[Webfunds-users] 1) Install...

Wed, 20 Sep 2000 10:44:16 -0400

SnowDog wrote:

> 1) A way to install the wallet on a Windows machine WITHOUT having to do any
> manual editing, or any pre-installations. Putting together some sort of
> Installation program is absolutely necessary. It took me over an hour Sunday
> to figure out how to install a new version of Webfunds Wallet, and I've
> installed the thing from scratch more than once, previously.

Yes this is a recognised lack.  Part of the problem is that
primary distribution is done by someone (me) who has no clue
as to what a DOS machine is or does, nor actually has a DOS
machine to trial things on.  I use FreeBSD myself...

That aside, even if I had a clue and a machine, I'd still have
an issue because there are as many Mac users in this community
as there are Windows users.  And then there are as many again
who use Unix in one form or another.  Which is good, and planned,
in that the reason we chose Java in the first place was its
cross-platform capability.

How to overcome this situation - custom installation of cross-
platform software - is an interesting question.  My view is that
what we'd like to do is to encourage 3rd parties to fill this
void.

The DigiGold company does currently do a windows install
applet that you can access on their site.  At some stage we'll
get a FreeBSD ports done, and maybe even an RPM, who knows.  For
Mac, we are still at the level of instructions supplied from
time to time, but I am told that "they are easy... "

This may seem like avoiding the question, but there are some
other issues.  Simply put, we don't have the resources to start
doing mass distribution nor user support;  so we are looking to
the open source model to get the product out there.  That
necessarily results in a dynamic and fluid, and occasionally
chaotic product from the user PoV.

-- 
iang