add/remove programs for kubuntu?

[donald1977]

I just built a small desktop PC for my wife, and installed Kubuntu Jaunty last night. She's a solid computer user for regular applications, but is new to Linux.

It sounds like Ubuntu comes with an easy "add/remove programs" application that would be perfect for her to use for the occasional need to install something. But I swear I didn't see it in the K Menu when I booted up the PC.

Is there something equivalent for Kubuntu or did I just miss it (I have been known to be blind sometimes)?

If so, can anyone point me to what I should install? If it means installing some gnome libs, I'd rather do that than push her to using a full fledged package manager that might be a bit overwhelming.

Thanks,
Don

[dibl]

Re: add/remove programs for kubuntu?

Install synaptic for her:

sudo apt-get install synaptic

Then show her how to use it one time, and you'll be done.




p.s. -- now we have two Donalds!

[donald1977]

Re: add/remove programs for kubuntu?

Thanks Dibl. I assume you're the other Donald?

Does Synaptic = the "Add/Remove" program I was reading about? I thought add/remove was a separate program, made to be easy for non-technical folk to install common applications.

I use debian and command line or kpackage (not kpackagekit) on my pc, so I'm not too familiar with the other graphic frontends.

Regardless of the answer to the above, you think synaptic is easy enough for a newcomer to use to add common apps (games, IM, etc)?

Er, sorry if I repeated myself a bit there...bad phrasing day I think...

I'm at work, sadly on Win XP, so I can't install anything to just give it a whirl myself right now.

[dibl]

Re: add/remove programs for kubuntu?

I assume you're the other Donald?

Yup. There could be more, lurking about, but I'm not aware of any more.

Does Synaptic = the "Add/Remove" program I was reading about?

No (thankfully). Synaptic is a full-featured GUI front-end for the dpkg system. Assuming you have the repositories set right, as a prerequisite, then synaptic will always show you all the packages available for your system, with version and dependency information available if needed. In general, Mrs. Donald should be able to simply browse to the package she needs, "Mark" it, and "Apply".

She will need the admin password to run synaptic, of course -- only administrators get to install software on Linux (well, most Linuces, anyway).

"Add/Remove" is an underwhelming bit of fluff -- save yourself the time messing with it.

[donald1977]

Re: add/remove programs for kubuntu?

Thanks. I'll give it a go with synaptic and see how she takes to it before I think about installing the add/remove app (finally found the package, "gnome-app-install" is the one I was thinking of, but I'll avoid if at all possible).

Mrs. Donald...that's what my mom writes on Christmas cards to us, drives her nuts hehe!

[sithlord48]

Re: add/remove programs for kubuntu?

mr. donald ,when you install synaptic with apt-get it will need to install a few gnome related packages(mainly gtk stuff i think).. sadly we don't have a synaptic built on QT , we just get the currently broken kpackagekit.

i think that mrs. donald will be rather happy with synaptic, ms.sith seams to use it w/ no problems and she has very little previous computer exp. i don't think she has ever installed a program before using synaptic (not even in windows..)

i am not a donald. you two might be the only ones...