
Painless Windows Workstation Setup with Boxstarter - mbhoneycutt
http://trycatchfail.com/blog/post/Painless-Workstation-Setup-with-Boxstarter.aspx
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Einstalbert
This seems like a slightly more technical version of
[https://ninite.com/](https://ninite.com/) ... Most users just want to grab
their usual suspects of 5-15 apps on a fresh machine and GO!

I want to use Boxstarter to build a VM template but I've never really used any
of the items it mentions. I realize it isn't trying to complete with ninite,
but I sure would like a "click x buttons then hit download" version of this
Boxstarter/Chocolatey stuff.

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gum_ina_package
I have a feeling we're going to see some really interesting things very
similar to this coming out of Redmond in the near future. With Microsoft's
announcement of One-Get (an official Windows package manager that essentially
wraps Choclatey), I think Powershell might finally be getting some much needed
attention.

~~~
vxNsr
\--Could you (or someone) explain what benefit microsoft would see in this
type of pm over the app store that comes with windows 8?

This looks like the type of side project that gets killed once it gains too
much momentum and a low level exec gets wind of its possible trajectory.

Because really, if you're looking at the current strategy, it's moving away
from this type of dev stuff and more towards easy-to-use-and-fun-GUI stuff. At
last year's build I remember them showing a way to put private corporate apps
in their store that would only be available with a special key or something.
So while I'd love this, it seems doubtful that they'd ever really give
something like this too much air.--

EDIT::

I stand corrected, apparently even though they're using google groups and
google code for hosting, OneGet was actually demoed at Build2014 and they're
working with Chocolatey to get it working. I'm blown away at the amo0unt of
commitment and effort already expended, it might be a new Microsoft after all!

~~~
Maakuth
There is no way of delivering classic Windows apps (non-Metro, that is)
through app store. That might be fine for consumer users in a couple of years
if there's a decent offering of great Metro apps, but I doubt Visual Studio is
ever going to go Metro.

I don't think they need to invest billions in such thing, even acknowledging
chocolatey and not making life worse for it is a good and useful thing for
them to do.

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ElongatedTowel
Those tools are great and all, but my setup usually involves more than just
installing applications.

I have a huge pile of registry files which change a lot of windows behaviour.
I have configuration files which need to be copied to the right places. I want
certain shortcuts in certain places with certain icons. No tool is able to do
those things nor are the ones who can do one of these very good or complete.

On paper it doesn't sound so complicated. Install these 12 applications, copy
these dotfiles to $HOME, these to $SETUPLOCATION. Setup shortcuts and disable
the Caps Lock Key, the Firewall and the Library function.

In reality I have a ton of tools stacking ontop of each other littering
everything with package identification files. Tools which only download over
the net because they act like package managers but probably fail because the
network hasn't been setup (which they probably can't do on their own anyway).
And if the application you want is not available you spent more time creating
packages than the whole process would have saved you even if you ran it a
hundred times. Tools which describe the whole process in lovely xml files.
Modifications are chosen from a list and never have what you want and the
scripting support for additional features looks more complicated than the
lovely registry file that contains ""Scancode
Map"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,01,00,3a,00,00,00,5b,e0,\
00,00,5c,e0,00,00,00,00" which probably doesn't make sense to anyone.

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jmnicolas
You have to put a lot of trust in this Chocolatey thing ... do we know who is
behind this ?

The potential for a big security breach, especially in a Windows environment,
is making me less enthusiast than I should be.

~~~
m0nty
I've just started using Chocolatey and it's been a mixed experience. Overall,
a speedy way to install software (no clicking, just type) but sometimes the
packages are broken, so don't install, or don't include (for example) whatever
is needed to be uninstalled.

I'm not sure if there's any auditing on packages, which look to be submitted
by individuals or small teams to their "gallery." I have a few misgivings
about that in the same way as some of the unofficial repositories on CentOS or
Ubuntu (which I also use).

I'd like to recommend this in a production environment (I'm a config
specialist at the moment ;) but I know what my manager would say. Useful at
home though.

~~~
blablabla123
Actually I have used it in the past in a production environments to setup
laptops for my former colleagues. Not only it installed stuff everybody needed
anyway, it also did setup the printer (non-trivial for not so technical folks)
and created some basic short cuts on the Desktop.

But I would assume that it behaves differently and fresh Windows installations
and private installations that usually tend to be messier...

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joosters
How does Chocolatey cope with install options? The author's example script
names a lot of programs to install but no further options for them.

If I install a bunch of programs with Chocolatey, will I end up with ten yahoo
toolbars and a trial version of every antivirus product, because the bundled
crapware for each app is installed by default?

~~~
DiabloD3
You shouldn't be installing what is essentially scamware anyways.

~~~
egeozcan
Even JDK comes with some. I find the situation pretty hopeless.

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lsiebert
Hmm... so visual studio professional setup is that easy?

Don't you need a license key per windows instance or something?

I'm not dissing VS, I have 2012 and 2010 on my windows partition, just
wondering if it's really that easy.

~~~
Aldo_MX
VS asks for a key the first time you run it.

~~~
wattengard
Since 2013 it doesn't even do that. It connects to your MSDN-account to check
if you have the required licenses.

At least mine does..

~~~
Einstalbert
Same. It punches through to an account with licensing on it. Specific VS
licensing, too, as our MSDN account doesn't offer anything other than the
installer unless we opt to buy seats.

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touristtam
I am quite sure that you don't need steam for a workstation unless you really
mean a home gaming/work computer setup.

