Ubuntu is under attack (longish)

[Old Rocker]

On Monday 19 December 2005 04:08, Eric Dunbar wrote:

> D) "Ubuntu needs to accomodate the needs of its users within the
> stated goal of providing the simplicity of a one CD installation. If
> the plurality of its users use package X and the plurality of users
> do not use package Y, then package Y can safely be removed from the
> distro to make room for package X. Package Y will still be available
> to the main repository for installation, if desired."

How about this Eric?

I download Kubuntu because I prefer the KDE desktop, and also want to 
run some Gnome applications, but not the whole of Gnome.  I go to the 
repositories and find I cannot download the Gnome desktop without it 
taking out KDE.  So I try to download individual packages, then find 
some will install but others won't as the basic dependencies are not 
present and won't be installed. (This is my experience).

So I add the Debian repositories to my apt-get sources.list and from 
there I download Gnome packages that refuse to run under Kubuntu 
because there is an incompatibility between the Debian and Ubuntu 
versions. (Again my experience).

So I ask that the necessary changes be made in the content of the CD to 
allow packages from both the major desktops to be installed.  You can 
install Kubuntu packages from within Ubuntu, but I can't find any way 
of installing Ubuntu packages from within Kubuntu.  Now if I can't 
download packages and their dependencies, unless only those within the 
Ubuntu repositories, Ubuntu is not keeping to the spirit of the Debian 
system and is in danger of becoming a fork rather than contributing to 
it.  It is also reducing my range of choice in the matter.

Mike Bird's very eloquent complaints about the MTAs is a case in point.  
Somebody, somewhere, has decided that MTAs should be changed.  As 
postfix et al were in Hoary, they were presumably part of the one-disc 
distro that gave everybody the ESSENTIAL packages that reinforced 
security.  Without any warning, these packages are not installed with 
the Breezy CD, and for some leave a security hole.  I'm not sure if 
these packages are in the Breezy repositories, but suppose for a moment 
they are not, where are you to get them and be sure they work (remember 
these are security packages)?  From Debian?  They MIGHT work properly, 
but again they might not, and as Ubuntu is not 100% Debian compatible 
at present, surely steps should be made to ensure that packages in the 
Debian repositories work with Ubuntu?

If that doesn't happen, Ubuntu will continue its progress and become a 
fork of Debian, which is the worst of all worlds.  So I am asking that 
the install disk should include dependencies and packages to all both 
Gnome and KDE to be downloaded, and to allow Debian packages to be 
installed and run to make sure this DOES not happen.

-- 

Old Rocker