CNR

CNR is now available for Linux Mint 4.0 Daryna. It’s free, it doesn’t require any registration and the client is open-source. To install it, install the “cnr-client” package from the Daryna repositories. You should then be able to install software from the CNR.com web portal.

The main advantage of CNR over APT and mintInstall is that it can handle commercial software and integrate transactions. For this reason it represents a nice addition to the Linux Mint desktop.

Links:
— Press Release: http://www.linspire.com/lindows_news_pressreleases_archives.php?id=240
— CNR.com: http://www.cnr.com/

Questions and comments are welcome.

Note: Support for the upcoming Linux Mint 5 Elyssa will follow shortly.

24 comments

  1. Hmm. I thought that it was already click ‘n run. But I guess not. 😛 Don’t know what changes, but I’ll be sure to check it out.

  2. I just installed CNR, and used it to install the game XGalaga. The only glitch I had was that clicking the install link for XGalaga did not by default install the game. My system wanted to open up another browser window, or download a .cnr file. Not knowing what to do I tried both. Opening up another window does nothing, and downloading the file doesn’t work, as when you double click the file it just opens a web browser window as well. The trick is after hitting the install button is that you have to navigate through Nautilus and find the CNR execution file. Doing this once should set it as the default option for next time. Anyway sorry if this was long winded. I just figured I’d share my experience in case it can help someone else.

  3. manny: We got API specifications from Linspire so yes, we’ll be working on the integration of CNR.com within mintInstall in the future.

  4. it is actually pretty cool , i just donwloaded amaya through the cnr website , i saved the cnr file to my desktop , right click it and selected open with cnr., it then installed amaya and added it to mint menu …sweet !!!

  5. clem:
    Sorry, but this is the first addition to Mint that I don’t like. The interface is very buggy in my opinion, and it’s not needed. Synaptic is a much better interface, and there is always apt for package management. Sorry, much as I like Mint, CNR strikes me as a bad addition to an otherwise great Distro.

  6. kezdeth: The more choice the better. CNR isn’t part of the default software selection but it’s there in the repositories for people who like it.

  7. Clem: Maybe I stated things too forcefully. CNR is a good interface for people who aren’t used to Linux. It’s just not my own personal first choice. I know my way around Linux, so my own personal choice is apt. Don’t take my earlier comment the wrong way. Mint is a *great* distro, and I’m very happy with it. It’s the only distro that detected *all* of my laptop on the install on the first try, and I’m proud to be using it. Keep up the good work, and thanks for a fine distro.

  8. I like what Linspire is trying to do. That is bring the desktop to the masses. I think some of the things Linspire has done need to be done. CNR for instance is a great idea. It doesn’t work nearly as well as it should though.

    A single well paid competent engineer out of college or high school could probably put an entire system together that would work better. The problem is you can’t hire just any engineer. You need one with a combination of passion for desktop Linux, confidence, and who personally maintains a broad set of knowledge to lead the company. Then the executive team needs to work with this one engineer to come up with a plan around what necessities exist for one specific user base that will be the initial focus.

    What happened is they invested allot of money into things and flip flopped for years. It is a surprise any money was made given the quality of the service. Once again, bad engineer hiring issues + flip flopping doesn’t help things. It just stunk. Most of it was pure publicity that never compensated for the bad publicity produced by certain executives. I’m all for executives speaking out if they aren’t going to get angry at people and say things they shouldn’t.

    The other thing is I don’t think the employees ever have gained the knowledge about Linux that was or is needed for the company to create a decent product.

    Having been in touch since almost the beginning with different people on the inside this is my two cents. Hopefully I’m wrong as I want to see desktop Linux take off. My gut feeling though says the end is near for Linspire. It is a sad thing given the company has always been so dedicated to a desktop alternative despite the number of companies who have never successfully sold it. The number of desktop Linux failures is mounting. Xandros, Corel, Redhat, Linspire, Mandrivia, amongst others. Not to say that these companies as a whole have failed- they just have switched directions. Up to this point the most promising were/are probably Corel, Ubuntu, & Linspire. For one reason or another none of these companies have really done it (yet? Corel & Linspire probably never will, & Ubuntu is still an unknown). I think Turbolinux also has had a surprisingly amount of success on the desktop in some regions. Xandros has also surprisingly not completely eliminated itself from the desktop as they have made business connections which have lead to the OS being bundled on the EeePC.

  9. I didn’t liked the smoke and mirrors of Lindows and never cared for CNR. I like Linux and the freedom and control I have with it. I am happy with apt, adept, synaptic etc. Why emulate windoz? You have done a marvelous job with Mint as is.

  10. Hey thats just great! It works very well thanks and is a GREAT addition and brings more value to MINT. More power to your elbow!

  11. After installing the CNR client on my Daryna system, it wanted to update 27 packages. When I clicked OK, it started but all upgrades failed… needless to say I removed it again. I think I will stick to Synaptic, Mintinstall and Mintupdate.

  12. Just tried to install the client in the Community KDE Mint and it results in an error 1. Is the client Gnome dependent?

  13. The only issue I’ve seen with CNR is that there is no option to ignore an update. For instance, I’m using OpenOffice 2.4 due to some bug issues that were fixed in 2.4. However, Ubuntu and Mint are only up to 2.3 so I always see the need to update the OpenOffice software with CNR. It does not show up in MintInstall currently, of course, so I’ve never had this issue before. The only other issue is that it would be nice to be able to select multiple updates and/or “Select All” instead of having to click on each update and install it individually.

    Other than that, I like the front-end and would use it if at the least the ability to hide updates was implemented.

  14. I think it’s a valuable addition. A little more work and this will be stellar! Kudos to all involved. Terrific work!

  15. Hmm – just decided to install cnr-client and bugger me if I didn’t just happen to notice that the thing is going to splatter in excess of 50 Megs of stuff all over my hdd and that’s not to mention the mechanisms involved in getting all that to work/be recorded for posterity etc.

    So, naturally enough – Answer “n” -and belted enter. Not a chance.

    I’m not short of space on my drives and I have no particular problem with trying new software. I also appreciate the MintTeams grasp of what cnr is trying to achieve – but – 50m?

    What the hell are they thinking?

    I’m not thinking of them any more, that’s for sure:-)

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