Am 07.08.2007 um 16:30 schrieb Sebastian Heinlein: > installing software from the internet blindly is perhaps the cause > for most > unstable windows systems.
I doubt an OS installation cares where you've got your applications from. The worst software I have experience with are drivers and free "helper" applications coming on a CD bundled with hardware. The biggest source of instability is the fact you have to install software at all. Libraries possibly overriding already existing ones. Variables set or unset to match what the individual developer thinks is right. Additional files spread all over the system, because Linux expects them in a specific place. Configuration files edited without a chance to revert them to a different mix of installed packages. If you want more stability along with more ease for the user, you should work towards self-sufficient application packages. Not necessarily a single file, but a directory filled with everything some piece of software needs. Installation: unpack an archive (without admin rights, whereever it is convenient for you). Deinstallation: move the archive's contents (a single file or directory) to the trash. Changes after a typical installation/run/deinstallation cycle: Zero. While this requires some tweaks to the base system (e.g. the linker should look into the bundle before /usr/lib) and isn't good for every type of software, it is very user friendly and very doable. Classic Mac OS did it. Mac OS X does it. GNUstep does it. Markus - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dipl. Ing. Markus Hitter http://www.jump-ing.de/ -- Ubuntu-devel-discuss mailing list Ubuntu-devel-discuss@lists.ubuntu.com Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-devel-discuss
