Re: Some things GNOME really needs

[Robert Roeser <roeser engr orst edu>]

you seem to miss the point, that being to make steps toward making Unix
> > 2. Not all linux distros have package systems, and GNOME isn't only for
> > Linux it is for all flavors of UNIX, which don't all have rpms
> 
> True. But you can install rpm on those systems if you need to.
What about solaris, or HP-UX, Darwin, etc? Gnome is suppose to be running
on all the se platforms one day? Can you install RPMS on to them? Secondly
the end user, imagine someone who has never used before is goign to
install RPM on there system?

> > 3. Theses package system were made to used from the CLI, and for Linux
> > users. NOT for people who are used to Windoze, or macs. Now some would
> > argue that we don't want them etc. But I thought the goal of the GNOME
> > project was to make Linux easier to use for all, and to hopefully make it
> > easier for the common person to use, ie Win and Mac users.
> 
> One of the goals of the GNOME project was to make linux easier to use
> for people, yes. But it clearly isn't for everyone, yet.
> 
> The ideal situation, IMHO, would be for distrobutions to ship with
> GNOME, and have it installed by default so that people don't need to
> worry about downloading it. Updates are still a problem, but this is a
> work in progress.
> 
> > 4. Will I use GnoRPM, I know that is it less still to hard for the common
> > user. I set my Family up a linux server for our DSL, and my Dad had to
> > install something one day. It took longer then it should of. Nifty install
> > program would have ben nice. (i was at school, and couldn't log into the
> > machine :(
> 
> Linux isn't ready to kill off all the other OSes.

I had it set up as a machine to IP mascarade, so we could use more then
one computer to connect ot our DSL, they use a Win98 box for everything
else, games etc.

>
> > 5. Gnome is modular so the "install wizard" in theory could use pieces of
> > other programs so you wouldn't have to reinvent the wheel. End users need
> > to
> > be walked though installs. I get the feeling that most Linux users forget
> > this, or at least some.
> 
> No, people don't read. There are man pages and there are README files
> and there are FAQs and there are howtos. 

People don't WANT to read. They want to type papers, play games and
look on the internet. Occasionally they want to install a new program.
They shouldn't have to read howtos, and READMEs. An install process should
be so intuitviely obvious that all you have to do is click on install,
etc.

> > 6. Tke kernel has a graphical install program, albeit that you have to
> > type in make, etc. That is were I first thought about the idea for a
> > gui interface for compiling. Programs could come with a script called
> > 'setup' or install, like has been suggested and when ran it would compile
> > it would pop up a little window, and lead the user through the rest of the
> > install. If the script was in perl it could run on all flavors of Unix in
> > GNOME. This would be simpiler IHMO for an end user. All the do is double
> > click on install, and wham it installs...
> 
> Unpacking, and typing 'install' is just as difficult as typing
> 'make;make install', imho. And people need to *read* to check the
> dependancies. 

First, you don't just type make;make install all the time, sometimes it
could be ./configure --options-for-bor, etc. then make, make install, make
man, or xmkmf make make install. Secondly you wouldn't have to type
anything, it should be a point and click install. IE find the program in
GMC double click, and away you go, or go through an applet in in the
control panel