Re: [SLUG] Linux news on slashdot

[Rachel Polanskis <r.polanskis@xxxxxxxxxx>]

On Wed, 29 Nov 2000 raster@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> On 29 Nov, enterfornone scribbled:
> ->  On Wed, Nov 29, 2000 at 08:43:35PM +1100, David wrote:
> ->  > 
> ->  > Personally I believe that Linux has to be a LOT more user friendly before
> ->  > desktop apps are going to be a serious issue.
> ->  > 
> ->  > I am a lot more savvy than the average user, and I find myself constantly
> ->  > struggling with configs and installs.
> ->  
> ->  Never having used mac I can't really compare, but installing a basic 
> ->  desktop distro is simple.  There is a lot about Linux that is beyond
> ->  the average user, but if you can install and configure Windows I can't see
> ->  how you would have trouble installing Linux to the point where you can 
> ->  type letters and surf the web etc.  
> ->  
> ->  What exactly do you find difficult (desktop wise?).
> 
> installing software on linux is a pain - compared to windows. - you

Having used Solaris a lot, I have found that I really appreciate the 
package manager. 

Now I know we have RPMs, and debs and all of that, but it's really 
not as elegant as being able to do "pkgadd -d PKGname" on your system 
and then have everything installed in a logical way. 


I have nothing against the other forms of pkg management, in fact I tried 
them all, but I have always found the pkgmgt tools so easy to use. 

I tried making packages with RPM for example and then with the Solaris 
version but I always found that people preferred my Solaris packages 
easier to use (I have released a lot of packages for the Sun community).

If there was a standardised package install routine across the various 
Linux breeds, that would go a long way towards making the end user more 
comfortable with their system config.  As I have found with Solaris, 
even device drivers can be installed and configured this way, which 
makes it even easier for the end users.

I know the Solaris way is not the only, or the best way, but it 
is fairly intuitive and well understood from both the user perspective
and from an admin creating the packages themselves...

-- 
Rachel Polanskis                 Kingswood, Greater Western Sydney, Australia 
grove@xxxxxxxxxxx                http://www.zeta.org.au/~grove/grove.html
r.polanskis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx    http://www.nepean.uws.edu.au/ccd/
      "People don't say sorry in this country" - Max Connors (Seachange)