There are many things one can say about Linux. One thing that will likely never be said about it (at least as things now stand) is that it’s easy to install and configure for a first-time user. Say what you will about Windows, but at least most things Just Plain Work on that platform; you don’t have to worry too much about compatibility, or not being able to play certain multimedia formats. We can thank patent restrictions, non-disclosure agreements, and the wonderful DMCA for the current, rather sorry state of “out of the box” support for hardware and media in most Linux distributions.

Of course, it is possible to add support for most media codecs and “closed” hardware, provided you know how to do it. Traditionally, this has meant searching for third-party drivers and “restricted formats” packages for your distribution of choice. For the popular Ubuntu family of Linux distributions, the most popular solution for newbies has usually been a tool called Automatix that installs most of this “missing” support, along with several other proprietary/commercial/closed-binary applications that fall outside the Debian Free Software Guidelines upon which Ubuntu was founded.

However, thanks to a few new innovations in the recent Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) release, the use of Automatix seems somewhat less than essential even for new users. Thanks to a new “Restricted Drivers” tool, it is now simplicity itself to install, say, the closed-source nVidia drivers on a freshly-minted Feisty box. Feisty also comes with the “universe” and “multiverse” repositories (that contain mostly “non-Free” software) enabled by default; in previous Ubuntu versions you had to add them to your /etc/apt/sources.list file yourself, either by hand or by using the GUI package-management tool synaptic. Also, the gnome-app-install GUI utility makes installing these packages every bit as easy as in Automatix, though it may be very slightly less clear on first usage what you’re supposed to do. In essence, Ubuntu newbies can now, with proper documentation, install many of the packages Automatix would have provided without ever needing to run the third-party script.

And this may in fact be a good thing, since reports of Automatix “breaking” Ubuntu have become more and more numerous in the recent months since the release of Feisty. Whether it is a fault of the Automatix script itself or simply the packages the tool points to, there have been several users in the official Ubuntu forums complaining about how using Automatix has caused some damage to their systems, causing all manner of problems up to and including the point of having to install a fresh system. Now, admittedly, such reports seem to be in the minority, and many users (including the present author) have never had a day of trouble with Automatix. But the number of disgruntled Automatix users does seem to be growing, and at an alarming rate.

In addition to all of this, there is also the notion, often expressed in the *nix community, that “ease-of-use” tools such as Automatix often tend to shield the user from learning too much about the underlying operating system — which has traditionally been one of the major grievances the Linux community has with Microsoft’s “Make it easy for Grandma Harriet to run her sewing-circle mailing list” philosophy toward system maintenance. And while you could make the argument that Automatix is a time-saver for installing restricted packages, there exists now a new fork of Ubuntu — Linux Mint — that comes with all such packages installed by default (at least of those that allow free-beer redistribution), and is just as free to download and install as Ubuntu itself is. If you wanted MP3 playback and ATI drivers with a minimum of fuss, you could just install Mint in the first place and never have to touch Automatix.

Yet despite all of this working against it, Automatix continues to be a popular choice for most first-time Ubuntu users, to the point where some even consider it essential. Most of this has to do with good word-of-mouth from former Ubuntu newbies who remember how it helped ease their transition from the Windows world, and have naturally passed that info along to newer users who they’ve managed to “infect” with the Linux “bug.” And as previously mentioned, the number of users who’ve had system-critical problems with the packages Automatix installs are very much in the minority, despite the fact there are some disturbing trends in their stories.

So, the question comes down to this. With the innovations in package-management that Feisty Fawn provides, is Automatix even necessary anymore? Or do you feel that, warts and all, it should remain a useful tool to help new Ubuntu converts in their quest for acceptance of the so-called “Linux for Human Beings?” It’s a tough call.

Why not chime in with your comments below?

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2 Comments »

1. 
   Andrew Modro
   July 27, 2007 at 7:36 am

   I actually found out about Automatix only after I had my Dapper (from a Breezy install) system up and running, something which you helped me with, as you may recall. I haven’t touched it since then, either, so I’m afraid these troubles are totally alien to me. Had I known about Automatix at the beginning, it might have made one or two days at the start of my Ubuntu experience a lot easier, but everything shook out all right. I’m lucky to have such knowledgeable friends, though.

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2. 
   Migo
   July 27, 2007 at 9:37 pm

   Personally, I enjoy editing my source.list file by hand. Then again, I code everything by hand so I’m probably not the best person to voice their opinion on the “ease of use” front.

   At any rate, if you’re not too concerned with how your OS works, and just want to be rid of Windows, then use Automatix and hope for the best…or you could just install Linspire or Xandros. I hear they’re both pretty simple to get up and running, and most made to feel like Windows.

   [Reply]

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