I REALLY like Fantastico ... BUT ... have never used it to install any new scripts or programs.

Before my current host ... I found the available packages were out of date so I would go to the softwares site to get the newest version and installed them manually myself. Admittedly ... that habit is now so ingrained that with my current host I've continued the habit.

BUT ... its been GREAT in giving me ideas of programs out there that I never knew were available. And I would use Fantastico, now that I think about it, to install a "test" site to check it all out. But ... always downloaded & installed the latest versions for a "production site". Sometimes there are "upgrades" & security updates that you don't know about in the install version offered by Fantastico.

JMHO
Peter