PyQt setup on Linux Mandrake 8.2

[djw]

<snip>
> Unfortunately, Mandrake is somewhat more perl than python biased.
> 

Do you mean there is more support/newer versions of Perl or is it more 
of a philosophical thing: There are many ways vs. there is one way?

<snip>
> If you know a bit about RPM, perhaps you, dwelch, can manage
> to update these packages (rpm -Uhv xx.src.rpm, a few changes ..., 
> rpm -ba SPECS/sip.spec).
> Otherwise you could contact me. In about a week I've got time
> to do this.

Uhhh... considering my extreme novice status on Linux and especially 
RPMs (as witnessed by my problems), I don't think I am the right person 
for this task.

<snip>
> The RPM  stuff (or DEB) has got real advantages compared to 
> "setup.exe". 
> And if the offered versions are outdated, fetch the
> new source, learn from the (e.g.) sip.spec file somewhat about
> the compilation, and make a new package!
> 

Well, here I have to disagree (at least from a user's perspective). 
Having come from over 10yrs of Windows development experience (including 
writing Windows installers from scratch), I find RPM package management 
(can't say about DEB format, never used it) to be very complex, 
difficult, and it rarely works for me.

Case in point is two systems I tried to install at work... one Mandrake 
8.x and one Windows 2000. The packages I was installing were Python 
2.2.1 with a bunch of extensions like MySQLdb and mxDateTime, MySQL 4.0, 
Jabber x.xx (can't remember version) and an FTP daemon. The Windows box 
was up and running in less than an hour after running a handful of 
setup.exe-type programs, and the Linux box still wasn't fully installed 
after two days of trying. I completely gave up trying to upgrade a copy 
of MySQL 3.23 to 4.0 after every way I tried failed. In the end, the 
system became corrupted that I had to re-install Linux (probably a real 
Linux person would laugh at this, but after a while /usr/bin got so 
filled with junk that I didn't know what I had anymore and wanted to 
start over "clean").

Not to say that this sort of thing doesn't happen in Windows-land, but 
setup.exe works on 99% of the packages I have tried 99% of the time. 
Don't get me wrong, I really like Linux, but this is one area where I 
believe that Linux still has a ways to go to "catch up" in the 
ease-of-use department.

Don