Here's how it works. Once you've downloaded and installed Appupdater, you can either run it by clicking on a shortcut or by running the Appupdater command using a command line box (which you can pull up by typing "cmd" into the Run box in your start menu.
While there is a graphical interface, it's pretty ugly and the command line version is actually much easier to use. Here are a few commands to get you started:
- "appupdater --update" will grab a list of available packages (or programs) from a server.
- "appupdater --list" shows a list of installed packages on your system. Note, this is not a complete list of installed application, but rather a list of packages available in the repository which you have already installed.
- "appupdater --available" displays a full list of available packages.
- "appupdater --install PKG" will let you download and install a package. For example, "appupdater --install pidgin" downloads and installs the latest version of Pidgin.
- "appupdater --upgrade" will download and install updates for all supported applications that have available updates.
- "appupdater --remove PKG" uninstalls a specified package.
AppUpdater does not by any means support every freeware application available for Windows. But it does have a pretty good list of apps. And you can also create your own custom repositories.
We've seen other attempts to create a Linux-style package management system for Windows. But Appupdater definitely seems to be the most useful of the bunch.
[via Lifehacker]
