Note: this is a response to an email from Enrico Riboni.
I was suggesting something more than having Fink "become" a GNU/Linux distribution -- I was suggesting that it should be a migration tool to go from OS X to a free software system. This is an order of magnitude more interesting, important, and challenging than being the "zillionth+1 Linux distribution". You are right that I got this machine because of the "Apple easy way of doing things" -- specifically, I thought I would be getting free software in an easy way. Well, I've had a bizzillion+1 things go wrong with my computer (most in hardware, but plenty in Apple's software). At this point I'd have to say that the Apple easy way of doing things has (almost) been more trouble than it is worth. As I've gone through three computers in less than two years, Fink has been an immeasurable help. The best thing I can say about Apple is that they have stood behind their warranty. Don't get me wrong, I think Apple is a fine company and I am always going to be inspired by their early software. But I no longer want to use any non-free software, period! Maybe I'm being lazy in that I'd like to use a migration tool -- but of course it isn't just that. I think Fink is a really fine package manager. I prefer it to Debian (at least when comparing the defaults). For various reasons, I would like to keep contributing to Fink (by using it and in other ways when that is possible). In my view, Fink is great because it can gets people going with free software to the point where they are ready to let go of the other stuff. It should facilitate this final step. Some people want to use free software side-by-side with proprietary software. I guess I have a different value system from these people, either that, or my software needs are just different. If you look at my machine, 99% of the time it is impossible to tell that I am not running a GNU system. But it is that other 1% of the time that matters. ------------------------------------------------------- SF.Net is sponsored by: Speed Start Your Linux Apps Now. Build and deploy apps & Web services for Linux with a free DVD software kit from IBM. Click Now! http://ads.osdn.com/?ad_id=1356&alloc_id=3438&op=click _______________________________________________ Fink-users mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/fink-users
