?ann m?n 20.sep 2010 02:29, skrifa?i Joe Zeff: > On 09/19/2010 05:52 PM, Carl Symons wrote: >> It is possible to install most Linux apps without using >> repositories. >> If you decide to go this route, you will learn a lot very >> quickly. It >> may not be the smoothest ride however. > > As another Linux geek, let me assure you that your best bet > is using your distro's repositories whenever possible. > Everything's been customized to go in the right places for > your system and you won't find yourself in dependency hell. > I'd like to wish you the best of luck, both with Linux in > general and in finding and installing all the apps you need. >
Hi Robert, As another OpenSuse/Scribus user, I must agree with both of above; learn how to compile stuff - but start with something a bit less complicated than Scribus and friends. First is to learn and see how repositories work, wait until you see how upgrades come in, add some new basic additional repos like packman and videolan (for non-free stuff). The repo I'm using for Scribus is mrdocs; <URL: http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/mrdocs/openSUSE_11.2/>; which gives me Scribus 1.3.7 plus some more recent PDF utilities and color profiles. Ghostscript 8.64-6.3.1 comes from the normal Opensuse-11.2-Update repository. Stable as hell. One tip; many OpenSuse/Yast users get into one type of complications (especially new users): It's too friggin easy to add repositories (in yast or via OneClickInstallations) an they end up with a repository list that goes from here to the moon. Be careful, some of the independent repos break from time to time, read carefully what intentions the repo managers have (bleeding edge or stability), don't overcomplicate your system. Even the official OpenSuse repos may *break* from time to time, Novell employees have the bad habit of not always warning people when they change contents in repos. If you're not interested in bugreporting, whenever there's a big critical upgrade announced (kernel, graphics driver, window manager), just wait a week or two before applying the updates (others will take the shit for you now - you will for others later). If your system gets all *foobar*, fortunately there's a little last-aid kit built into the software management module in Yast: by choosing instead of View-->Repositories and selecting a repo (e.g. OpenSuse-Stable); above there's a link named "Switch system packages to the versions in this repository". Which after some cups of coffee should render your system usable again. And this yast2 module can also be run in an DOS-like environment from command line, even in rescue mode I think. Very handy sometimes (when you/someone screws up your graphics driver). Good luck. Sveinn ? Felli
