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Re: Why I can not install software on debian easily?

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john cusey <john_cusey@hotmail.com> writes:

> Why I can not download a .deb file, click it and it installs?

What kind of answer are you looking for?

One correct answer would be: Because installing software is a
potentially very disruptive act on a computer, so it should be done
through a formal system of packages.

Installing a package, for me, is a matter of:

* Open the package manager as a privileged user. Because I never want to
  be able to accidentally install software, my normal user account has
  no access to do this.

* Browse the menu of available packages.

* Click it, and it installs.

> I tried to install opera on Debian.

So, another correct answer is: Debian is an operating system of free
software, and Opera is instead proprietary, so necessarily outside
Debian. Third-party packages may not be so smoothly integrated into the
package system.

Non-free software may be available from people who maintain it for use
in Debian, but there is no guarantee it is available in the package
manager.

> I have computer science degree and I still trying to do this.

You imply that the problem is primarily one of technical difficulty. Not
so: it is much more a problem of competing interests (those who want to
restrict software freedom do not want their software on the terms Debian
is available) and social factors (ensuring people cannot shoot
themselves in the foot with a dangerously insecure tool will necessarily
entail some barriers to one-click operation).

> I know nobody will read this email.

You know better now.

-- 
 \        “Good morning, Pooh Bear”, said Eeyore gloomily. “If it is a |
  `\   good morning”, he said. “Which I doubt”, said he. —A. A. Milne, |
_o__)                                                _Winnie-the-Pooh_ |
Ben Finney

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Thread

Why I can not install software on debian easily?  john cusey <john_cusey@hotmail.com> - 2016-12-19 03:20 +0100
  Re: Why I can not install software on debian easily? Ben Finney <bignose@debian.org> - 2016-12-19 03:30 +0100
  Re: Why I can not install software on debian easily? emetib <chadbrabec@gmail.com> - 2016-12-19 04:40 +0100
  Re: Why I can not install software on debian easily? John Hasler <jhasler@newsguy.com> - 2016-12-19 05:00 +0100
  Re: Why I can not install software on debian easily? Joe Pfeiffer <pfeiffer@cs.nmsu.edu> - 2016-12-19 06:20 +0100
  Re: Why I can not install software on debian easily? deloptes <deloptes@gmail.com> - 2016-12-19 08:40 +0100
  Re: Why I can not install software on debian easily? Nemeth Gyorgy <friczy@freemail.hu> - 2016-12-19 10:50 +0100
    Re: Why I can not install software on debian easily? Ben Caradoc-Davies <ben@transient.nz> - 2016-12-20 00:30 +0100
      Re: Why I can not install software on debian easily? Curt <curty@free.fr> - 2016-12-20 10:00 +0100
        Re: Why I can not install software on debian easily? Cindy-Sue Causey <butterflybytes@gmail.com> - 2016-12-20 11:30 +0100
          Re: Why I can not install software on debian easily? Brian <ad44@cityscape.co.uk> - 2016-12-20 21:30 +0100
      Re: Why I can not install software on debian easily? Lisi Reisz <lisi.reisz@gmail.com> - 2016-12-20 11:30 +0100
      Re: Why I can not install software on debian easily? Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> - 2016-12-20 13:30 +0100
        Re: Why I can not install software on debian easily? Lisi Reisz <lisi.reisz@gmail.com> - 2016-12-20 17:30 +0100
          Re: Why I can not install software on debian easily? Lisi Reisz <lisi.reisz@gmail.com> - 2016-12-20 18:10 +0100
          Re: Why I can not install software on debian easily? Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> - 2016-12-20 23:00 +0100
        Re: Why I can not install software on debian easily? Joe <joe@jretrading.com> - 2016-12-20 17:50 +0100
          Re: Why I can not install software on debian easily? Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> - 2016-12-20 18:20 +0100
            Re: Why I can not install software on debian easily? Ric Moore <wayward4now@gmail.com> - 2016-12-20 18:40 +0100
            Re: Why I can not install software on debian easily? Joe <joe@jretrading.com> - 2016-12-20 18:40 +0100
            Re: Why I can not install software on debian easily? emetib <chadbrabec@gmail.com> - 2016-12-20 19:10 +0100
            Re: Why I can not install software on debian easily? Brian <ad44@cityscape.co.uk> - 2016-12-20 21:50 +0100
        Re: Why I can not install software on debian easily? Ben Caradoc-Davies <ben@transient.nz> - 2016-12-20 20:30 +0100
        Re: Why I can not install software on debian easily? Brian <ad44@cityscape.co.uk> - 2016-12-20 21:20 +0100
  Re: Why I can not install software on debian easily? Steven Mainor <steve@degga.net> - 2016-12-19 11:40 +0100
  Re: Why I can not install software on debian easily?  Floris <jkfloris@dds.nl> - 2016-12-19 14:40 +0100

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