i have been browsing around the ubuntu forums for some time now and the mention of automatix spurs an avalanche of dont use it it breaks things...

now i use it (well i did when i first installed ubuntu and found it usefull) i dont now but it is still installed,,

so here i am asking if you say it breaks things please provide proof not just it breaks things,
this is not to start a war i just want to know how it breaks things...

i know about upgrades,although i had no problem..

so any way can we please be objective,no rants, no flames ,just honest answers

thank you
GooFy

dont worry, it *can* break thing only when you run it, even though it is very unlikely...

i used it myself once and had no problems at all... great for getting some standart apps installed fast...

I don't know. Its the great mystery of our time. People always says "never use sudo with graphical applications, use gksudo instead or you will break things". I have never experienced anything breaking and no one is able to provide an answer to why it should break.

Besides that, I see no point in using Automatix to install programs. Why install and use a program to run a program that installs programs, when a program to install programs is already there (apt-get)? You have to install it in the first place anyway, so why not just install the programs it installs the first time around instead?

Never had a problem with it. Some people just have to complain i guess The problems with automatix breaking your system was a long time ago. Some people have a problem letting things go.

I love automatix for installing a lot of fonts, that would otherwise be a really big job. And some of the apps that's not in the repos. Then you don't have to hunt down a lot of dependecies before you compile from source. Something that a lot of newbies shouldn't do anyway.

I also use GetDeb - Ubuntu Software Portal - More applications, easy to install Nice to have even newer software and games Gnu/Linux is all about choice. Why complain when someone want's to do it different ways

IMO, Automatix can't break anything, since it only installs software from either its repo, or the ubuntu repos

it is not about whether you think it is usefull,it is about a lot of new users dont want to have to install things manually,it is easier to use automatix and this is the way of the future.. i hear a lot of people say it breaks things but never no proof..
if it breaks things how.?
if ubuntu is so good why was automatix needed.?
is the ubuntu forum so pathetic it needs to bag a program that actually helps bring ubuntu to the average user.?
and i have used it since breezy and not had a problem even with vidio drivers or upgrades.
but i have had official ubuntu updates kill my system..
they both have there problems but are all easy to fix..
is it not better to work together than fight...
so they dont use the same repo's whoopdy bl###y do

but as i said this is not to start a war i am just trying to get a handle on the problem between the two...

It's said that it breakes things because it messes around with the sources list

so i hear com'on people i know that most of the forum staff are here..they have asll said there piece on ubuntu and that is a no argument forum,it is there way or no way..
why does automatix break things,give me the facts..no rumours,no inuendo's just documented facts

It changes the sources list and so it means that it may instal software that istn supporte by ubuntu. Thus meaning that the software MAY do damage to your machine, Its usut them minding there backs

To be honest, I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with Automatix. It's just a fancy name for a decent helper script to install some things that aren't installed in a default Ubuntu setup, things that can be either time consuming or difficult, especially for newcomers.

All the drama and controversy exists because the guy who wrote/developed Automatix is very difficult to get along with. He is consistently defensive (in the extreme) when people make comments or suggestions or criticism, whether those comments have to do with technical things, licensing issues, or personality. He is demeaning toward other users. This is the only major problem with Automatix in its most current version.

There have been problems with the script itself (yes, I have read the code, both in the early versions as well as the more current version) in the early days. Those have been pretty well cleaned up. Not completely enough in some people's opinion, but I really don't believe any of the remaining issues are what is driving the controversy.

that is my take on things it seems it is more about personality than problems.
but in my opinion (and it is only my opinion)and i may be wrong.
yes i have read the official stance.!
that the ubuntu forums allow people to bag automatix but punish any one who offers support.
and that is why i posted here as this subject can not be discussed over there,
my feelings are that it is a very helpfull program for new commers and should not be openly discouraged.
my reason for saying this..i have seen numerous newbies ask about automatix when they first installed ubuntu. and they were openly discouraged .then they had so much trouble to get set up they quit trying.
this is not good for linux or ubuntu.

but back to the reason it seems that the slanderous it breaks things ,is just that,a bunch of gobbldie gook.
and forum members and staff (exspecialy forum staff they should show a nuetral stance) should be openly be discouraged from posting such crap..

thanks

I always use automatix on a fresh install to get all the codecs and wine installed.

That's exactly what I thought was going on. I've been using Automatix since I started using Ubuntu. I've never had a problem with. It hasn't broken anything for me. It does make things a lot easier for new users. But I'd like to try and see if I can set up Feisty without it since I'm more experienced now. I've found that's there documentation on how to do just about everything that Automatix does. Like for codecs Here

Well most of the helper scripts like AX get this kind of attention based on their necessity or not. Some feel they are important for installation, and others don't. Its really up to the user quite honestly. Is Envy really needed to install prop. ATI/Nvidia drivers? Is EasyUbuntu necessary to install what it does? Probably not, but what one can say is that such helper scripts are and do have their own purpose and place. A person shouldn't be downed for using them. Its clearly their choice to depend on such things or not.

Some may feel that such dependency on unsupported helper scripts like AX , Envy, or EasyUbuntu is against what officially Ubuntu itself supports (as commonly seen in the #ubuntu irc channel) , and yet others feel the opposite. Its a heated topic most certainly. But what we must all keep in mind is that it really boils down to user choice.

I took the liberty of cleaning up your post a little bit. I hope you don't mind.

The only software supported by canonical is the stuff in main, so that is not a valid argument. I think just about everyone uses the other repo's too. These are the packages marked with a ubuntu logo in add/remove.

Actually the idea that everyone uses the other repos is a rather cynical view. Actually many many users do not use any but the stuff in main/universe. This is typical for many Educational systems (ive seen a few) that have full ubuntu implementations in them. They pretty much use Main/Universe and never touch Multiverse. Likewise more than a few of the purists that I know of stay out of multiverse in an attempt to stay pure of non-free. But thats all a matter of opinion.

AFAIK, AX uses ONE repo for software unavailable in Ubuntu repos. I really doubt that would break anything

on my edgy install i use two debian ,1 fiesty,and a picassa and swiftfox repo's
i have had no breakages.but i do have an on going sound issue with edgy,but it seems that the bug is not important enough to be fixed yet.

feisty got brocken with the updates the other day,dont know why but after the updates x failed to start,

those that say it changes your source list,i have only seen it add its repo's that it uses, and if it does stuff them up they are a lot easier to fix ,than trying to fix xserver after trying to get the resolution sorted..

It's never caused me any problems. Its actually one of the first things I put on my computer after a fresh install. What can I say, I'm just lazy.