing someone out over a simple question, you’re going to convince anyone that you have a good point??(Well… Richard Fillion maybe, but he sounds a lot nicer than I)
Man… Talk about morons giving a good cause a bad name. I’ve gotta go now and start preparing my upload for Emule. 8)=
I didnt need “convincing”, i just dont think he understood exactly where i stood on the issue. I never said that the real version should be free, or that the free version was worthless. But has anyone looked at the comparision between the two? Ouch.
I also looked at the comparison between the free 2.7 and their 2.8 version and all I can say is that it is …… well, FREE! It is meant to expose more people to their distro and convince them to buy the newer version. I see nothing wrong with Libranet offering a stripped down version for download. I mean, how can anyone complain ….. IT’S FREE.
“But has anyone looked at the comparision between the two? Ouch.”
I’ve looked at the free version specs too and I was thinking the same thing. No DNS and no apache says it all. These daemons have been part of standard unix forever.
Umm, did any of you notice that Libranet is Debian based and uses Debian packages before you starte mouthing off about what the free edition comes with? Try apt-get install bind apache
If I recall, from using the 2.0 free version, that probably won’t work. Don’t know for sure, but I do know that they protect their core value-added features. Most everything else is regular debian (or at least it is now, they often do there own building/tweaking of the lastest greatest DE before release)
A free release is great for Libranet. 2.0 was a very good starting point (for me) and hopefully 2.7 will be better yet. Libranet is a great distro for a newcomer as it is easy to install debian and then easy to add programs, but leaves the details close at hand, such as the admin menu option to recompile the kernel. I was very close to buying 2.8, but the lack of applications for Linux in desktop video and DTP lead me to Windows only for a while. I’ll have to make room for 2.7.
“Free” ? I bought 2.7, I bought 2.8- it really wasn’t a lot to pay for a really smooth and functional Linux machine- live a little..
Found it on eDonkey
Of course, my intention wasn’t to steal it, but simply to ‘test drive’ it and then buy it if it was up to snuff.
My impression of it is that it was pretty good as far as Linux distros go (I’ve tried 9 of them so far), but then again … that really isn’t saying much.
Cluttered application menus that are arranged differently in each window manager, shitty fonts out of the box, everything but the kitchen sink available out of the box except for the apps I actually want, recognizes about half of my hardware, unpolished UI (in this case, especially with the sysadmin tools) … well, Linux is Linux no matter how you slice it.
I bought Libranet 2.8. The main reason I bought it is because I tried installing Debian 3.0 on my computer–which is a small form factor machine with peculiar hardware–and Debian’s install process failed to recognize a lot of my hardware. I frankly did not want to go on the “module hunt” I went on 2 years ago when I first installed Debian on my other PC. I also heard that the Libranet guys making Debian packages of the more popular applications based on CVS snapshots and putting them into their sarge/testing repository, which I thought was handy.
I paid the student price for Libranet, got it in about a week, and installed it. I couldn’t have been more impressed. Their admin tools found all my hardware and configured it all properly.
The base install (in this case I mean the “full” install) does include a lot of applications, and since they’re provided on the CD you don’t have to go through the hassle of apt-get’in them. But the truth is, you don’t pay for the applications. As everyone has made clear, everything in Debian is an apt-get away. Having them there on the CD–especially if you have a high-speed connection–is hardly the main advantage.
Jon and Tal–the developers who work on Libranet–really do devote a lot of time to it. I think they deserve to be compensated.
I just downloaded the ISO of the free 2.7 release, burn it and installed it on my PC. Everything when good until rebooting for the second stage install. I get this error :
Error 28 : Selected item cannot fit into memory.
And that’s it, nothing more, it won’t boot. Good stuff!
I’ve left a message on the Libranet forum but nobody has reply.
Mandrake 9.1 was working very well on the same PC. I did format the HDD before installing Libranet.
As suggested to you on the libranet forum, why don’t you check the MD5 sums, or go back to using that mandrake rubbish!
NO I’m not.
Joel, it’s not my first ISO download, I know everything about MD5 and the Libranet ISO that I have downloaded is very good.
And the Mandrake rubbish like you call it, is at least working on my PC.
Thanks for all your help…