Re: Automatix -- ethical question
There really are fixes though. For instance, for the codecs when a media player can't play a certain file type it can pop up a window indicating which package needs to be installed (I believe multiverse has everything needed for most all codecs) and why they aren't installed by default rather than really cryptic error messages. There is also the documentation shipped with Ubuntu that shows you how to set up this stuff, it really isn't very hard, and why it needs to be done. The Ubuntu dev community is also working a lot on 3rd party inclusion (the dapper-commercial repo is on example) so there really shouldn't be a need for Automatix et al. I can see it as a short term solution but it is not the way to move Ubuntu forward.
Overall, one of my problems with Automatix and EasyUbuntu is that it they are, in essence, saying to the user "Ubuntu developers don't care about providing users with with what they need." Even if there are legitimate reasons for not including something, it is still better handled through the distro development proccess rather than add-on scripts.
Anyway, I suppose we don't need to rehash all of this stuff. I believe Automatix will be made obsolete by Edgy or Edgy+1 anyway.
-LaserJock
"That's all very well in practice, but will it ever work in theory?" -- G. Hill
"A tidy laboratory means a lazy chemist." -- Jöns Jacob Berzelius
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