Date: Wed, 2 Nov 2011 17:13:07 -0500 From: Blake McBride <blake@mcbride.name> To: Warren Block <wblock@wonkity.com> Cc: freebsd-sysinstall@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Long standing problems with sysinstall Message-ID: <CABwHSOsyn05doa9KYeLoyH3bbfoRK_KGK0uv7-%2BbaT-J9f4Ccw@mail.gmail.com> In-Reply-To: <alpine.BSF.2.00.1111021443420.22434@wonkity.com> References: <CABwHSOu3XcE6-R6DeuZGB1aZTuZez5gn3EtiJQ6v22H7qfk3Ag@mail.gmail.com> <alpine.BSF.2.00.1111021443420.22434@wonkity.com>
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On Wed, Nov 2, 2011 at 4:03 PM, Warren Block <wblock@wonkity.com> wrote: > On Wed, 2 Nov 2011, Blake McBride wrote: > >> 1. =A0In order to escape the virtual machine (VM) you hit the control ke= y >> and the command key together. > > Which VM? =A0FreeBSD as a guest should not run any different than on real > hardware. =A0If the VM host's command key does not work right, that impli= es a > problem with the VM software. =A0And of course the "command" key could di= ffer > depending on VM software. =A0Which keys, exactly? =A0Or is this a Mac wit= h an > actual "command" key? > >> Both keys are supposed to be like the shift key - they don't do anything >> by themselves, they modify the behavior of another key. Hitting those tw= o >> keys together should never do anything unless they are pressed with anot= her >> key. =A0However, in your install program the command key seems to exit t= he >> install. =A0This means that if I attempt to do something else on my mach= ine I >> must hit the control key together with the command key to move my mouse = to >> my other applications but doing so exits the FreeBSD install! > > Again, this would be up to the VM software. =A0VirtualBox uses the right > Control key, and it works as expected, switching the keyboard input focus > from the VM guest to the host machine. Linux (many versions), Solaris, OpenIndiana, Windows XP & 7, and DOS all work fine. The command key doesn't interfere with any of them. I use VirtualBox and KVM elsewhere. On the machine I am trying to use FreeBSD on I use VMWare. It is quite inconvenient for me to switch on this box because of one OS. (I'd have to load up and configure all the other OS's). Additionally, VMWare is surely the most popular commercial VM software. FreeBSD should work. > >> 2. =A0On the screen "Distribution Select" the user selects his/her >> desired distribution set. =A0Selection requires the use of the space >> bar. =A0Now, this may be obvious to someone who does FreeBSD day-in and >> day-out, and it would also be obvious to those familiar with the old >> text based GUI's from the DOS days, but anyone else wouldn't have a >> clue. =A0Why don't you include a little comment on the screen telling >> the to perform their selection with the space bar? > > The curses interface is standard across a lot of software, although I can > sympathize with the desire for onscreen help. =A0But if instructions on u= sing > space to select/deselect are needed onscreen here, there are lots of othe= r > places all throughout the install that should have them also. =A0It's not > practical on some screens with space restrictions. Maybe a global "Press = F1 > for keystroke help". I am talking only about the first screen that uses the space bar. Once they see it on the first screen they'll have something to go on. > >> 3. =A0I now have the system installed and I am attempting to add package= s. >> =A0I >> go into sysinstall. > > See the man page for pkg_add about the PACKAGESITE variable. =A0A value o= f > ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/ports/amd64/packages-9-current/Latest > would get the latest 9.0 packages for amd64. =A0(Untested, I generally do= n't > use packages.) > I don't understand this comment. Yes, I know I can use pkg_add. If sysinstall isn't going to work, get rid of the option. If it's supposed to do something, make it work. My comments were not to solicit help to get anything working. I can do it without suggesting corrections to sysinstall. I am providing feedback a user is experiencing (me). These relatively easy fixes I suggest will make the process much easier for people who are just taking a look and don't have a lot of experience. If they are just looking, many will likely give up if every function requires a research project. Anyone determined can figure it out. The more people you attract to FreeBSD the more investment in time and money will occur. Making the first step a frustrating research project does everything to filter out all but the already devoted. Blake McBride
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