Automatix (software)

Infobox Software
name = Automatix2



caption = Screen shot of the Automatix program on Ubuntu 6.10 Edgy
developer = Automatix Team
latest release version = 1.2
latest release date =
latest preview version =
latest preview date =
operating system = Debian, MEPIS, ubuntu
platform = Linux
status = discontinued [http://forums.technalign.org/index.php?topic=311.0]
genre =
license =

Automatix was a tool that automated the addition of applications, codecs, fonts and libraries not provided directly by the software repositories of Debian-based distributions (specifically Debian, MEPIS and Ubuntu). With the release of Ubuntu Feisty (7.04), which enables installation of common codecs etc., there is less need for Automatix. Automatix is not available for Hardy Heron (8.04) [http://www.getautomatix.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=2424] as it since has been discontinued.

These distributions do not include certain packages or configuration settings that allow the playing of DVDs or MP3 files or the viewing of Adobe Flash content, for example. Packages that allow the playing of MP3s are available to download from official sources but cannot be included on the CD. Packages to enable the playing of DVDs include the libdvdcss algorithm. Although adding these manually is possible, it can be time consuming. This is a particular problem for distributions aimed at simplifying the desktop Linux experience.

Automatix allowed the menu-driven installation of 56 different “capabilities”, including commercial closed source programs such as the Flash plugin, Acrobat Reader, multimedia codecs (DivX, MP3, Windows Media Audio) and fonts, and programming compilers.

Criticism

Automatix was not recommended by the Ubuntu development team, which has criticised its content. [ [https://wiki.ubuntu.com/CommonCustomizations CommonCustomizations - Ubuntu Wiki ] ] Some individual Ubuntu developers blamed Automatix 1 for breaking updates from Dapper to Edgy. [ [http://www.netsplit.com/blog/articles/2006/10/30/automatix-and-upgrading Scott James Remnant » Blog Archive » Automatix and Upgrading ] ] [ [http://jonathancarter.co.za/?p=58 jonathan carter » Blog Archive » How not to break Ubuntu upgrades ] ] On 2 November 2006 Ubuntu CTO Matt Zimmerman said "I cannot recommend the use of this program, and systems where it has been used cannot be supported with a clean and official upgrade path." [ [https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel/2006-November/022185.html Edgy in the news ] ]

On August 4, 2007, Automatix was reviewed by [https://launchpad.net/~mjg59 Matthew Garrett] , a member of the core Ubuntu development team. In his words, “Automatix is, in itself, a poor quality package which fails to conform to Debian or Ubuntu policy.” These comments were made in a technical analysis posted on his blog explaining why Automatix is currently not supported by Canonical Ltd. or the Ubuntu community. [ [http://mjg59.livejournal.com/77440.html mjg59: Anyway, back to pure Linux stuff. A whil ] ]

Alternatives

Installing the package ubuntu-restricted-extras, installs the most common "restricted" components a user might need (such as support for MP3 and DVD playback, Microsoft fonts, Java runtime environment, Flash plugin, common codecs, etc.).

Enabling the medibuntu repository is another valid alternative for the easy installation of restricted software.

Recently a new project called ultamatix, based on automatix, has been released, and is compatible with Ubuntu 8.04.

References

* [http://getautomatix.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page The Automatix website]
* [http://applications.linux.com/article.pl?sid=06/03/12/209257&from=rss Review]

External links

* [http://www.getautomatix.com GetAutomatix.com] Dead link|date=August 2008 — The official homepage of Automatix.