UITN: Ubuntu's Missing Batteries

Eric Dunbar eric.dunbar at gmail.com
Thu Feb 2 11:21:10 GMT 2006


On 2/2/06, Eric Dunbar <eric.dunbar at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 2/2/06, Scott <angrykeyboarder at angrykeyboarder.com> wrote:
> > Dennis Kaarsemaker wrote:
> > > On do, 2006-02-02 at 01:51 -0700, Scott wrote:
> >
> > > The existence of automatix shows that there's a need for such a thing and
> > > that need should not be ignored. But automatix itself is broken beyond
> > > repair when it comes to safety.
> >
> > I don't know that it shows a need by itself.  The resulting popularity
> > of it is something else though.  BTW, one of the packages it
> > automatically installs is Sun's JRE.  I'm not sure if the installation
> > is allowed under Sun's licensing agreements.
> >
> > The popularity relates to something I've been harping away at for eons.
> >   Unless and until Linux becomes easy to use for the "average user" it
> > will remain the OS for servers and geeks.
>
> Hi Scott, although I agree with you that Linux should become easier to
> use for the "average user" (and, that it is still quite far from that
> goal at present -- mainly because of GNOME/KDE GUI design issues
> IMNSHO), I must disagree that having the ability to automatically
> install "non free" software is the answer; and, it seems to me that
> these tools automate the process of installing non free software.
>
> IMO the way forward is for the free part of GNU/Linux to improve and
> evolve to the point where it is undisputably useful to and usable by
> "the masses" (particularly in the GUI realm which is still working
> very hard to copy the less useful parts of Windows), and not just to
> and by the computer geeks! Playing MP3s is not mission critical in any
> organisation, unless you happen to be using MP3s to do more than
> merely listening to music. There are alternatives ;-) (.ogg).

Of course, it would be nice to install all those non-free bits and
bobs in one fell swoop.



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