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What’s broken with pkgsrc

I really like pkgsrc.  It’s a big system that works well for managing a huge variety of software packages, across multiple platforms, and it’s been beneficial to DragonFly for making  a lot of programs instantly accessible.

The issue nobody’s fixed – yet – is that there are plenty of ways to upgrade, some of which don’t work (make update), or involved homegrown solutions that miss the goal most people have: the ability to say simply “Upgrade this” and have it work.  This is why programs with the same functionality but simpler usage become popular.

(Prompted by a number of recent “How do I upgrade pkgsrc?” questions on DragonFly and pkgsrc mailing lists.)

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Tools that you should use yourself

Here’s another one of those Flash shakycam presentations: Danny O’Brien talking about Web 2.0 and personal info.  I link to this because it’s interesting: lots of newer web sites like Flickr, LiveJournal, etc have absorbed people’s creativity.  While that’s good, it’s dangerous in a way that’s been seen before.  Having your own system with your own operating system (hint: DragonFly) lets you own your own data and interests.  If you can get past some of the joking at the beginning, the video makes that point at some length.  I post this not to make with the tinfoil hat attitude, but to point out that in some ways, handing your writing or art off to a remote hosting service makes as much sense as renting a paintbrush.

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LinkedIn DragonFly group

I’ve created a DragonFly BSD group at LinkedIn, a business networking site.  If you’re already using it, search for that group name and add yourself – I’ll get the request and approve it.  There’s no major purpose, other than getting a group formed.  It is a good place to find potential job candidates…