[OS X TeX] Re: End of i-Installer

[Adam Goldstein]

Franck Pastor wrote:
>
> Le 12-nov.-06 à 17:56, Claus Gerhardt a écrit :
>
>> Thanks Dick for your efforts and the good news!
>>
>> I think most tex users, and certainly I, don't need upgrades 
>> throughout the year of binaries and latex packages - in fact 
>> upgrading and installing latex packages, if it should be necessary, 
>> is easy and foolproof and can be done by the individual user alone. 
>> If MacTeX would change whenever there is a new TeXLive version would 
>> be more than sufficient.
>
> I fully agree!
>
> Franck Pastor
>
>
I fully agree as well.

I also think that the strategy of a large, full install, released once a 
year when TeXLive is released, is a good strategy. If someone needs a 
particular package upgraded, that person can find it on CTAN. As others 
have pointed out, disk space is not generally at a premium. Perhaps an 
optional install with less documentation could be offered, with no 
customization options except the choice between "large" and "small" 
installs.

I think that it is important to maintain the kind of comprehensiveness 
that the gwTeX install gave, providing Imagemagick and ghostscript and 
other programs that permit one to have a powerful TeX install right from 
the start. I for one have never been able to completely figure out 
exactly what else is included with gwTeX beyond the basic binaries, but 
I feel certain that I have used the capacity without knowing it, and 
wouldn't know where to look otherwise, or even what to look for.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Gerben for all of his 
work.  The i-installer is the right thing for a hard task. It has been 
so enormously useful to me. I wish I knew more programming and TeX so 
that I could have been of more assistance in solving problems as they 
came up. I hope that Gerben still visits the list now and again with 
questions of his own.

-Adam
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