Probably stupid question, but

[Gene Heskett]

On Tuesday 27 August 2013 12:31:56 Liam Proven did opine:

> On 25 August 2013 18:51, Gene Heskett <gheskett at wdtv.com> wrote:
> > So how does one go about coaxing adobe to disgorge the correct .bin
> > containing the .deb?
> 
> You don't.
> 
> Don't install binaries from 3rd parties. Use the ones from the Ubuntu
> repositories.
> 
> Linux makes it hard to run random downloads, for very good reasons.
> You shouldn't.

Liam, old habits are hard to break.  Old habits formed by the lag between 
badly needed upgrades in the distributions repos and the actual release of 
the better code in the individual programs own tarball repositories.

Using gutenprint for one example, it took damned near 5 years between gimp-
print-4.27 to the name changed and 100's of times better output on most 
printers gutenprint-5.something to get incorporated into ANY distro except 
Mandrake.

The excuse I got when I complained was that they didn't update such stuff 
until the next version release.  The only trouble with that is that in that 
5 years there were something like 5 to 10 version releases of each of the 
popular distributions.  But no updated printer drivers, we were stuck with 
pin pounders for the most part, years after the business has switched to 
ink squirters.  Now its lasers, and we are forced to go to the makers site, 
download and install their drivers, which in the case of Brother stuff, 
work very well indeed.

But its somebody else's code, not yours.  I get quite upset at the attitude 
that if we want better support, buy the per seat copy, but when I checked 
the $600 per seat copy from North Carolina, it was still shipping gimp-
print-4.27, 4 years later.  By then most of the printers gimp-print did 
support, were, if used like I use a printer, worn out, and linux in general 
did NOT support any of the printers on the shelf at Staples et all.

And then you have the nerve to upbraid me for building from a tarball or 
installing the vendors .bin?

I am well aware the distro's in general have their own agenda, and Ubuntu 
is no different in that regard, but please recognize that when we come to 
this list and ask for the updated package and it is not forthcoming but we 
are told to file a bug when we ping the list again, and the filed bug gets 
canceled within the hour, (it happened to me) we that think we know how, 
WILL do our own updating.  Get used to it because it does happen.

Sure, I appreciate the help I get here on this list, a lot.  But when I 
know the problem has been fixed by the vender, but you, seemingly 
representing the distro, don't even relay our needs back up the chain of 
command, leave us little or no choice but to do what we must to get what 
works.

FWIW, if anyone cares, I still had to go in and hard code the networking so 
network-miss-mangler couldn't screw it up on this latest install of xubuntu 
on that ancient ex-school Dell P4 with only half a gig of ram.  xubuntu 
12.04 LTS.  And I did install from a fully booted, networking working, 
livedvd boot.  Fresh download 5 days ago.  So that is still not fixed.  

DHCP didn't work at all, but where I was connected on my local net, I may 
have a broadcast block between there and my local DHCPD server.  I need to 
crawl into the upper reaches of my shop & make sure that cable is plugged 
into the switch, and not into a router I have installed out there to act as 
an AP for the lappy when I use it.  Convincing that generic netgear 4 port 
& antennas router to be an AP wasn't something the maker intended.

Cheers, Gene
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