Inkscape 1.0 rc1, Snap/Appimage fail to install. How can I get 1.0?

[Bings]

How is adding a PPA familiar or more user friendly than saving a file to a directory and clicking to open it. I am pretty sure the amount of people who can use files in explorers far exceeds those that can deal with PPA's. deb files are also less user friendly because they require the user to understand what it is and the reason why they had to install a deb file and not a rpm or something else. Also there can be problems with dependencies, which is exactly the reason why people are shifting towards Snap, Flatpak and Appimage because these are all catered for. So these things work across distros and it's not required to have a difference package for each one.

You are moving the goalposts of what a "non IT user" is. If someone is a professional power user of a particular program, then they are not an "non IT" person and they can surely figure out any package manager. If someone is it at home and they are struggling with their first desktop computer then what they have trouble with is going to be incredible subjective. For instance, someone's ability to use Discover will be influenced by whether they have used an AppStore on their mobile phone. If they haven't, then they won't understand but they might be fine opening files.This is why I say, that AppImages are simpler. They don't provide something you want, the button in a particular third party program to install and remove it, this makes it difficult for you and not necessarily for others.

[Don B. Cilly]

But appimages are actually simpler to use than anything else.
Even most Windows or Mac programs come with an "installer" - which is very much like a .deb package.
And most of them are not found in a Discover-like "App Store". People look for what they want, download it, install it.

As to "IT users"... if we take that to mean "IT savvy" or IT-knowledgeable" users... (as I've said already :·) non-IT aware people don't use Linux.

[ianp5a]

How is adding a PPA familiar or more user friendly than saving a file to a directory and clicking to open it. I am pretty sure the amount of people who can use files in explorers far exceeds those that can deal with PPA's. deb files are also less user friendly because they require the user to understand what it is and the reason why they had to install a deb file and not a rpm or something else. Also there can be problems with dependencies, which is exactly the reason why people are shifting towards Snap, Flatpak and Appimage because these are all catered for. So these things work across distros and it's not required to have a difference package for each one.

If you take a step back and look at the situation people find themselves in. They are not choosing some package type that they want. They are following instructions on the apps website. For a PPA they just need to go to a GUI and past the URL in. Familar if you have used GUIs and browsers._No exact path to search, or syntax to remember._Install and Remove are in Discover are exactly the same as normal apps._Easy._No mistakes to make.

With a .deb the website will have a download button, and, much like a .exe on Windows, double click the deb to install it. No special knowledge required. Now look at an Appimage, yes setting the executable is easy too. Right click and a GUI are also familiar. And if there was a daemon like Appimage installer, then all would be fine. Otherwise, you have to know where to put the file. Leave it in downloads and it will likely get cleaned out. It doesn't belong in your documents. Is there a proper place for it? The answer is not right in front of the user.

And the the other problems of updating, knowing what Appimages you have installed, did you remember where you installed the last one months ago and put the next one in the same place? So where are they all to delete them? All unsolved.

You are moving the goalposts of what a "non IT user" is. If someone is a professional power user of a particular program, then they are not an "non IT" person and they can surely figure out any package manager. If someone is it at home and they are struggling with their first desktop computer then what they have trouble with is going to be incredible subjective. For instance, someone's ability to use Discover will be influenced by whether they have used an AppStore on their mobile phone. If they haven't, then they won't understand but they might be fine opening files.This is why I say, that AppImages are simpler. They don't provide something you want, the button in a particular third party program to install and remove it, this makes it difficult for you and not necessarily for others.

Power users are not exclusive to IT. The clue is in the name. They are users._Look up power user on Wikipedia too.

I work with people who know their applications really deeply. Designers and engineers. They have no IT experience and the applications don't need it. Just knowledge of design or engineering. This is a different discipline from IT, using different terminology and skills. The IT guys can't even use them. I'm not moving the goalposts. And yes, they can figure out a software store/package manager. Anything with joined up usability will be fine.

It's just when there are gaps, and you somehow need to know where to go for the next step, then you have a barrier. And even if they can solve that, it is still not good to have too many such barriers and special knowledge, that's what should be avoided.

[ianp5a]

As to "IT users"... if we take that to mean "IT savvy" or IT-knowledgeable" users...

Yes. meaning IT experienced or trained.

:·) non-IT aware people don't use Linux.

That would be a sad result after all the effort the desktop environment and GUI application developers put in. Maybe they have wasted their time making Inkscape and Blender and other graphics apps run on Linux.

[Don B. Cilly]

That would be a sad result after all the effort the desktop environment and GUI application developers put in.

Would it? I don't see it as a "result". Just reality. Linux always was for knowledgeable users. And I guess it will always be.
To me, that is a good thing. Maybe we (the people ;·) want, or need, an alternative, *nix-based system "for the masses".
But it can't be as powerful as Linux is.
We IT-savvies/experienced users/mildly-knowledgeable-people want a powerful, flexible, hard-core workhorse of a system. We have it. We hate Discover, actually :·)

Maybe they have wasted their time making Inkscape and Blender and other graphics apps run on Linux.

They certainly haven't. They made it available to people who actually know (in most cases) what to do with them.
Maybe they have wasted their time on the Discover route :·)

[Don B. Cilly]

Because say you'd like your designers and engineers, who have no IT experience, to use Linux.
Well, you would have to teach them a few things anyway, wouldn't you?
And one would think, if they learned to use all that stuff anyway... what's so hard to learn to use it on Linux.

Actually, it is a bit hard. It's the paradigm shift. It takes a while.
So, since you have (or someone has) to do the hand-holding anyway... address the problems and solve them yourself if you have to.
They don't know where to put the appimages? Make an Appimages directory, put it in the $PATH, tell them to move the downloaded ones there... not "difficult" is it.
You can even make a little script, with an icon for it, or a service menu for Dolphin, to make them executable (if they aren't already) and move them there, make a clickable entry for them, they download one, run it...

[EDIT] See also my previous post, page change...