Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2006 10:51:51 -0400 From: Jerry McAllister <jerrymc@msu.edu> To: ke han <ke.han@redstarling.com> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org, cothrige <cothrige@bellsouth.net> Subject: Re: Getting started with FreeBSD Message-ID: <20061011145151.GA8542@gizmo.acns.msu.edu> In-Reply-To: <BCB72B3C-CD47-440A-9B94-73F64B19BB03@redstarling.com> References: <20061011031055.GA81430@celephais.home.net> <BCB72B3C-CD47-440A-9B94-73F64B19BB03@redstarling.com>
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On Wed, Oct 11, 2006 at 11:53:04AM +0800, ke han wrote: > Patrick, > Since you are already knowledgeable of X-11 apps on slackware, this > opinion may not concern you. > My opinion of FreeBSD is do not try to configure X-11 desktops and > apps with it. Its just too much effort. I have the same opinion of > any *nix system that require the user to install/configure their own > desktop experience. > If you want a good desktop that does provide updates to some apps > (firefox included), start with PC-BSD, http://www.pcbsd.org. This is > built on FreeBSD 6.x and keeps the base enough as in the FreeBSD.org > release so as to enable you a true freebsd system so you can still > use ports or packages in addition to PC-BSD's PBI installer....but > without the trouble of integrating and maintaining your own desktop > experience. > enjoy, ke han This is not very good advice to give to someone who is trying to learn FreeBSD. It is like telling a short person the solution to their problems is to get taller. Anyway, configuring X is not much related to the questions the person is asking. They are asking more about the relationship of versions and using CVSUP, etc. ////jerry > On Oct 11, 2006, at 11:10 AM, cothrige wrote: > > >I am a complete newb to BSD trying to get started learning a bit about > >how to make my way in it. I have been using Slackware over the last > >four years or so, and this has made me a bit used to one way of doing > >things and now the FreeBSD way is kind of rattling me. > > > >For some background, I installed from the FreeBSD 6.1-RELEASE discs, > >and this is also what I get from uname -r. What I don't understand is > >the relationship between ports, packages and security. For instance, > >I am currently using firefox 1.5.0.1, which I keep seeing online is > >not terribly secure. However, I am confused about what FreeBSD makes > >available to update this and other similar packages. I installed > >this, > >and most of the rest of the system, from the discs via packages, and > >hope to keep packages as my main method. I have had some experience > >in the past with twenty hour compiles of kdelibs on Gentoo and really > >don't want that again but I cannot find any info anywhere on how to > >approach updating for security via packages. > > > >I installed once previously as a test, and in that system followed the > >only online information I could find which seemed relevant, and that > >was regarding cvsup. I backed up the ports directory and setup a > >supfile according the handbook and a couple of examples, and went > >ahead and ran it. From there I started checking how things would go > >if I ran portupgrade on a couple of apps. I chose the infamous > >kdelibs as my sample. When I ran portupgrade -P, just to check > >things out and see what I would get, it failed to find a package and > >started grabbing the source. No, couldn't do that, so I killed it. > >I then tried again with portsnap and got the same result. > > > >When I looked at the complaint I found that it was looking for what > >appeared to be a nonexistent file. I am not sure now, but it was > >something like kdelibs-3.5.4 and the server it was searching on, > >something which ended in ...packages-6.1-release I think, had only > >kdelibs-3.5.1. As a matter of fact, I went through all the > >directories I could find online (including 6 and 7 stable, release and > >current) and was unable to find the package my system was looking for > >in any of them. This failure, and the confusion which ensued, are > >what cause me to wonder just how to keep things like the > >aforementioned firefox up to date. > > > >I am now in a situation where I am unsure of what to do as regards > >updates, and can really find nothing which clarifies things much > >online. Everything I find says to run cvsup and use a supfile > >entirely like that which I used before, and that did not work out. > >How do I use new, more secure ports and yet still be able to use > >binary packages? Is updating ports with cvsup the only way? And if > >so, what did I do wrong before? The inability to use binary packages > >for giant, though in my case needed, bloatware like kde made me leave > >Gentoo behind and I want to know whether that is the only future for > >FreeBSD too. I am assuming that since there are binary packages > >online for these files they must be usable, I just don't know how to > >get to them from tools like portupgrade. Or if that is how you even > >try to upgrade a system from packages. I just can't find any really > >relevant guides for this type of thing, so I am supposing that > >everyone just compiles everything. > > > >Any help in this is very much appreciated, and sorry if I am > >overlooking super obvious information somewhere about this. I > >probably am, but I just can't find it. > > > >Patrick > > > >_______________________________________________ > >freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list > >http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions > >To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-questions- > >unsubscribe@freebsd.org" > > _______________________________________________ > freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list > http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions > To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-questions-unsubscribe@freebsd.org"
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