Submitted by “Well the day has finally come, development of Automatix has been discontinued. We are doing this, not because we think Automatix is no longer necessary on Ubuntu and Debian, but because all of the Automatix developers have become wrapped up in more pressing commitments. I, Jared, have been asked by Technalign Inc. to assist in the development of the next version of their GNU/Linux distribution, Pioneer Warrior. I will use what I have learned as an Automatix developer to make Pioneer Warrior the best GNU/Linux distribution for the average user. Arnie, and the other Automatix Team members, currently are too involved in their personal lives to do justice to the Automatix project as well. We thank our loyal users for the years of support they have given us, and we wish them well on their journey in the world of free software.”
I was never a fan of Automatix simply because it seemed hackish and a little overbearing. There were many times it simply screwed up a perfectly good installation. I do think it was a great idea, however, but Ubuntu has solved the problem of installing proprietary or non-free software in its own, more consistent and open way and that’s progress. Like all things, Automatix’s time has come and gone. Cheers to this group of developers who saw a problem and developed an innovative way to solve it! 🙂
>I have learned as an Automatix developer to make Pioneer Warrior the best GNU/Linux distribution for the average user.
Another redundant distro which reinvents the wheel.
but now it is irrelevant.
good luck in the future, I will try that distro when it is ready !
I just hate that. You get this great free software that’s useful. They get you hooked and then they all quit for “personal reasons”.
How about we not make it to begin with?.
Then donate your time and continue where they left off. These developers donated their time for free, and sometimes they need to move on. It is not for you to berate them for leaving the project. If it is that critical for you, help it!
That could be the most selfish thing I have ever heard. These devs saw a need and filled it, and now real life has caught up with them. Grow up and show some gratitude.
Or how about support them in the personal needs (you know finances and sort) and maybe they will be able to spend more time doing what you want, cause they have less obligation to do what they may not want to do but have to do.
This is OSS software we are talking about here. How much money did you pay these people to write Automatix? In what way are they obligated to you to continue with it?
You know, you are free to fork it if you want.
See, Automatix was the software that let me really switch over to Linux, while it was almost made redundant with the release of Gutsy, having a quick interface for the install of needed stuff (the Zip/rar/ace stuff, codec’s etc etc) was convenient as all hell…
*sniff*
it will be missed for Hardy
I agree. Automatix was very helpful when I first ran Ubuntu. They had software that wasn’t in the repos like Adobe Acrobat and Crossover Office, which was cool.
I missed it when I switched over to Fedora. Fedora has livna, err RPM Fusion, but it’s not quite the same. When they became redundant, I kind of hoped they would move to another distro, like Fedora
, but that’s not going to happen.
A little sad to see AutomatiX is no more, since I don’t think Debian and Ubuntu have solved the problem of adding proprietary software well enough.
For example I live in a country where Libdvdcss is *LEGAL*. On Gutsy Gibbon I had to use http://download.opensuse.org/search to make it work, but it still wouldn’t play encrypted DVD’s, thus finally I installed AutomatiX again.
Since AutomatiX ain’t no more, I’ll switch to Linux Mint, first thing in the morning; yup I’m lazy 🙂
Thank you very much for what you’ve achieved and best wishes for the future!
You don’t don’t need Automatix to get libdvdcss installed and running. You just need Medibuntu
http://www.medibuntu.org/
Just set up the repositories:
sudo wget http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/gutsy.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list
Then, add the GPG Key:
wget -q http://packages.medibuntu.org/medibuntu-key.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add – && sudo apt-get update
And install libdvdcss:
sudo apt-get install libdvdcss2
I used to use Automatix but I didn’t need it for Gutsy as Medibuntu had all the Codecs and stuff I needed to play pretty much anything under the sun. There is no Medibuntu repository for Hardy yet, I assume they will set up one for when it is released.
Edited 2008-03-29 06:02 UTC
The fact that you had to write a few paragraphs explaining how to ‘simply’ install DVD support demonstrates the very need for automatix
The instructions for installing automatix and then installing decss would be longer than what he wrote.
Well eventhough his post was a little long for the process, it seems longer than it really is. Besides I think that Ubuntu was working on an easy way of installing a repo where you would basically run a script or a file from firefox and the repo would get added to your sources.list. I’m not really sure what happened with that but its sorely needed.
Automatix was a good idea but it hurt more than it helped imo. A lot of things broke when it installed stuff or would not get updated as they would if installed properly through apt-get. The point of using repos to install software is to allow system wide software and security updates.
just use the mediabuntu repositories. They have things like libdvdcss, acrobat reader, google earth, etc without a hack like Automatix.
Automatix was a very helpful site, and it will be missed.
Fortunately, I stopped using it starting with Gutsy and I’ve just been building my own repository instead so I won’t miss it myself but I know many people that still relied on it.
Sad to see it go.
I’m a bit surprised that so many people here say they miss Automatix.
I remember reading blog discussions on Planet Ubuntu about the reported Edgy upgrade woes and, IIRC, several Ubuntu devs pointed an accusing finger at Automatix. Here’s an example that I found after a quick search:
http://jonathancarter.co.za/how-not-to-break-ubuntu-upgrades
Also, Matt Garrett’s detailed technical analysis of Automatix concluded that it’s “actively dangerous”.
http://mjg59.livejournal.com/77440.html
It also strikes me that although Automatix has been available for both Ubuntu and Debian, people who have actually used it and now miss it seem to be mainly Ubuntu users. Perhaps Ubuntu users are generally more prone to use hacky “quick-fix” scripts like Automatix, despite the warnings of distro developers?
I was worried about you da_chicken. It took you almost 68 hours to post the expected anti-Ubuntu post in this thread. Adding this new data point to my spreadsheet now. And I’m glad you’re alright. 🙂
Edited 2008-03-31 16:32 UTC
Well, it certainly didn’t take long for you to start your expected off-topic trolling and flaming.
Spending all your free time making spreadsheets about the activities of OSNews visitors doesn’t sound like a healthy hobby. You really should go out more and try to get yourself a life.
Sad to see Automatix go, but as the saying goes “Nothing lasts forever.”
It was one of the things that drew me to using Ubuntu and they had a great collection apps all in once place for dvd playing, streaming video, etc.
I was wondering why the selection of software had dwindled in Automatix when I first used Gutsy a few days ago, makes sense now.
this is just nonsense, the whole reason people flocked to Ubuntu is due in partly to automatix… now that there is none? Your going to comepete with Ubuntu, how vain of you!!! Why didn’t you just sell some memorbelia or music or art, or canvass for fund, lots of people do it and they make millions of dollars. More and more the free software movement gets more jared in it’s insanity and vanity!!! Congratulations!
I said Automatix was one of the main things that drew me to Ubuntu, but certainly not the only thing, I like the large software respository and the great user community. I will gladly continue using Ubuntu whethere there is Automatix or not.
So what if a lot of Ubuntu user liked something that made 3rd party proprietary software easier. If you want people to stop using Windows, does it matter which distro they use? Furthermore, if a Linux distro has a user friendly feature that would attract more people to Linux, you should be happy and use the distro of your choice if you prefer getting under the hood tinkering and compiling.
Nobody said anything negative about users of any other distro, so quit dumping on Ubuntu users. You don’t know many potential Linux converts that could be lost due to these ridiculous and childish “My distro is better than yours” statements.
Edited 2008-04-01 22:23 UTC