Just Klik it!

One of the biggest complaints of Linux is that software doesn’t install to well, or is very difficult to install. “Dependency Hell” (When software relies on other bits of software to work), used to be quite commonplace. Ubuntu has cleaned a lot of dependency hell up, and a new program for installing software from the internet, is included in the new version, due to be released 1st June 2006.

That’s when I discovered a little gem called Klik for many Linux distributions. Simply lookup the piece of software you need, click on it and you have it! No need to install! It places the whole program on the desktop, so it is easily deletable and easily transferable. For example, if you have an office application, and your friend doesn’t, simply copy that file on desktop to your usb key or a cd, and copy to friends pc, done and dusted - Your friend has the whole application! This is an obvious feature bonus over current Windows version, XP.

Their is some teething problems, some applications fail to work, and in Ubuntu it has a dependency of libstdc++, a library of files to make it work. Easy instructions to install Klik are included on their website, though. It seems they are seeking co-operation from Ubuntu aneedsd other distributions to iron out problems, which is always a good sign. Klik also trys to have “bleeding edge” stable versions of software, so in distrobutions not upgraded frequently, this can cause more problems. Out of ten, I’d give Klik an 8.5, as it still needs ironing-out. But then again I have been using the web for over ten years, so novice users may feel different on its ease of use.