Quote:
Originally Posted by punky
One important thing I should say is that the way Linux apps are installed forces many users from using Linux.
For XP, its easy. You just double click, follow the wizard and its done. With Linux, if your software supports RPM packages, you are in luck. However, a lot aren't. Because there are so many flavours of Linux, you normally have to compile the source. You are given step by step instructions, but it doesn't always go smoothly. A lot of times you need to download extra libraries etc to get it to compile. Installing programs therefore is a normally an arduous process with lots of googling needed.
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Unfortunately this is the reputation that Linux has, and berfore I made the jump I thought this was the case. I have been using Ubuntu Linux for 2 weeks and it hasn't been like that at all. There is an applications manager which has a list of hundreds of programs that are available, and it really is a case of point..click and its done. The problem is that a lot of websites for open source programs aren't user friendly, and contain instructions on compiling etc rather than having a click-to-install download. And this is the method that anyone coming from windows is used to.....go to the website, download...install.
Wether its better than windows, I would say its just different.