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Comment by afavour | Hacker News Reader

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afavour·

A perfect example.

> Install it by downloading the appropriate version for your system from the release page

> Install with winget install -e --id WinDirStat.WinDirStat (or use winget upgrade subsequently)

> Alternatively install with scoop install extras/windirstat (requires scoop bucket add extras)

The what what now? The average user is going to be able to do none of these things.

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the average user should be here: https://windirstat.net/download.html

but for both, the first instruction is just plain download. i think the average user can handle that. the others are alternatives for users that are familiar with them. i don't see the problem.

what could be changed is to add a message like: "if you don't know which one is right for you, you probably want this one:" followed by a link to the win-x64 version

To be clear the problem isn't WinDirStat's fault really. The problem is that users won't find that site (nor the GitHub one) because they're trained to go directly to the App Store and look for whatever app they need. And WinDirStat isn't in there, while numerous ripoffs are.

Before I used GitHub and got used to its interface I felt that the majority of repositories used as public-facing websites were the most confusing way to get releases. Why is the source code that seems to need some sort of tool or program to use sitting next to the installation program? Do I need all that extra stuff or can I just use the exe/app? Why is there not a page with a “download here” button that’s as plain and simple as other closed-source programs?

Most people from the unix world use repos (the correct model for software curation basically). When you go for the sources, it's mostly for fringe stuff or library.

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