There are currently at least five popular ways of installing software in GNU/Linux. None of them are widely accepted throughout the popular distributions. This situation is not a problem for experienced users - they can make decisions for themselves. However, for a newcomer in the GNU/Linux world, installing new software is always pretty confusing. The article tries to sum up some of the recent efforts to fix this problem and examine the possible future of packaging software in GNU/Linux.
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Member since:2006-10-22
Yep, as well as drastically reducing the chances of running malware on your machine, the fact that it will install with no immediate setup required (no desktop icon nonsense), the fact that you can supply it as an argument on the command line with 500 other programs that will all work the same way, the fact you'll be able to trace what files on your system are installed by which particular program, the fact you can uninstall 1000 applications cleanly at once, the fact you can update all your software and system at once, the fact you can keep a single shared library updated with ease and save on resources... I really could go on.
Member since:2005-06-29
Member since:2006-11-02
"as well as drastically reducing the chances of running malware on your machine"
OS X has no need to use packages or repositories and has no, or at least no greater, malware problem than Linux.
"the fact that it will install with no immediate setup required"
The vast majority of user apps on OS X run without any installation without packages or repositories.
"the fact you can uninstall 1000 applications cleanly at once"
Just like you can go to /Applications Select All and drag them to the trash?
"the fact you can keep a single shared library updated with ease and save on resources."
Can you give a disk space/memory space figure that common Linux apps are saving vs the same apps or type of apps on OS X?
"I really could go on."
Please do. You have yet to give any reason that adds value to the average user in going through the hassle of using application repositories or installation packages.
Member since:
2005-11-12
You can download Firefox and run it from it's own directory in Linux if need be. The benefits of waiting for it to appear in your package manager is knowing it's gone through another layer of testing.