Thursday, December 7, 2023

Freespire 10 Released


Today the PC/OS development team is pleased to release Freespire 10. We have worked on many aspects of the distribution both internal and on its user-facing front-end, making the distribution seem very familiar to new users and configurable for advanced ones. Freespire 10 continues its tradition of being the leading free desktop distribution available today. 

PC/OS has focused on improving speed, responsiveness and hardware compatibility; virtual machine compatibility has also been improved. We try to make Freespire adhere as closely as possible to the definition of “free software” - meaning the amount of proprietary code used is limited to the bare minimum. Some vendor-specific drivers are included for hardware compatibility, but Freespire does not include proprietary multimedia codecs or any other proprietary software. If that kind of compatibility is required, we recommend Linspire. 

Freespire 10 includes the following features: 

  • Customized GNOME 4.2.9 Interface 
  • Linux kernel 6.2.0-36 
  • Rhythmbox Music Player 
  • Video player 
  • OnlyOffice 7.4 
  • Geary mail client 
  • Brave Web Browser 1.60 
  • OpenSSH Client and Server Samba 

You can download Freespire 10 here:

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Thursday, July 20, 2023

Freespire 10 Beta 1 and Linspire 14 Beta 1 Released

 Today we are happy to release the newest Beta's of our flagship systems, Linspire 14 Beta 1 and Freespire 10 Beta 1.  These are Beta builds which means they are provided for testing only we do NOT recommend these to be deployed in any kind of production environment.  These builds are for users to provide us with feedback.  Both of these builds use the Ubuntu 22.04 LTS base.   Both are free downloads but as they are undergoing constant and consistent changes they are not representative of the final builds.

Linspire 14 Beta 1


Linspire 14 Beta 1 is our premium distribution it contains everything you need for a home user.  Whether you are a student, home office worker, gamer or contemporary home user Linspire contains all the tools, codecs and applications to get you started.

  • Linspire 14 Beta 1 changes are as follows:
  • GNOME 42.9
  • Linux Kernel 5.15.0-46
  • Google Chrome 114
  • Geary Mail Client
  • Steam Client
  • Discover Software Store
  • Flatpak 1.14.4
  • OnlyOffice 7.4
  • Rhythmbox
  • Totem
  • Full multimedia and codec support
  • All security updates up 7/15/2023

Other changes we have made is that we have removed the Ubuntu Advantage Tools as well as Canonical specific tools.  

You can download this release here:

https://distro.ibiblio.org/blacklab/Beta/Linspire-14-2023.07.29-desktop-amd64.iso

https://distro.ibiblio.org/blacklab/Beta/Linspire-14-2023.07.29-desktop-amd64.md5

https://distro.ibiblio.org/blacklab/Beta/Linspire-14-2023.07.29-desktop-amd64.sha256

Beta 2 will be released mid-August

Freespire 10 Beta 1


Freespire 10 Beta 1 is our free distribution. Freespire can be redistributed freely and installed on multiple machines and modified as the user see's fit.  This distribution can be used by the power user and Linux enthusiast.  In this release we limit the number of proprietary non-free drivers and codecs that we include.  Whether you are a developer, Linux power user or contemporary home user Freespire contains all the tools, utilities and applications that you need.  Whether you want to experiment with different desktop environments you can download multiple software packages from the Ubuntu repositories or Flatpak. 

Freespire 10 Beta 1 changes are as follows:

  • GNOME 42.9
  • Linux Kernel 5.15.0-46
  • Brave Browser 1.52.130
  • Geary Mail Client
  • Steam Client
  • Discover Software Store
  • Flatpak 1.14.4
  • OnlyOffice 7.4
  • Rhythmbox
  • Totem
  • Free format multimedia and codec support
  • All security updates up 7/15/2023

In this release we have removed the Ubuntu Advantage Tools as well as Canonical specific tools.  

You can download these ISO's here:

https://distro.ibiblio.org/blacklab/Beta/Freespire-10-desktop-amd64.iso

https://distro.ibiblio.org/blacklab/Beta/Freespire-10-desktop-amd64.sha256

https://distro.ibiblio.org/blacklab/Beta/Freespire-10-desktop-amd64.md5

We will be releasing Beta 2 in September 2023


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Monday, May 8, 2023

Freespire 9.5 Released

Today the Freespire development team is pleased to announce the release of Freespire 9.5.  Freespire is our free and open source release of our commercial product Linspire.  Freespire is free to use, redistribute and bundle with recycled or new hardware.  Freespire 9.5 is our latest improvements to the Freespire 9 release.  As always we aim to create the best desktop Linux distribution on the market and we strive to continue that excellence.  While there have been many improvements under the hood one of the major changes you will notice is in the user interface.  While yes, the desktop environment tjhat we use is GNOME many of our users and customers have told us that they want the more traditional user interface that is not so different from Windows 10 or Windows 11 and in this release we have delivered that.  You have your classic "dock" as well as "start" menu.  If you prefer the traditional GNOME 4 layout its easy to switch back.

We have also worked on security and reliability,  We have worked out many of the bugs and other issues that had arisen with the 9.0 release.  Some of the fixes we have made:

  • Python 3 applications crash or refuse to start
  • Graphics not displaying proper resolutions over HDMI connections

  • Bluetooth headset microphones not working
  • When using Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge web apps not showing up in the menu
  • Zoom call crashes when using Bluetooth audio devices

So as with any other release there have been changes.  Here is a list of some of the important changes:

  • Kernel 5.19.0-41
  • OnlyOffice 7.3
  • Etcher 1.8
  • Firefox ESR 102
  • Thunderbird  102
  • Discover Software Store
  • Muon Package Manager
  • Flatpak

All security updates up to May 5, 2023.  For a full list of packages included you can read that here

You can download the new ISO from here.

https://distro.ibiblio.org/blacklab/freespire/freespire-9-desktop-amd64.iso

https://distro.ibiblio.org/blacklab/freespire/freespire-9-desktop-amd64.md5

https://distro.ibiblio.org/blacklab/freespire/freespire-9-desktop-amd64.sha256

If you wish to support our work you can donate here











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Sunday, March 26, 2023

Freespire Spring Fundraiser

 Today we are launching the Freespire Spring fundraiser.  With this fundraiser we are hoping to raise the funds to help the distribution grow.  All funds raised do get used to help the distribution.  If you donate and would like itemized receipts on where the funds go  they will be made available.

What are we hoping to accomplish with this fundraiser:

  • Domain renewals
  • Advertising
  • Paying some of the student developers
  • Replacing the build server and other aging equipment.

You can donate below.  If you wish to donate systems for testing you can contact support at pcopensystems@outlook.com or roberto.dohnert@outlook.com








Freespire OSS Edition
Install Media
Order Notes
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Monday, February 13, 2023

Freespire 9 released



Today we are extremely pleased we have released Freespire 9. Freespire 9 features the most popular Linux GNOME desktop and is the desktop environment we use for Linspire and PC/OS has now found a home in Freespire.  This release utilizes no binary only and non-free software.  This release of Freespoire is free to download and redistribute.  If you have bandwidth constrictions and data caps you can purchase a physical copy below.

Freespire has the following features:

  • GNOME 42.5
  • Thunderbird 102
  • Firefox ESR 102.5
  • OnlyOffice Desktop Editors
  • GNOME Videos
  • Rhythmbox
  • GNOME apps, Maps, Clocks, Calculator, Weather
  • Balena Etcher 1.4
  • Bashtop replaces Htop

You can download a copy below and if you need physical media you can purchase below as well.




Freespire OSS Edition
Install Media
Order Notes






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