I recently and perhaps stupidly Loaded FC2 on to one of my PC's. after initial teething troubles like loosing my XP and having to reload the network drives Oh and having to sit in a dark room for a few hours... I finally got My XP back and FC2 to work or so I thought..

Then I thought Oh wouldn't adding some software be nice...and the answer to that was mixed...it ranged from Firefox Oh that was easy...to Jesus Mary and Joseph....what space monkey put this together. trying to load a media player... xine, real, Mplayer, The instructions were to say the least written by a geek..Or a mentally disturbed accountant. All anyone requires is ease of use...

I don't need to know how clever y'all are..Ok...hey look I compiled the most complex set of instructions yet...hey guys beat that..! This seems the sort of mentality that prevails right now in the Linux community.

Now Linux has been round long enough for someone to come up with a universal loader...?
y'know..the kind of thing that installs Linux in the first place..!

Wow how did Firefox install...!..gee I didn't have to do hardly a thing..I just extracted it with a right click and hit install.
Now am I missing something here...Is there a universal loader??? are there intelligent space monkeys...I personally don't know.

Case one.... Hey lets install realplayer...hmmm download something that says its real..ok...?? Oh its got instructions...oh well just a couple of lines ...well Ok then I'll try this..

Chmod a+x RealPlayerGOLD10....blaa blaaa
followed by an other RealPlayer....blaa..the instructions should be known to most here...since they appear at the download in the bit labeled install I suspect the instruction writing was an all male affair.
the extracting bit I learned from here....org.
Anyway ..do all that... asks for where I want to put it...Usr sounds good...I'll put it there ... hit enter....has it ...!!!!!!!!!! ******@@@@@@@@@@K no its not...she says to herself as she reaches for the Valium.

What to do...Ah I'll post a question...that will help...answer..>>> I had that problem too but I cant remember how I did it ...sorry..OH well that helped...

OH god try Xine...worse...!!!!!!!!!!!

Jesus mary and Joseph...I'll try Mplayer its been recommended here ...!!!!!!!! Oh my god a mental patient has written the instructions...

Now its like this unless your currently interested in software engineering..or currently in a advanced stage of said...have the time to waste..or the inclination...then lInux is for you. This all came from just trying to load a MEDIA player...Jesus...
Its taken two days not to do that ...in Windows ...2 min max.

Unless it comes with the core installing is problematic at best....with varying success. and a lot of the preinstall... doesn't always work that well. Suppose you get what you pay for.
Linux has fundamental problems...ones that should have been solved long time gone.

The problem really is its a work in progress and is always open. There should be a universal loader by now....there shouldn't be so many different ways to install or if there must be, a universal loader that will compensate for that. There probably is one with instructions so complex to use now one bothers.

I chose FC2 because it appeared to be a finished article?... they were already working on the new one...what I found a hatchet job...a version they had stopped tinkering with for now...leave it up to the other 40,000 Kooks to play with. If its allowed to continue there will be so many sub packages and different ways to do things its going to become unworkable.

I'm sitting here typing to you on FC2 firefox...and its working the main interface more or less works well... its you just cant change it within reason with predicable results I look across the network at my XPpro sp2...It works with slightly more predicable results..I can take a program from just bout anyplace and install or remove in a blink of an eye... I can write software for it... I can chat with it exchange files...customize it...The point is here I have to know what its going to do almost every time... Linux has to move away from command line installs as the norm. I know I've probably unuttered the unthinkable..! but time to hail a taxi for real street...!

This forum itself is symptomatic of it all...There is so much un filtered information and disinformation, that no one can say for sure what the result will be of using it..This is where errors creep in people asking the same questions and getting different answers...Is anyone running the forum?...should users report disinformation to admin when they see it?

You do know that something as simple as a universal loader would kill between 60 and 70 % of the wasted comment here and reduce disinformation by a considerable margin.

I'll say this in defense of FC2 after just kicking it about...lol.. If your just using the install as it goes on disk and are not wanting to use media files mp3 or mov or any other the many formats out there and your operating it on its own... its fine it will work for you.

I've said this before the lack of clear and simple instructions to do anything here is mind boggling this is an unfinished open program..I mean to say ..asking someone to extract files then compile them then workout the command line and so on , is ludicrous.
I thought it would be secure and simple to use... I found out that its neither anything beyond writing a letter or browsing the net...If your new to all this forget it...I'd suggest a college course and buying a couple of books on the subject to start with. then you'll come to appreciate it and add to it.. However if your the casual user or someone that wishes to use it for work, unless you have some one set it up for you that knows how to I'd say XP me up scotty..!!!!!!!!!

I'll stick with it for a while.. and maybe keep it as a hobby... or an excuse why I don't want to go out... there are only so many times I can have a sore head or wash my hair in a week...lol when will guys realize ...probably never you can tell that from the instruction writers...hey look my instructions are bigger than yours..!

I know this is not what most of you ...wanted to hear in this forum..but it has to be said. some will agree some wont.. its the basics thats letting this program down. being open as it is there must be a complete lack of project management. ..if there is someone managing this...send him to bed without supper...lol...

There is a package manager for the RedHats, it's called Red Carpet, by Ximian (now owned by Novell). Don't know if it works for FC2, but you might as well give it a try.
If that doesn't work, you could always try debian. It's the complete opposite, as in the OS installation is a pain in the ***, but then installing software and updates is trivial with apt-get.

OK, judging from the eclecticity of your post, was a mental patient READING the instructions? (dispenses Thorazine accordingly)

Try Mandrake, you might find installation and setup somewhat easier.

I actually tried Mandrake first....and I was saying what other people were thinking...when I extracted Mplayer I just could not believe that anyone would make such a distribution...same with real..and xine. Linux is a good idea its just a flawed one thats all...and I dont need thoazine...not yet anyway.

But listen to what your suggesting...not a this is how to...or there is a solution to this download this installer...what your saying is try a different OS..! which is a lot of work for rather small returns.

Trying different distributions until you find one that suits you is not uncommon. In fact I know some guys heavy into linux that run multiple distributions, depending on what their current task is. Currently I am trying SUSE 9.1, if I like it I am going to buy 9.2 Pro.

I just have to add that "distributions" or "flavors" of Linux is not a whole new OS. Linux is the core (Kernel) and everything else is just preference. Finding what distribution works best for you is all part of starting Linux. Mandrake is the easiest distribution in my opinion. If you just want the easy way, use urpmi with mandrake rpm packages.Check out "easy urpmi". Most distros come with loads of software on the cd's and lots more in online databases and other places. Packages are the universal install your talking about. Compiling from source gives you a much better install tho more options. In the applications menu, (start menu so you know what I mean), there's add and remove programs. It's a GUI or front-end where you search for the program you want, or browse though by name or by genre. Most distros have something along those lines. Debian is one of the hardest distros tho easiest to maintain. Good luck with Linux just the same. There is no better OS as of yet and not for some time to come. When something doesn't work with your Linux OS, there's always a reason. A magical reboot won't fix it.

Cheers, Drew.