Re: [Chat] KDE/GNOME main lacks, accordingly to an italian magazine

[Weiqi Gao <weiqigao a crl com>]

Alessandro Bottoni wrote:
> 
> The writer of the leading article of an italian magazine devoted to Linux,
> spotted these two main lacks in the current Linux desktop world (KDE and
> GNOME):
> 
> 1) A GUI-based installation tool equivalent to InstallShield and Wise

This is not essential in my opinion.  InstallShield was there to solve
the following Windows specific _accidental_ complexities:

+ No agreed upon convention existed for where an application should
install it's various kind of files.

+ Application vendors are encouraged to upgrade the operating system by
installing new versions of system libraries (and the reboots made
necessary by the practice).

+ System wide installation of application and personalization of that
application by a particular user are not distinguished on a Windows
system.  Thus the installing user dictates what gets installed for all
other users (in picking which component to install).

Linux systems have a good solution for the first problem.  Linux
application vendors don't usually alter the OS.  And to fully utilize an
application on Linux, with its multi users, an application usually needs
to be installed in it full.  Therefore Linux doesn't have an urgent need
for InstallShield.

One real benefit of InstallShield is its uninstall feature.  And you can
get that with the "rpm -e" command.  GUI versions of this command is
available from GNOME.

> 2) An integrated, uniform, printing/plotting support like the one supplied
> by Windows via the device context for printing.

This one is right on.

> Does anybody knows of projects aimed to fill these gaps?

I don't know if gnome-print solves the second problem.  And at first
glance the printing problem seems to be in the realms of the OS, not
GNOME:

Linux (or other UNIX)
  XFree86 for display
    GNOME for an GUI environment (or KDE)
  ???????? for printing (PostScript? HP LaserJet's PCL?)
    lpq for print spooling
    ghostscript for translating PostScript to printer primitives
    

> Do you agree with the article writer?
> There are other relevant lacks in KDE/GNOME, in your opinion?

Easter eggs!

-- 
Weiqi Gao
weiqigao@a.crl.com