Automatix

[uriah heep]

On 7/25/07, Daniel Pittman <daniel at rimspace.net> wrote:
> "Uriah Heep" <stan10x10 at gmail.com> writes:
>
> I took the liberty of restructuring your comments into the more standard
> and readable form where your response follows my comments.  I also
> trimmed extraneous content such as my signature.
>
> The small investment of your time to format your contribution nicely
> really makes a difference to how pleasant the mailing list is for
> everyone to use.
>
> > On 7/25/07, Daniel Pittman <daniel at rimspace.net> wrote:
> >> Neil Winchurst <neil at holsdev.vispa.com> writes:
> >>
> >> > My thread about 32 bit v 64 bit versions of kubuntu brought forth some
> >> > interesting and varied replies. I think that I may give it a go when I
> >> > get the DVDs.
> >> >
> >> > Meanwhile, the topic of automatix has come up several times in the
> >> > thread. Dare I ask for comments about that?
> >>
> >> Sure.  Automatix is a tool that automatically installs various non-free
> >> components to your system without user intervention.
> >>
> >> Using it is considered to be a bad idea by the core Ubuntu developers,
> >> who recommend the detailed instructions found in the community
> >> documentation here:
> >>
> >>     https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormats
> >>
> >> That covers all current (and future) versions of Ubuntu, includes
> >> detailed instructions on how to safely install these features and is
> >> generally well maintained and easy to use.
> >>
> >>
> >> You would be well advised, in general, to use those instructions in
> >> preference to Automatix, I believe.
> >>
> >
> > I am a noob but as I understand it automatix is a script program to
> > install various non free programs.
>
> Yes.
>
> > I used it on my 32 bit install with the intention of getting my
> > install to run what I considered my basic needs with the least time,
> > fuss & muss. I was mainly interested in playing back my Cd's and
> > getting my Nvida drivers going.  The program did what it was supposed
> > to do.
>
> Yes, it does.
>
> > As I have my basic (to me) install working fine I am now taking the
> > time to explore the command line etc.  I am not a weenie or religious
> > user so I wanted to get up and running as quickly as possible before
> > the learning curve got steep and slow.
>
> The key objection to the Automatix system, as well as the couple of
> similar packages, was that they tended to cause problems further down
> the track.
>
> Notably, during distribution upgrades there were a large number of
> failures that left people with completely non-functional systems.  Those
> problems were traced directly back to the "helpful" scripts by the
> developers.
>
>
> Perhaps, now that you have a bit more experience, you could consider
> going over the instructions at the URL above and working out if they
> would have been equally convenient for you.
>
> If they are just as helpful then great -- and if not then your
> assistance in improving them and making them helpful will be much
> appreciated across the board.
>
> > Stan
>
> You probably want to update the readable name in your mailer; having
> different names in different places is confusing -- it is hard to know
> how you want to be identified.
>
> Regards,
>         Daniel
> --
> Digital Infrastructure Solutions -- making IT simple, stable and secure
> Phone: 0401 155 707        email: contact at digital-infrastructure.com.au
>                  http://digital-infrastructure.com.au/
>
>
> --
> kubuntu-users mailing list
> kubuntu-users at lists.ubuntu.com
> Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/kubuntu-users
>
Daniel

Thank you for your explanation.  As I noted I am a noob and am happy
to learn new things including standard presention.

I would caution new buyers to look closely before buying the WD sata 2
500 hard drive.  Mine has just failed for the third time (ymmv) in 5
months and I am now operating off the Kubuntu run/install disk

Best Regards
Uriah