Re: Win vs. UNIX usability (Was: Re: gnome-terminal idea)

[David Jeske <jeske home chat net>]

On Thu, Sep 24, 1998 at 03:52:30PM -0500, John R Sheets wrote:
> Tim Moore wrote:
> > 
> > Installing software is different, though. Unix has security issues to deal
> > with, as well as portability issues and any number of other issues. This
> > is the tough problem.
> 
> Yes.  A lot of the reason that windows software is sooo easy to install
> is the complete lack of security.  Any new software package can
> conceivably tromp on an old, even unrelated package (or even uninstall
> it if the owner is particularly ornery :c).  As soon as you introduce
> security and file permissions into the picture, installations suddenly
> get more complex.  There's no way around this simple fact.  UNIX
> installs will never be as smooth (and sloppy) and brainless as windows
> installs.
> 
> I can envision a UNIX install program with enough smarts to give the
> user a few critical choices and figure out the rest on its own...  "Do
> you want to install in your home directory, or in the system
> directory?"  If they pick the home directory, it goes right through like
> a sloppy windows install.  If they choose a system directory, it then
> asks them to choose a root path, e.g. /usr, /usr/local, /opt, etc., and
> then asks them for the login/password to install it under.  It could
> even run a quick check in standard places, to see if a version of the
> current program has already been installed.
>
> To agree with Tim, I don't think there's a fundamental problem.  The
> problem is that there is no consistently good, currently-implemented
> solution.

I believe that the 'fundamental problem' (if this is considered such)
is that when we straighten this out all apps are going to have to be
changed to handle different install locations, and so the earlier we
do this the better.

However, you really should go try Nextstep/Rhapsody and it's
installer. It is a 'consistently good, currently-implemented' solution
which is based on UNIX, and has proved in existing installations that
it far surpassed the ability of both standard UNIX and Windows to get
simple, repeatable, managable app installation. 

-- 
David Jeske (N9LCA) + http://www.chat.net/~jeske/ + jeske@chat.net