[OS X TeX] Building new formats (MacTeX)

[Adam R. Maxwell]

On Sep 17, 2006, at 16:43, Gerben Wierda wrote:

> On Sep 18, 2006, at 01:32 , Adam R. Maxwell wrote:
>
>> On Sep 17, 2006, at 13:23, Rowland McDonnell wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> [I'm not going to use some software that does what i-installer does:
>>> make large changes to the data on my computer without me having the
>>> faintest idea what it's doing.
>>>
>>> Isn't that normal prudent computer management?]
>>
>> Prudent, perhaps, but not typical; Apple's Installer makes large  
>> changes to the data on your computer every time you install a  
>> software update, for instance (anyone remember that broken iTunes  
>> update fiasco?).  MacTeX has the same black-box limitations.  As  
>> far as that goes, any installer program does, which is why I prefer  
>> drag-and-drop installation.
>
> Apple also suggests this as a first method. But what most drag-and- 
> drop installs do is also install some configuration program which is  
> then being called the first time you try to run the program. Think  
> Microsoft Office, for instance.

Good point!  It doesn't even require a separate config program,  
either; I happen to know that if you remove ~/Library/Application  
Support/BibDesk, BibDesk will automatically recreate that directory at  
next launch without asking your permission.  I think the obvious  
lesson is that sneaky developers lull you into a false sense of  
security with drag-and-drop :).

Adam
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