apps choice for Ubuntu and installation choices [Was: cross-platform virus]

[Matt Zimmerman]

On Wed, Apr 12, 2006 at 09:41:21PM +1000, Alexander Jacob Tsykin wrote:
> A home user most definitely does not need the Gimp. It is overkill, it has
>  far too many features, is hard to learn, and difficult to use.

Are you suggesting an alternative?

> Gnucash would be useful to almost any body who owns their own business

I personally use gnucash a great deal; however, I consider it far from an
appropriate choice for the casual user.  The business-related features are
especially incomplete at present.

> No multimedia apps need to be included in a business install because chances
> are the user will need word processing, email, and web browsing only.

The web is, increasingly, a multimedia environment, as is email.

> A tool to convert measurements is useful for almost anybody.
> A desktop choice for kids would be good. It could include mainly games, some
> educational and some not.

http://www.edubuntu.org/

> Bittorrent most definitely does not need to be included by default. Only
>  users with a fairly good understanding of computers have even heard of it.

They don't need to have heard of it; it provides a handler for .torrent
files.  This allows hyperlinks to .torrent files in Firefox (including those
popular for downloading Ubuntu CD images) to work.

>  Gnash should be included in the base install, so that people aren't forced
>  to sue Macromedia's proprietary plugin, and it works for 64-bit too. At the
>  moment it is not even installable.

We would be thrilled to have an open solution for flash, but none of the
available options, including Gnash, is suitable at present.  Have you tried
it?

> The various printer drivers should not be installed by default. A user is
>  very unlikely to use more than 2, and yet he has all of them. It is
>  unnecessary.

It is impossible to know in advance what kind of printer the user might
have, or might purchase later (the printer won't arrive with a driver disc
for Ubuntu).  Disk space is a trivial price to pay to have a wide range of
hardware Just Work.

-- 
 - mdz