Linspire Inc., developer of the commercial desktop Linux operating system and Freespire (their free community ops system), announced that as of today its CNR (Click ‘N Run) service will be free. Yes, we said free.

Until now the service has only been available through annual subscriptions, with prices ranging from $20 - $50. With the new free service, Linspire and Freespire users can install, update, and manage thousands of open-source software programs, which is equal to the basic $20 plan.

“For nearly five years, thousands of CNR users have paid annual subscription fees for the CNR Service,” said Kevin Carmony, CEO of Linspire. “We’re thrilled to now be in a position to offer this excellent service to desktop Linux users absolutely free.”

If you are an existing user, you must register to create your new free account. If you have purchased the basic CNR service within the past 60 days, you will automatically be upgraded to CNR Gold (which allows you to purchase commercial software at reduced rates).

Linspire also announced plans for a new, open-sourced version of its CNR client as part of Freespire 1.1 to be released later this year, also at no charge. This might be just the excuse you need to jump on the ol’ Linux bandwagon.