Open Source Mac - Free, Open-Source software for OS X

[markd at macports.org]

Rick Gigger <rick at alpinenetworking.com> on Thursday, May 31, 2007 at 2:52
PM -0800 wrote:
>>> I'm getting a sense that people who use double-clickable installers 
>>> are somehow not "our sort of people." Goodness knows we can always use 
>>> more snobbery ;-)  
>> 
>> I wouldn't argue that at all.  I would instead argue that MacPorts is 
>> simply not READY to serve people who use double-clickable installers.  
>>  That has always been a design goal of MacPorts, but it's not there 
>> yet.  It has a ways to go.  It doesn't even know how many of its ports 
>> even build at a given time yet, much less have them all packaged up and 
>> ready to double click on. :-)
>
>I would agree with that.  I would say that once you have a binary 
>repository, and a very, very easy to use gui installer, then and only 
>then, is it going to be ready for the average user.  Normal people look 
>at the command line like it's some sort of arcane magic.  Normal people 
>don't want to take half an hour to compile mozilla from source rather 
>than taking 2 minutes to download it.
>
>If you were installing binaries, and if you had a nice gui, to handle 
>not only installing the software but also to handle seamlessly keeping 
>it up to date, then I think it would be a GREAT tool for your average 
>user.  Until then they are going to stick to installing via drag and 
>drop .app folders.

Didn't Steve Jobs once say that the problem of people not being familiar
with a keyboard would be "solved by biology"?  I sometimes wonder if the
pickup rate for Unix skills isn't increasing faster than our ability to
provide an alternative for many of the utility type apps for which we have
ports.  No I'm not being a snob.  Installing stuff is difficult and I'd
like it as much as anyone, but I can't help but wonder sometimes.

Mark