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INDI Library v2.0.6 is Released (02 Feb 2024)

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

Why is INDI not ported over to Windows?

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Well, it was a curiosity more than anything else. I couldn't understand why it couldn't be ported to work natively in Windows.

Even with running Linux in Windows, it's still all rather convoluted.

ASCOM in a pain because you have to deal with a splatterfest of apps, and if something doesn't work right the fingers all point in different directions. Been there, done that. That's what I like about Ekos, everything runs from one place.

Of course, it's easiest just to run it on the Pi, but sometimes the Pi's lack of power can get in the way. I've been looking at MiniPCs to load some Linux variant, then install the software and try to set it up as a hotspot like the PI. Linux is too convoluted for me with it's terminal-everything approach to doing things, so I'll just stick with the Pi and deal with it. I do wish there would be a Pi 5 already.

Thanks for your feedback.
1 year 2 months ago #89598
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I would say it’s a matter of priorities. If we find someone who ports it, why not? The core itself I guess is fairly simple to port, the INDI server itself might be more effort and all the device connections might have their challenges. But I do not see any blocking architecture stuff. Windows meanwhile has accepted that machines might be servers that share workload :-)

Wolfgang
1 month 5 days ago #99272
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Hi,
another reason might be that since newer processors tend to be beefy enough for it, you might virtualize an ubuntu installation and run indi in a VM and then pass all your USB equipment to it.
Then, you use Kstars in windows and just connect it to the VM through the network.
Should work reasonably well.
1 month 2 days ago #99338
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I don't want to virtualize. I don't want to deal with command-line voodoo. It's why I can't stand Linux, it's still stuck in 1991, with insistence on using the command line to get things done. You need to have the equivalent of a computer science degree to use it. I like Astroberry because for the most part it works right out of the box, and I don't have to deal with the terminal other than to set the clock.
1 month 1 day ago #99346
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A port to Windows including ASCOM will certainly lead to more users. So from that point of view there is something to be said about it.

In the astro club where I am active, Kstars/Ekos/Indi is regularly discussed, but most people do not dare to make the switch because they are a bit afraid of Linux. I have been running my Kstars/Ekos/Indi setup virtually under Windows with VMWare for years and it works flawlessly.

But if someone indeed succeeds in porting Ekos/Indi under Windows, I will certainly be a supporter!
1 month 19 hours ago #99376
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If I have to put my 2 cents, I prefer a little of voodoo than spending hours researching all the needed drivers in ASCOM and Windows.
There is also another thing in favor of linux: no matter which flavor you run, it's a lot less demanding than any version of Windows. On small PCs it makes a lot of difference! And remember that you can try with a VM before installing it on a real machine.

In the end it's as easy as:
  • Install Ubuntu LTS (it's like installing Windows, but easier and faster)
  • Run the terminal one time
  • Paste three commands
sudo apt-add-repository ppa:mutlaqja/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install indi-full gsc kstars-bleeding
  • Profit
You can also use the GUI to install programs, there is an "App Store" called Software Center that you can use to do it:
  1. Follow this guide to install the ppa: Ubuntu add PPA (you need to add ppa:mutlaqja/ppa)
  2. Follow this guide to install indi and kstars: Ubuntu software center (you need to install indi-full, gsc and kstars-bleeding)
But as you can see, pasting three commands in a terminal is a lot faster and easier. That's why the command line still exists: if you know it, you cannot turn back... I use it even on Windows to install and manage applications using chocolatey or scoop.

Let's now see how you do it on windows:
  1. Install Windows (it's like installing Ubuntu, not as easier)
  2. Start searching the main camera driver
  3. Install the driver
  4. Start searching the guide camera driver (if different)
  5. Install the driver
  6. Start searching the mount drivers
  7. Install the driver
  8. Repeat for all the drivers needed
  9. Install a planetarium (not needed but nice to have)
  10. Install N.I.N.A. | APT | your software of choice
  11. Pray you don't have any problem or conflict or forgoot something
I don't know what's the method that require an IT Degree to do and mantain.

And that's only the part about installing it, if you want to update it in Ubuntu terminal you just do:
  • Open terminal
  • Run a single line of command
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
  • Profit
or through the software center:
  • Open the software center
  • Follow again this guide: Ubuntu Software Center at the Updates section (it's just 2 clicks to update everything)

For window, I think you already know it ;)

The terminal can look intimidating, but if you need to paste a couple of commands I think you can do it... I don't think it's that harder to do than searching all over the internet for the right things to run on windows!

