As my colleague Sam Varghese has written , after nearly two weeks of flawless operation, my first Ubuntu Linux installation unexpectedly became unstable, crashed and was unable to be booted. Puzzled that an OS with the reputed stability of Ubuntu could behave like this, I searched forums and user groups for an explanation.

I think anyone interested in Linux saw this NY Times article today. I agreed with the article for the mostpart except for the end where the author stated that “one challenge for Linux users is finding media players that work with encrypted music and DVDs. Ubuntu comes with a movie player, but it is not automatically configured to play copy-protected commercial DVDs.

Automatix is a program that installs a myriad programs on Linux distributions. It’s quite useful for people that are fed up with the limited options in the regular Ubuntu package manager. However, as helpful as the program may seem, there exists a problematic side to Automatix. It seems to be breaking systems all over the world.

Ubuntu changed my life! I’m smarter, cooler, and more ethical.

Sound too good to be true? Well, it isn’t.

To play encrypted DVD's, libdvdread2 is needed. Most distros don't include this, but it is easily downloaded and installed with this deb file.

Some Ubuntu fans out there may remember Automatix, a tool for Ubuntu that allowed easy access to many popular non-free applications and commonly-used audio and video codecs.

I guess all Linux users, especially Ubuntu ones, have used or at least heard about Automatix, an application that can install and uninstall the most used and popular programs. From multimedia codecs and archiving tools, e-mail clients and web browsers, to audio/video ripping and burning software, Automatix could do them all.

Did you ever live with the fear that somebody may break into your system one day and steal your files?

Well the day has finally come, development of Automatix has been discontinued. We are doing this, NOT because we think Automatix is no longer necessary on Ubuntu and Debian, but because all of the Automatix developers have become wrapped up in more pressing commitments.