Am I asking for too much here to want an equally easy install experience on Linux for FOSS software as I enjoy on Windows? If Linux is ever to gain any sort of real market share in the desktop market I feel this is some thing that must happen. But maybe I am wrong.
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Anybody up to writing good directory software?
Tue, 2007-02-20 11:17 — David JonathanSince the very beginning, directories (of any kind) have had a very central role in the internet. (I have recently grown fond of Free Web Directory. Even Slashdot can be considered a directory: a collection of great news and invaluable user-generated comments. As far as software is concerned, doing a quick search on Google about software directories will return the free (as in freedom) software directories like Savannah, SourceForge, Freshmeat and so on, followed by shareware and freeware sites such as FileBuzz, PCWin Download Center and All Freeware (great if you're looking for shareware and freeware, but definitely less comprehensive than their free-as-in-freedom counterparts).
Is better education the key to finding better software?
Sat, 2007-03-03 03:25 — Edward RusselI read David Jonathon's article Anybody Up To Writing Good Directory Software? the other day, which got me thinking about software directories in general. As David mentioned, many of the software directories one finds when doing a quick google search are free as in beer, not as in freedom. But what interests me is the software directories that already exist, providing a combination of both free as in beer software, and open source software. Sites such as Freeware Downloads and Shareware Download don't advertise themselves as providing free as in liberty software, but each of them have a good selection of open source software available... if you know where to look.
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Lanadapter
2 years 12 weeks 5 days 2 hours ago
Bad title
Not all floss oses are like that, some provide a single install method like you would expect on windows or mac.(pc-bsd comes to mind)
aboutblank
2 years 12 weeks 5 days 33 min ago
Where is the responsibility
The reason why anything in computing is easy is because somebody took the time and effort to make it easy. Firefox exists because the Mozilla team took the effort to develop it. Compiz exists because the Compiz team took the effort to develop it. Windows binaries are easy to install because the developer invested effort into making a convenient software installer. If you find that something doesn't exist or something is more trouble than it ought to be, it's due to the fact that developers haven't invested their time and effort into making something easy.
So my question is this, "is it the developer's responsibility to deliver their software so it is convenient to install and configure?". In many cases, it is not the developer's responsibility; many software is developed by volunteers in their spare time and so, they have no obligation to their users other than to deliver freedom. This would be different if you paid a professional to deliver software to you; you'd pay them money and then you can dictate how you want them to perform their services.