SUPPORT
Freespire, OpenSUSE and Ubuntu all rely on community-oriented support and also offer upgrade paths to commercially supported products or service plans.
Ubuntu leads the pack when it comes to free support, driven by a very active user community. Not only does Ubuntu's website provide extensive documentation, community forums, FAQs and demonstrations, the product includes a community driven application installer. Driven by the "Add/Remove Applications" control panel, users can quickly list all available applications that can be installed into the OS. Those applications are available via the Ubuntu website and the list is updated frequently, if not daily. Installation of new applications in the list takes little more than a select and click approach. For the most part applications are installed completely automatically. Software updating is also provided by Ubuntu, where the latest patches and fixes can be downloaded and applied automatically.
Freespire offers similar capabilities, but through its CNR (Click 'N' Run) tool. CNR is available on a trial basis, but ultimately, users will have to pay a fee for continued use of the service.
OpenSuse sticks to the time-tested method of downloading and installing applications by hand. The upside is that almost anything is available. The downside is that application installations can be cumbersome and complex.
Both Freespire and OpenSuse are relatively new open source projects and have yet to attain the momentum that is behind Ubuntu.
That analysis comes through quite clearly when one looks at each of the distribution's community forums. While each of these distributions offer adequate free support, Ubuntu rises to the top in service just because of the sheer size of the support community. But, as support goes, all three of the reviewed distributions can get better with age.
Support
Ubuntu: 3 points
OpenSUSE: 2 points
Freespire: 1 point
FEATURE SET
Each distribution comes chock full of features, but OpenSuse seems to lead the pack here. Arguably, its OpenSuse's bundle of 5 installation CDs that bring a plethora of options to the table, while both Ubuntu and Freespire make due with a single CD to house their installations and application options. That said, a basic install of any of these three distributions includes most of the features anyone may need. All provide web browsing (Firefox), an office suite (open office based) and a slew of other applications. The real difference comes down to how well the features are implemented and readily accessible. OpenSuse relies on YAST (yet another system tool) as its feature manager. YAST is extremely robust and offers almost unlimited options when it comes to controlling the Linux feature set. What's more, the ability to quickly locate and launch applications is readily apparent in OpenSuse.
Freespire puts ease of use ahead of everything else, which reduces the learning curve associated with a Linux desktop. The product's "control center" is where all the magic happens. Here is where a user can customize menus and other elements for further ease of use. Freespire covers all of the basics quite well, and includes elements such as VPN support, CD & DVD burning tools, multimedia tools, utilities and so on. While Freespire comes in at the bottom of our feature set list, that is due mostly to the fact that the product eschews many features for ease of use and requires a paid membership to CNR to enhance the product further.
Ubuntu, on the other hand, strives to balance ease of use and available features and does an impressive job. Ubuntu's weakness (and strength) comes from its Add/Remove Applications control. Most add on applications must be downloaded and installed. While mainly an automatic process, it is still an "after the fact" procedure.
All things being equal, OpenSuse offers the quickest method to start off with as many features as possible and offers intricate control of the feature set during installation.
Feature set
OpenSuse: 3 points
Ubuntu: 2 points
Freespire: 1 point
NEXT: Usability
