Pimp Your Linux
Automatix is a program that installs a myriad programs on Linux distributions. It’s quite useful for people that are fed up with the limited options in the regular Ubuntu package manager. However, as helpful as the program may seem, there exists a problematic side to Automatix. It seems to be breaking systems all over the world. I’ve compiled some of the problems that quite a few users are experiencing.
Here are some shots of Automatix in action from their website:
Testimonials:
Breaking Packages:
From the xubuntu blog, Vincent states that Automatix “gets its packages from sources other than the official Ubuntu ones, it is likely that upgrading to a newer version of Ubuntu will cause problems newbies do not want to deal with.”
If you update your Ubuntu system frequently, perhaps it is best to stay away from Automatix.
Problems with X:
From the Social Discussion blog, Qtwerp states “I tried Automatix and EasyUbuntu and the script program that is supposed to help install your video card drivers. Each time I ended up with something messed up such as X wouldn’t start, it would take at least 5 min to fully start up, I still couldn’t play the movie I wanted to because the software wasn’t installed, etc. (not all at once)”
Perhaps the best option for video card installation isn’t an automatic script, or a program like Automatix, but to actually go out and learn how to install it. This goes back to the old saying, “feed a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, teach a man how to fish, and he’ll eat for the rest of his life”. Hopefully this site will enable you to find useful how-tos so that you can learn how to fish.
Upgrading from Edgy to Feisty:
For the first six months after feisty was released, many users had problems upgrading, because they had used Automatix in Edgy to install packages that were not supported by the Ubuntu community. Scott’s blog talks about some of these issues in more detail. Therefore, it is likely that there will be new problems as the feisty community upgrades to the next version of Ubuntu.
Scott makes the point that Automatix wouldn’t be as problematic if the members of the community came together to form a team to support it. Right now, the existing Automatix team is a good start, check out the Automatix forums as well.
Users should be warned before they install software from outside the main component, or even outside of the Ubuntu repository that they are likely to cause problems when it’s time to upgrade.
Are these programs necessary?
Perhaps programs such as Automatix/Easy Ubuntu/etc… just should not be necessary. Why should we have to install a program that installs other programs?
I think that so far, Ubuntu has done a great job including great opensource software, however, there is still something lacking in the distributions. However, even the package manager in Ubuntu can be overwhelming to new users who want the operating system to just work. Perhaps we need to make it easier to add third party repositories and select appropriate software for our individual needs.
Conclusion:
Bergcube warns that “Automatix has seriously munged [his] system a couple of times”, and for that he despises it.
However, there are many people out there that absolutely adore it.
luptinpitman writes that”Automatix is a great tool to help first timers get their machine up and running and start evaluating the OS instead of being forced to understand Linux repositories and installation techniques from the ground up.”
Is there an alternative that has better results than Automatix? Perhaps. Many users are die hard fans of the Easy Ubuntu program. Last week, I wrote up a review, and how-to for this program, and the message board came to life. Many people love the simplicity of this program, and seem to be having less issues with it breaking their system. Check out my review here.
Please log onto the forums, and post in the general discussion area any problems that you might have had with Automatix and Ubuntu. I look forward to hearing your comments.
4 Comments on Automatix can break your Linux Ubuntu Install
mario
The reason Automatix and Co came to being, are not only because Dapper and Edgy lacked the easy to use driver installation we now have in Feisty. It is also because the Ubuntu and Debian developers made ethical decisions on behalf of the user base. Automatix seems to be just an outcry for proper and full application support. It points out that something’s missing in the default package repositories. Or that the manual augmenting of apt sources is still too troublesome for the average Ubuntu/Linux users.
But with Shuttleworths’ recent telling-the-FSF-drones-what-they-want-to-hear, I personally don’t expect much more user-friendliness in the package availability part for the future. So maybe the Automatix folks should get their act together, and rather replace some of the flaky script parts with proper packages and repositories of their own.
themacmeister
I used Envy to automatically install ATI/AMD Radeon fglrx drivers in my Feisty 7.04 install. Everything worked perfectly first time.
Automatix has totally wrecked my Ubuntu install on MORE than ONE occasion. Therefore I do no use it anymore.
joylessdave
ive used automatix and envy on many systems over the last year, i have never experienced any problems with either of them.
and automatix is the easies way to get the win32 codecs and the encrypted dvd codecs
as these are propritory and chraged for (i.e. not just closed source like real player) they will never be avaliable to ubuntu or debian by default.
i have done distribution upgrades using both scripts and have had mixed results,
the worst of which was with envy as the drivers broke with the kernel upgrade. but easily fixed just rerun envy in the recovery console and it fixes it
i personally love these scripts and am greatful tot he writers for the days of time they have saved me setting up systems
Sam
I tried Linux a couple of times and dismissed it for being too dificult to make it all work.
A lot of .deb to add just to find that it didn´t work in your computer… Lack of some drivers to make the dvix play properly, mp3… etc. I thought Automatix would fix that but it didn’t so I went back to Windows… until I found Linux Mint! (an ubuntu distro) It has it all and works, it has beryl, Envy, emerald, amarok, flash… all you need! I had to tweak it a little to install the dread wireless broadcom card for my laptop, but everything else worked from the start!.
It may not be as free (as speak) cause it has propietary soft but I don’t care, I want it to work and if it needs some non-opensource code it´s ok for me… as long as it´s free (as beer) and Linux Mint is.
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