From owner-freebsd-current@FreeBSD.ORG Wed Jun 6 13:21:35 2012 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-current@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 33A58106564A for ; Wed, 6 Jun 2012 13:21:35 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from millenia2000@hotmail.com) Received: from bay0-omc1-s3.bay0.hotmail.com (bay0-omc1-s3.bay0.hotmail.com [65.54.190.14]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 1794D8FC08 for ; Wed, 6 Jun 2012 13:21:35 +0000 (UTC) Received: from BAY165-DS8 ([65.54.190.60]) by bay0-omc1-s3.bay0.hotmail.com with Microsoft SMTPSVC(6.0.3790.4675); Wed, 6 Jun 2012 06:21:29 -0700 X-Originating-IP: [174.252.98.94] X-Originating-Email: [millenia2000@hotmail.com] Message-ID: From: Sean Cavanaugh To: "'Daniel Kalchev'" , References: <1616421.P4c92lAp56@x220.ovitrap.com> <1754468.NxsRndIQhs@x220.ovitrap.com> <4FCEFCBE.4050401@digsys.bg> In-Reply-To: <4FCEFCBE.4050401@digsys.bg> Date: Wed, 6 Jun 2012 09:21:22 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook 14.0 thread-index: AQIyvD7HTSW4IcF31EHr8cD3RNOTGQGV+aGoAr63mmgBudJxGgF4YfxQleYcqaA= Content-Language: en-us X-OriginalArrivalTime: 06 Jun 2012 13:21:29.0640 (UTC) FILETIME=[487EFA80:01CD43E7] Cc: Subject: RE: Why Are You NOT Using FreeBSD? X-BeenThere: freebsd-current@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: Discussions about the use of FreeBSD-current List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 06 Jun 2012 13:21:35 -0000 > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-freebsd-current@freebsd.org [mailto:owner-freebsd- > current@freebsd.org] On Behalf Of Daniel Kalchev > Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2012 2:46 AM > To: freebsd-current@freebsd.org > Subject: Re: Why Are You NOT Using FreeBSD? > > > > On 06.06.12 05:31, Erich wrote: > > On 05 June 2012 10:55:57 Chris Rees wrote: > >> It is absolutely a bad idea for "beginners" to be using tagged/dated > >> ports trees-- they are not supported and will lead to many complaints > >> about problems that were solved since the tag. > > How do they fall back when things went wrong? > > > > The handbook states that there is no fall back option. > > > > Their fall back option has a name: Windows. > > No need for Windows propaganda here. We have had enough of this > already. > Thanks. > > By the way, for those who tried FreeBSD and found it "too much", there is > another, way better alternative: OS X Someone else does the packaging, > testing etc. for you and you still don't run Windows :) > > This, of course, if the person, unlike you, does not ignore the advice to use > PC-BSD. The same FreeBSD, with someone else taking care of watching the > ports tree, configuring, compiling, packaging etc. > > Daniel I don't see what the overall issue is. When I first got introduced to FreeBSD, I installed all of my 3rd part software using packages as I thought that's how it was done. It installed fast but was a little out of date. Later I learned about ports and slowly started using that for more and more software to get the newer versions. Now I am at the point where all of it is compiled from updated portstree and I fully expect every time that I upgrade that some ports will break and have to be manually corrected. I would not expect less from software that has so many random interdependencies that are handled by multiple groups. Have you ever mapped a tree of all the package dependencies it takes to install gnome on a bare system? I got lost after the 20th level or so in. There is constant compilation testing on the software to ID the blatant compile errors, but tsometimes we just have the magical winning "combo of fail" options on our system and it will break. Overall I see it as packages are flat stable at the cost of being out of date, and ports are current but not guaranteed to compile without intervention. The Maintainers do give a very good shot to make them stable but sometimes one person cannot maintain millions of lines of code and not make a glitch occasionally, or make it out on time when a dependency changes.