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Choosing and Installing a Linux Distribution Part III
The Click-N-Run (CNR) application takes ease of installation to a new level, making Linspire and
Freespire hopeful proof of the concept that a desktop version of Linux can succeed in the home
and office. The installation walkthrough at the end of the chapter demonstrates that there are some
tradeoffs for this ease of use.
While Linspire and Freespire do support a wide range of both Windows and Linux applications, it
is still difficult to run some of the more popular commercial Windows games and applications on
them without having to go well beyond the graphical tools offered with these distributions.
Presumably, because Linspire, Inc. has paid to include software for playing MP3 and a variety of
video formats, Linspire and Freespire can play many more types of multimedia content than other
Linux systems can play out of the box.
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Running Linspire and Freespire 15
Before becoming Mandriva Linux, Mandrakelinux was created as a
fork of Red Hat Linux (in 1998). It initially had such tight ties to
Red Hat Linux that the Mandrakelinux installer even stated that
you were installing Red Hat.
After those early days, Mandrakelinux became a solid distribution in its own
right, with the main focus on an easy-to-use desktop distribution.
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