[OS X TeX] Finally we are grown up
Alain Schremmer
Schremmer.Alain at gmail.com
Fri Nov 17 17:49:54 CET 2006
Claus Gerhardt wrote:
> One should never try to reinvent the wheel. TeXLive is supported by
> many knowledgeable people and maintained by Karl Berry working for
> many platforms, working perfectly by my own experience.
Some two years ago, I tried fink and got completely screwed up. After I
got TeXShop etc i-installed I got TeXLive along with the Companion2ed
and I considered installing, just to see. I didn't even know where to start.
> Installation and configuration is superior to that offered by i-
> Installer, requiring no command line skills,
I am certain I didn't use any command line when using i- Installer and
for good reason: to this day I don't know how to use the terminal.
> a trained chimpanzee could do it.
The conclusion is glaringly obvious: I am not even a chimpanzee.
> But Richard Koch will offer a one click install vehicle
Well, I sure hope so
> which is perfectly alright, I might use it myself.
If that isn't a patronizing statement …
> i-Installer, as I tried to explain in past messages, is for my taste
> too patronizing, checking this and checking that, telling me what it
> is unpacking, ..., and offering no customization in terms of install
> folders or keeping old installations. In addition I am only getting
> part of the cake, not the whole one, and most important, even a fairly
> skilled tex literate, as I consider myself, feels as being treated
> like a child who can only accept what is offered
Let me see: you must be the ultimate renaissance man. You get onto the
operation table and you resent being treated as a child. Your car dies
and you resent being treated as a child by the mechanic. Etc. As for
myself, there are times when I need and want options and there are times
when I am perfectly happy delegating.
> , and it all depended all on just one man, Gerben.
I don't think that this was Wierda's choice. As I understood it, he
decided that he couldn't go it alone anymore.
> For most people no additional support will be necessary.
The point is that i-installer installed reliably while I could think
about my work. From what I have read on this list, I dread and keep
pushing back the time when I will have to install another TeX. I can and
did get package from CTAN but this was adding to a working installation,
not creating a whole new one.
What annoys me is that, just because Gerhart will have no trouble with
TeXLive, he denies that anyone could have had any need for something
like i-Installer.
This not-even-chimpanzee did/does have such a need because I was/am
spending a huge fraction of my remaining time doing something else.
By the way: None of this ought to be construed as any kind of reproach
to Wierda for putting an end to his work. As I think I already wrote, I
was surprised he lasted that long alone.
Regards
--schremmer
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