Thursday, October 18, 2007

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Working with Synaptic and Yum...

The NEW ability to easily install New Open Source Software in Linux sometimes makes people think it's done with Mirrors.

Well, it is. Mirrors and Repositories.

What are Mirrors and Repositories?

Mirrors are the web servers that hold the various Repositories (which are pre-packaged RPMs built for unique Distros like Ubuntu or FC6 or OpenSuSE).

Debian users use command-line Apt-Get, as do dirivatives like FC and Ubuntu.

To use just type in: apt-get -y install .

But it's easier to use a graphical frontend called: Synaptic.

Red Hat, the originators of RPM's (Redhat Package Managers) in one form or other is used by most up-to-date distributions. Open SuSE and Fedora Core 4, 5 and 6 use RPM's and most-likely the upcoming FC7 will too.

Fedora also has a front-end and it's called YUM, which came from Yellow Dog Linux, the former Apple Linux OS.

Yellow Dog Linux is now the "New" OS for Sony's PS3.

Yum stands for Yellow-Dog Update Managers, and it's what I use on my copy of FC6.

Sure you can download tarred files from SourceForge or Freshmeat, but doing so sometimes leads you into the "PIT" of dependency HELL. Yum and Synaptic checks for dependecies first, downloads them to along with the needy programs and installs them easily.

Prime example is Videolan (VLC) video player that requires over 30-plus libraries to be installed before it will compile. Make sure the necessary repositories are listed in Yum or Synaptic's look-up list and the install is just a click of the Apply.

Neat... Sweet.

*****
New on My FC6 Machine.

A new install of a program called: Alexandria, gives you a way to keep track of your personal library.

A program I have on my Applications Accessories tab is Buoh Online Comics Reader, that gives you daily comics from the daily online newspapers to you Desktop. You pick the comics you want from a list and each day you read that day's comic by clicking on the name in you favorites List. Andy Capp, BC, The Fifth Wave, and Doonesbury are my favorites, but I still have access to 26 others.