Software Installation Must be Simplified in Ubuntu

This morning I went over to The How To Geek to read the How To Geek's instructions for installing Adobe Reader for Ubuntu. Why anyone would ask how to do this or care, I don't really know . That's why I was browsing the aforementioned article - to find out what advantages it has over the built-in PDF reader that Ubuntu comes with. It turns out it has none, and that there is no reason to install Adobe's product in Ubuntu.

What struck me were the comments (I left one as well). The people who had read the article and tried to follow its directions were met with all manner of ill-fated experiences attempting to do something as simple as install very mainstream software on their supposedly user-friendly Linux PC's.

Ubuntu must be enhanced to handle downloading and installing free software. The current method is aimed at techies, uses unfriendly terminology, is scattered into different places in the operating system, and leaves the user confused and intimidated if they do not work in the technology sector.

For Ubuntu acceptance to become more widespread, this needs to be addressed.

The problem:

1. Users was to download and install software on their Ubuntu PC's
2. There are multiple locations in the menus to try for this (applications | add/removed... Synaptic Package Manager)
3. Software can be installed without using either of the above menu items
4. How to uninstall software from the system is unclear
5. Software cannot simply be found on web sites and easily installed as in Windows by ordinary users
6. Some software installs require command line usage (the command line must be banished and hidden away somewhere dark and infrequently visited before true usability is achieved)

The solution:

1. Handle downloads like archives (automatically open up an install/uninstall handler when someone downloads a file
2. Get rid of the concept of "repositories" and never use the unfriendly word "repository" again. It sounds like a government warehouse and ordinary users will never go so far as to mess with these
3. Remove the item "Synaptic Package Manager" and never display such a thing to users again. Automate everything behind the scenes and instead only show "installed software"
4. Develop a service to detect software being installed by the user which triggers a helper program to track all installed files and config changes to undo them later and place a helpful, friendly item in the Add/Remove menu
5. Find a single place to install software (program files in Windows) where it goes. I put all of mine in /opt when given the choice. Why is some there and some in other places? Because some idiot scientist had some lofty reason for it. That scientist needs to be banished - Ubuntu is not for scientists.

Making software installation easier and more friendly is a key obstacle to Ubuntu adoption. Until users can click links, download files, click the icons, and see software install automatically guided to the right locations and uninstall with a single click, Ubuntu will remain unfriendly Linux that the average PC user will fear.

Fix it.