working version of acroread7 for FreeBSD 6.1-RELEASE needed

[Scott Bennett]

     On Fri, 30 Mar 2007 15:57:06 -0400 Kris Kennaway <kris at obsecurity.org>
wrote:

>On Fri, Mar 30, 2007 at 01:52:49PM -0500, Scott Bennett wrote:
>>      I need a functioning version of acroread version 7 for my 6.1 system
>> "pkg_add -r acroread7" does not find a package.  "portinstall acroread7"
>> fails initially on an error return from a brandelf command, as it should,
>> because the brandelf is being applied to a shell script rather than to an
>> executable binary.
>>       Does anyone on this list know where to find a version that will
>> install and run correctly?
>
>Instead, how about reporting the problem properly so that it can be
>fixed? :)
>
     Well, that may happen, too, at some point.  My interest at the present
time is to get a working version of acroread 7 ASAP, which is why I wrote to
the list.  Filing a problem report might get it fixed someday, but not right
away in all likelihood.
     Please note, as well, that it is difficult to know where to begin when
reporting problems with ports, packages, or the ports and packages subsystem.
The ports and packages subsystem is a great idea, but in practice, it is the
weakest part of the FreeBSD distribution.  It is easily rendered partially or
wholly useless by bugs in some of the ports' setups themselves (python 2.4
under 6.1, ruby18 under 5.4, for examples).  Many of the ports do not build
properly or at all.  mplayer, for example, does not build under 6.1 because
it hangs at a configuration screen that displays only part of the screen, will
not accept any inputs, and can only be gotten out of by ctrl-C or some other
terminating signal.  If I could get mplayer to work, I'd be another step
closer to dumping Windows XP.


                                  Scott Bennett, Comm. ASMELG, CFIAG
**********************************************************************
* Internet:       bennett at cs.niu.edu                              *
*--------------------------------------------------------------------*
* "A well regulated and disciplined militia, is at all times a good  *
* objection to the introduction of that bane of all free governments *
* -- a standing army."                                               *
*    -- Gov. John Hancock, New York Journal, 28 January 1790         *
**********************************************************************