Don't fear the voodoo! Embrace the terminal! ;)

Cheers,
Edoardo
The following user(s) said Thank You: Fitchie
Last edit: 1 month 6 hours ago by Edoardo.
1 month 7 hours ago #99393
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Great instruction set!
I'm going to share them with the astro club members.
:)
4 weeks 22 hours ago #99406
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Um, no. You buy a computer, Windows is already installed. Install the ASCOM platform (no terminal command-line voodoo needed), install your hardware drivers and astrophotography apps (no terminal command-line voodoo needed) connect your hardware, and go.
4 weeks 22 hours ago #99408
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Folks, patience, all OSes are created equal ;-)

If somebody is willing to port INDI to Windows, why not?
The following user(s) said Thank You: Edoardo
4 weeks 21 hours ago #99409
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Quote: Fitchie
Great instruction set!
I'm going to share them with the astro club members.
:)


Thank you ;) I think that it could be written a lot better, tho!


Quote: Phil
Um, no. You buy a computer, Windows is already installed. Install the ASCOM platform (no terminal command-line voodoo needed), install your hardware drivers and astrophotography apps (no terminal command-line voodoo needed) connect your hardware, and go.



If you follow that logic, you can also buy PCs with Ubuntu (or other distro) pre-installed and use the graphic interface to install (no terminal needed, as I stated in my previous post); you could also buy a mac, comes with an OS pre-installed and can run INDI ;)
Also, what happens if you need to re-install windows for any reason? You buy a new pc every time?

That said, if you know how and what to search to use your equipment in windows, you're more than equipped to write 2-3 command lines.
You need to write a lot more than those lines in the search of your ASCOM platform, drivers and whatnot. It's just a different place: the search engine vs the terminal.

It all boils down to preferences, to each his own :)


Quote: Wolfgang Reissenberger
Folks, patience, all OSes are created equal ;-)

If somebody is willing to port INDI to Windows, why not?



I totally agree! The more platform indi support, the better, But I don't see official support on windows platform coming anytime soon, tho... If only WSL2 on windows supported USB devices directly it would have been perfect (but more tech savvy than installing Ubuntu from scratch).

I have both worlds, Linux and Win, but I use mostly the former for DSO and sometimes the latter for moon and planets. When I first used Windows for astrophotography I got frustrated, seeing how easy was installing indi/kstars on Linux.
4 weeks 21 hours ago #99412
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I don't know where you live, but here in the US computers are either Windows or Macs. This is not to say there may be some other place in the world where you can get a laptop to desktop with Linux preinstalled, but not here. You can order one like that from China, but you won't find them here otherwise.

Windows and Macs have terminals too, but nobody needs to use them to get anything done. That's the point. Linux is a great operating system, but it's still stuck in 1991 with it's insistence of using the terminal.

What I like about Astroberry and Stellarmate is that I can install the ISO and just go. Their Achilles Heel is that they run on Linux. When you need to add or change anything, you need to go to the terminal. I just leave them alone because I don't care to be spending my time typing cryptic and obtuse commands to simply try to get from point A to point B.

The reason I'd like to see INDI on Windows is because I prefer to use KStars over something like NINA. Not that NINA is bad, I just prefer KStars. Actually, if KStars would simply recognize the ASCOM platform, then I would just use that. The only real advantage INDI has, and really the reason I use it other than KStars needs it, is that the libgphoto2 database it uses has camera drivers that don't exist in ASCOM.
4 weeks 19 hours ago #99413
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Many PC with Linux pre-installed are sold in the US, a lot more than where I live.

You're still talking about the terminal, but any desktop Linux distribution needs as much of it as windows or Mac, no more no less. But looks like I'm falling on deaf ears.

You can continue bashing the terminal, but looks like you don't know much about the IT industry (as you said), since most of the people that works with computers in a mildly serious manner use the terminal a lot. Even Windows applications are built using the terminal and through terminal "voodoos". Maybe you don't see it, but most servers in the world run a server distribution of Linux, where there is only the terminal. The terminal is anything but "surpassed", not by a long shot; there will be never a time where you will be ditching the command line altogether.

You can continue using Windows without the terminal, I will continue to use both Linux and Windows with it, doing less work to do what I need to do and having the best from both worlds.

Cheers,
Edoardo
4 weeks 18 hours ago #99414
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