So, a majority of users voted that they didn't want the ability to install .deb files easily to be part of the App Manager, where it has been for years.

Let's examine this. Let's imagine a word processing program. Now let's have a number of votes on the features and eliminate the ones that most users aren't interested in. Me, I never run mailing labels. So that should not be a part of a word processing program. Grammar checker? No way! Grammar checkers are too stupid. Importing word processing files into spreadsheets or vice versa? Hey, I never do that.

That is similar to the decision made by the community. They are not interested in the ability to install .deb files, so it should be taken away from the App Manager.

If all programs were constructed using the same principles, most programs would have practically no features.

In fact, if 20% of people want a feature in a program, that is a pretty good argument for INCLUDING it in a program. 40%, even better.

The point is that what the "majority" wants is irrelevant, and taking a vote on it is a sham because it is meaningless.

If I am wrong, let's put up all the Maemo programs and vote on who uses which features. developers will have to get rid of any features not approved by a majority.

Am I missing something? It's very simple to install .deb files still. Simply...

sudo gainroot
dpkg -i yourapp.deb

?

Am I missing something? It is a lot easier to install from deb file, as you could do with the N800 and N810, and probably from the N770. Why do N900 users need to be protected from installing .deb files and for years users did not need to be protected?

I am not talking about ADDING a feature to App Manager to make it easier to install .deb files. I am talking about NOT DELETING a feature that was already there.

I think the argument is this device appeals to a wider (and arguably much stupider) audience than their previous Maemo devices so they figured anyone who knew enough to want to install additional .debs could easily do so via the command line.

Do you see the contents of some of these threads? There are n900 users that have bricked their devices simply by installing too many applications. Nokia is just probably trying to avoid a ton of unnecessary tech support.

Actually, the point is more like: "Installing random .debs from the internet is unsafe. Developers shouldn't distribute their software that way and users shouldn't be getting their software that way either."

It's a fringe use-case that shouldn't be supported through the GUI package manager. People that need to install .debs can manage dpkg. If you can't manage dpkg, then you shouldn't be installing .debs. Supporting it causes way more trouble than its worth. Backup doesn't work, updates don't work, dependency hell ensues, and users develop a tendency to install whatever from wherever.

Removing the functionality from the Application Manager is an easy way to encourage developers to push their packages through the autobuilder or Ovi (at the very least, any repository at all).

I ran Ruby for years on tablets by installing the .deb file. I'm glad it wasn't prevented. But thanks for the explanation.

um... it's... still.. not... prevented???

to be honest, i dont see why anyone would want to do that when its not the "official" way of installing apps on the n900.
your apps dont get updated by themselves and all this stuff. its a lose-lose-situation.

Some of you guys are such snobs. :-/

Yeah, clearly that's the motivation here.

If you can't bring anything more productive to a discussion than personal attacks, kindly keep your mouth shut.