Build a powerpc desktop system based on FreeBSD

[Justin Hibbits]

Hi,

On Tue, Jan 23, 2018 at 2:24 AM, roberto.guardato
<roberto.guardato at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi all,
> i'm trying to test freebsd (11.1-stable) with the powerpc hardware that I
> currently own in both 64 and 32 version.
> I started with the 64-bit version on a dual powermac g5.
>
> The purpose of my tests is to have a system with the following features:
> - base system;
> - optimized xorg;
> - xfce4 as wm;
> - a web browser; (webkit/midors or firefox ?)
> - a multimedia player; (vlc ?)
> - a text editor;
> - some games;
>
> Once the ports compilation is complete, i would like to export the packages
> to make them available to other users.
>
> I am a beginner of freebsd so i apologize for questions that may be trivial
> for more experienced users.
>
> I have achieved these results:
> Freebsd 11.1 boots fine on g5 with fx5200 nvidia video card, while it hangs
> immediately if i use a radeon based video card;
>
> I've compiled ports for x11/xorg and X works fine (the xorg.conf file must
> be created manually), compiled xfce4 as wm;
>
> I stuck in the compilation of VLC 2.2.8 (segfault in vlc-cache-gen during
> make install)
>
> Do you have any idea if the vlc ports are broken or suggestions for an
> alternative media players ?
>
> Regards,
> rt1k

My G5 has a similar setup: FreeBSD 12-CURRENT on a dual core G5 with
GeForce 6600, with the following port classes installed:
* Window Maker / wdm
* xfce4 for alternate desktop, and some goodies
* claws-mail for email
* epiphany browser (mostly works, some problems) (midori segfaults for
me recently, and firefox-esr hangs on start)
* atril for pdf viewing
* vim for editing

I haven't tried a media player in a very long time, so can't help with
that.  But, when all else fails, try building packages with only
defaults, and work your way from there.  Poudriere really helps for
this.

- Justin