Thanks for the fast reply! To clear it up a bit...I've been a programmer for 6+ years with a BSc (Honours) Computer Sciences. I've torn every mac I've owned completely apart and rebuilt it. Everything from soldering in a socket so I could swap out bus crystals more efficiently (benchmark testing max bus speeds beyond the now shattered 50 mHz wall of my networked PowerMacs in my recording studio: feasibility of g4 upgrades) to writing new ati driver source for NetBSD MacPPC 1.5.2 back in 2k1 [the Open Firmware client interface was deleting the stock ati driver from the original device tree thinking it was from a different OS before bringing it into the mac os name registry) blah blah blah! :) It was a real chore with no macsbug and me not real familiar with BSD...much guess work (Hence the 4 weeks)]. I take the time to learn what I do and to do it well the first time. I don't dig dbugn and back trackn. Books are indeed a good idea but I know what's under my hood. It's finding a new engine to tinker with that I seek, mastah! Unix Buddha Training 101! <BG>
You misunderstood when I spoke of a lack of top-down logic flowchart-like documentation. Fink is a breeze to install, which I mentioned, and the documentation for it...perfect! Kudos to the author! I probably shouldn't have posted here but the fink community seemed very helpful as well. Salute~ Anyway, it was the lack of docs with a list of specific packages to complete one basic working xfree86 client-server system on a 10.2.6 box that I was talking about. Ideally, I was hoping to find a beginner's bundle package governed by user OS and work environment preference. But lack of docs compounded by the fact that an Xserver, essential to the build, is nowhere to be found for download confused me and opened up version compatibility questions and more questions until my brain hurt. Have a look-see:
User's Guide - 3 Installing Packages
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3.1 Getting X11 Sorted Out
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xfree86-base: This package is the real thing. It installs the whole load of XFree86 as a Fink package. For maximum flexibility, this package does not contain the actual XDarwin server. To get that, you can install the xfree86-server or the xfree86-rootless package. Or you can install it manually, for example using an "XDarwin" test release from the XonX project or one of the "rootless" servers circulating the net.
This is what put the wrench in it for me. Trying to figure out...XDarwin? or xfree86-server? Hmmm...what's the right choice here. Maybe I should go rootless after all? Am I going to d/l one of these to find that it has issues under Darwin 6.6 arch.? This paragraph implied to me that the xfree86-server IS available by calling "fink install xfree86-server". But it's not available from the command line "install" call or by a query to "fink list" or manual d/l for that matter. At least give a direct link or 2 to a d/l that works. If it's at the cvs repository then that's another can of worms for me specifically that I don't wanna get into. Suffice to say, incompatible scripting with my isp's framework i think...Virgin Island sys admins...oowee!. But after reading the docs, it mentions that it is desirable to use "fink install" for or compatibility issues may arise. Let's face it. Some parts of the documentation lack target value for the new user. The User's Guide even calls the same Xserver by 2 different names (XDarwin and xfree86-server) in one paragraph. That's confusing for the new user who doesn't know the difference? Granted, no one gets paid to do this but if I advertise Fish...I'm gonna call it Fish and I'm gonna give em Fish! hehe...
I live on a 3x5 mile island with no broadband available yet so a friend burning a disk is not an option (good idea though). I just wanted a working environment to start learning how to port to and try out some new audio source in the BSD environment. Well...it's not my server so I shut up now. Oh...my comment about geek speak and intellectual flexing...I've done it (shame on me)...I see it all the time (shame on them)... I just needed a simple solution which sometimes doesn't exist. hehe You have no idea how many times I've heard the "It's easy if you take the time to RTFM" lecture just by asking for clarity on one occasion on NetBSD forums. Even YOU couldn't resist hitting me with the "easy" lecture! Can you see how frustrating this all is for any new user? OK...I've beat this "horse" dead. :) I'll be contributing here as soon as I get comfortable in my knowledge...guaranteed (prolly mostly audio editors and plug-ins...that's my heaven! Glad to be here! Its all...water under the bridge now anyway. I found what I was looking for at xfree86.org after starting fresh this morning. So, thanks for putting light to a few items for me! With your help and a fresh pot of coffee it came together. I got a working xfree86 set-up that sees all my audio cards. I'm set...You rock...and I'm out! Thanks for taking the time! I really do appreciate it Eric...Cheers!
And to the others that posted help...Gracias Amigos! I'm real glad to be here. OK...my brain hurts thinking about the next step. Bya
P.S. Now if I could just stop writing novella posts..... Cheers all!
Hi Brian,
Fink is simple, if you are willing to understand and read and work
with your computer and not only use it. Ease of use mostly goes in
common with a loose of flexibility but if you are flexible enough
the ease of use comes back. It with fink like it is with other
things, you have to learn them. Just it is a computer it doesn't
mean you are allowed to turn off your brain. In most other cases
people consider that they have to learn to make progress and to be a
n expert in their special subject. But when it comes to Computers
everything is too geekish and not understandable.
E.g. You disassemble your car and reassemble it and after that you
know more about the car but nobody wants to do it with his computer.
He just complains that this is to geekish, not easy enough to use, etc.
O.K. Join us and make it better. We are all volunteers and most of
us don't get payed for the work they do here and on other mailinglists.
Hmm, 4 weeks. Did you ever think about buying books related to
Unix/Mac OS X? There are easy to understand books out there which
can give you basic ideas and understanding of the use and how to use
the Darwin OS laying under Mac OS X 10.2.x. Always a good choice is
Mac OS X - The Missing Manual.Second Edition by David Pogue.
He keeps it simple and understandable and after that lecture you
should have a basic idea of the Unix-like OS beneath your Aqua GUI.
Now
In case not to conflict with SCO you should writer Unix-like and btw
this is the correct term for all the OSes in the Unixfamily. UNIX is
a Unix. I know this isn't correct at all but understandable ;-)
Geekish enough?
