checking whether the C compiler (gcc ) works... no

Oh look - the Ubuntu guys are still omitting to include the essential 'build-essential' package in default installs. This brings up errors when trying to use gcc - which claims to be unable to create a binary. You may see errors like this in your './configure' outputs:

checking whether the C compiler (gcc ) works... no,

As with the famous ubuntu stdio.h problem this is easily solved with a single package install:

% sudo apt-get install build-essential

Excuse my rant, (again), but if it's so 'essential', then why isn't it installed as part of the core system? I find that kinda weird. I thought the whole point of running a linux system was to open up the world of open-source to its users. The omission of this package IMHO has precisely the opposite effect.

ho hum..

christo