FC 8 install and lost add/remove software app

[Terry - Fedora Core]

Installed FC 8 - clean install. Wiped FC 5 installation as advised 
briefly on other thread.

What I liked about the install:

   1. used FC 8 installation DVD and was able to get full install. S/w
      dev, etc. No need for large file downloads from repositories to
      get full system.

   2. went cleanly.

   3. step backward from FC 5 installation. Under FC 5, the installation
      process gave me the option of several installations
      configurations. FC 8 only gives me the option of s/w developer and
      server. Is that really the only options needed???


What I really disliked about the install:

   1. knows nothing about other operating systems on computer. Had
      installed Kubuntu Gutsy prior to FC 8. Kubuntu recognized ALL OSs
      on the system and set them up in GRUB. No problem. So I know that
      it can be done and done transparently to user during installation.
      FC 5 recognized the Windows P installation also. FC 8 is a huge
      step backwards in this respect.

   2. FC 8 installation nuked my Windows XP boot. Can no longer boot
      Windows XP. THIS IS EXTREMELY BAD AND TOTALLY UN-NECESSARY.
      Kubuntu respected the Windows XP boot and left it intact while
      installing Kubuntu and GRUB. The fact that FC 8 nuked the Windows
      XP boot files and made it unbootable and hence USELESS is
      UNFORGIVABLE. All those Windows XP programs that are necessary are
      totally unavailable now. FC 5 respected Windows XP, so it can be
      done and was done in the past by FC 5 also. FC 8 was installed
      over the FC 5 installation.

   3. FC 8 install program recognizes only Fedora Core OS. This also is
      totally un-necessary and unforgivable. FC 5 recognized and
      respected my Windows XP installation and left is intact. FC 8 has
      taken a HUGE step backwards in this regard. Shades of MicroSoft -
      FC 8 recognizes only Fedora Core installations and leaves all
      others out in the cold and in this instance renders one
      un-bootable. If Fedora Core controlled 90% market share, I could
      understand this behavior, I could not condone it, but I could
      understand it as I understand MicroSofts behavior, but do not
      condone. Their behavior is the huge reason I switched 99% of my
      computing to Linux and Fedora Core. Is Fedora Core trying hard to
      emulate MS in all things. Too bad. If you do not want to recognize
      other OSs, as least please respect their presence on the computer
      and DO NOT COMPROMISE their operation.

   4. Only Gnome was installed from the DVD. This may be because the
      provider of the DVD only installed Gnome on the DVD without saying
      so. Has Fedora Core switched entirely to Gnome? This wouldn't be
      too bad except for the next item on the list.

   5. After re-booting from the install, s/w updates needed to be
      applied. Accepted the option to do that. Download operation was
      reported as OK. s/w update then started and progressed until 1/2
      done - the update app then hung halfway through the update
      process. Gnome then terminated the update process as
      non-responding. This seems to have screwed the database royally.
      This was a really bad problem for me on FC 5 - the rpm database
      was constantly corrupted by the rpm software to update and install
      programs. It appears this has not been fixed 3 releases later in
      FC 8. I had hoped, but apparently to no avail.

      On second re-boot, notified that security updates were available.
      In checking the dependencies, a package, gnome-python2 =
      2.20.0-1.fc8, was not installed. Booted the add/remove app and the
      package was reported as installed. Then searched for Thunderbird
      (I MUCH prefer Thunderbird over Evolution), and clicked to have it
      installed. Clicked on "apply" and Thunderbird was downloaded and
      installed.

      BUT NOW the add/remove app is no longer available. The place where
      it resided on the pull down menus is NO LONGER there.

      I was going to use the app to download and install KDE so that I
      could use KDE which I much prefer over Gnome.

      I can no longer do that.

How do I at least get the add/remove app back so that I can download and 
install KDE??????

If that is not possible, do I have to re-install FC 8?

If that is the option, then I will probably abandon Fedora Core as I do 
not want to risk screwing the Windows Vista boot also.

By the way, the way I got the other OSs back in the GRUB boot menu that 
FC 8 created ---  I found out how to mount the Kubuntu disk and 
partition. I then opened the GRUB boot menu file created by Kubuntu, 
"/boot/grub/menu.lst" file there and compared to the 
"/boot/grub/menu.lst" file (actually /boot/grub/grub.conf" file) and 
modified the Fedora Core created fileto accomodate the OSs listed in the 
Kubuntu file. This "restored" my ability to boot an OS besides Fedora 
Core 8. God help anybody that installs Fedora Core with first installing 
Kubuntu.