Freespire 8.0 Comes Tightly Integrated with Google Services

The developers behind Freespire 8.0 have decided to focus strongly on and take full advantage of Google's services with this release.

Let’s start with some history for those unfamiliar with what Freespire is. Freespire started under Lindows twenty years ago as an easy-to-use Linux-based operating system with great Wine integration and easy application support but then changed to Linspire following a Microsoft lawsuit.

Nowadays, Freespire is a desktop-oriented Ubuntu-based Linux distro powered by Xfce. It’s the open-source equivalent of Linspire but contains mainly FOSS components.

The project is sponsored by Linspire, a commercial, desktop-oriented Linux distro based on Debian and Ubuntu and owned by PC/OpenSystems LLC.

A couple of days ago, the Freespire development team announced the release of Freespire 8.0, so let’s take a brief look at it.

What’s News in Freespire 8.0

Freespire 8.0 Desktop

Freespire 8.0 features a stable Linux kernel 5.4, which fixes bugs and broadens hardware support. However, it is interesting to note that Google Chrome version 96 is also included by default in this release with all security patches and other general browser improvements.

The most important thing that needs to be mentioned is that the distro focuses strongly on Google’s services with this release. Freespire 8.0 comes preinstalled with the following:

  • Gmail
  • Google Docs
  • Google Drive
  • Google Calendar
  • Google Translate
  • Google News

On the desktop environments front, you get the latest and greatest Xfce 4.16. On top of that, X11, Samba, and other system fundamentals, including non-UEFI and secure boot systems, were also upgraded.

In step with keeping the distribution as close as possible to the definition of free software, Freespire 8.0 does not include proprietary multimedia codecs or drivers. However, they are available via repositories.

You can look at Freespire 8.0 official announcements to learn more about it.

Download

Freespire 8.0 is available as a Live-installable ISO for 64-bit machines, which you can burn to a USB key or DVD media.  You can grab an ISO here now.

Bobby Borisov

Bobby Borisov

Bobby, an editor-in-chief at Linuxiac, is a Linux professional with over 20 years of experience. With a strong focus on Linux and open-source software, he has worked as a Senior Linux System Administrator, Software Developer, and DevOps Engineer for small and large multinational companies.

Think You're an Ubuntu Expert? Let's Find Out!

Put your knowledge to the test in our lightning-fast Ubuntu quiz!
Ten questions to challenge yourself to see if you're a Linux legend or just a penguin in the making.

1 / 10

Ubuntu is an ancient African word that means:

2 / 10

Who is the Ubuntu's founder?

3 / 10

What year was the first official Ubuntu release?

4 / 10

What does the Ubuntu logo symbolize?

5 / 10

What package format does Ubuntu use for installing software?

6 / 10

When are Ubuntu's LTS versions released?

7 / 10

What is Unity?

8 / 10

What are Ubuntu versions named after?

9 / 10

What's Ubuntu Core?

10 / 10

Which Ubuntu version is Snap introduced?

The average score is 68%