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Just did a fresh install of 12.04, and for the first time didn't have synaptic. So, I tried seeing if I could find the packages I needed (mostly TeX and dev stuff) in the software center, but no such luck. Back to synaptic it was, then.

So, why did they remove synaptic, if you can't even get at most of the packages through the USC? in the answers to this question, it was claimed that synaptic was "redundant", but this is obviously not the case.

Before saying that USC completely replaces synaptic, just try installing a dev library using USC..

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    Yes it is redundant for what they want to achieve here, have you seen paid software at Synaptic?.. there you go. USC for new users Synaptic for advanced users, simple. Aug 22, 2012 at 8:09
  • Wait that link is a duplicate :+ All the answers why it was removed is in the answers.
    – Rinzwind
    Aug 22, 2012 at 8:15
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    I'm being oldschool but aptitude is the way to go :-)
    – karatedog
    Aug 22, 2012 at 8:24

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For what packages do you see a difference between synaptic and software center?

You are confusing two issues: sources and interface for software installation. The availability of the package is determined by the sources used (/etc/apt/sources.list). It is the apt subsystem. Software center and synaptic are just graphical interfaces for that, only that they may to ignore some of the available sources.

Go to software center, Edit-> Software sources and check which sources are enabled.

And yes, there are differences in functionality, just not where you see them (for example, synaptic allows to easily pin a package version). However, all that functionality is still "behind the scenes" in your system, since you can still do the same things with the command line.

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  • So what you're saying is that they assume that if I know enough to install a dev library, I also know enough to use sudo apt-get. Oh well. Aug 28, 2012 at 8:15

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