Hi all,
According to their website EasyUbuntu doesn't yet support Edgy Eft. I installed RealPlayer so I can at least watch *.rm files (after mucking with esd), however I'd like to be able to view everything I could in Dapper. Does anyone know when EasyUbuntu will start supporting Edgy Eft, or if there is a HowTo on how to install all of the necessary codecs manually, so they'll work with Totem/Xine/whatever?
Thanks.

Automatix should... works almost exactly like EasyUbuntu.

http://getautomatix.com

IGF

These things you're talking about are merely scripts if I'm right, so you could just as well peek inside and see what they really do. It's manual work automated, the way scripts are used.

If you want codecs, you'll need to download them (and install) - the script simply knows some internet addresses, fetches the packets and rolls them in. You can do the same, but if you do it manually you'll just have to do more than one click.

The good side of these automation scripts are that even those users that don't know or don't care to find out can get their system working the way they want. Bad side is, on the other hand, that this way they don't know what is actually done (installed, copied) and don't search for alternatives; not all codecs are open source, not even nearly, so installing non-free codecs is not a good thing (well that's my point of view), if there are better alternatives around. Using such scripts takes you back to the Windows age, when you just asked for an easy way to get something done that you don't understand.

I tried one of those scripts earlier with Dapper, liked it (since it wasn't my own pc, and I was just asked to "make it work as fast as possible") but I'd probably never use it for my own machine.

For instructions on how to make file type X play/work/read/sign/roll over, there are lots of sites on the web. On Ubuntu this is often juts a matter of using apt.

I agree, but Automatix/EasyUbuntu/Fedora Frog, etc, make installing normal use applications easy for someone who really just needs a simple running desktop, and doesn't care to learn the ins and outs of the OS.

IGF

I've heard Automatix is more difficult to use than EasyUbuntu, however since it seems to be the only option I'll give it a shot. And you're correct, I could decode the scripts myself, but I don't have the will (or time) to do that, I just need to get my desktop up and running. Thanks all.

I don't know why someone would say that. I've used both, and essentially, they are the same thing. Click on an app, choose install, boom, its installed. I just burned 6.10 to a DVD a few minutes ago. Hopefully I'll have time to try it out this weekend.

Yup, I installed Automatix2 last night and 30 minutes later I could view all the rms, rams, wmv, movs I wanted. It was extremely simple, although it required a reboot (my X froze-up after it was all installed). Thanks all!