- Command Line Installation
- Package Manager
- Software Manager
For noobs like myself, and those use to using Windows, the one that might look the most familiar is the software manager. But even this is a bit different than what you'd find on Windows. Basically, the software manager is like an app store for Mint. It is a curated, central location where the user can browse by category or search for any particular app they might be interested in. At this point, I haven't looked into who actually does the curation of the approved applications, but it might make an interesting blog post in the future.
The package manager is sort of the same, except it is geared towards people more familiar with program installation with Linux. From what I understand, the package manager will allow the user to see and select any and all program libraries and dependencies for a program upon installation. So where the software manager will show you "Skype" as an installation, the package manager will show all the associated dependencies of Skype that you currently have installed, as well as the ones you will need to install.
Finally, the command line installation method allows you to download, compile from source, and install any program you might be interested in. Obviously using the command line method isn't recommended for noobs...which is something I want to discuss in another blog post in the near future.
I would say that if you want to avoid screwing up your computer, you should just use the software manager, but here is the problem with that: Not everything you may want is available through the software manager. For instance, in the Ubuntu software manager, if you do a search for Skype, you're going to come up empty. Whereas in Mint, it finds Skype no problem.
Ok then, why not just use the package manager or command line installation method? I'm only speaking for myself here, but the reason I don't like those methods (at the moment), is I totally don't get what is going on when using them! For instance, I've followed instructions on using the command line method for a few different applications, and while the end result is a program that I wanted is now available, I stare at the screen while it is doing its...thing, things, many things, and I am dumb founded. Occasionally I'll see a message scroll by and I'll see the word "Failed", and then in a millisecond it is gone from the screen.
Failed? What failed? Who failed? What happened to the failing? How do I fix the fail?Yet, despite the fail, the program seems to work properly.
So for the moment, I'll keep using the software manager, even though I'm sure that method simply hides the fail messages, it makes me feel a bit more secure.
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