Re: [tlug] Gentoo Binaries?

[tlug@example.com]

On Friday 28 December 2007 21:18:12 Scott Robbins wrote:
> (FWIW, OpenBSD's Japanese support isn't very good. The only things
> offered are kinput2 and Canna and they often don't work.  Even the
> message in the package collection for it mentions this.)  :)

Speaking of Japanese support, it has been the source of my biggest problem 
with Gentoo...

I require OpenOffice.org with Japanese support for my work.  Unfortunately, 
OpenOffice.org is a beast of an application, especially when working with a 
source based distro such as Gentoo.  I was able to compile it successfully 
many times over the years, but I heard horror stories on the forums about 
users with less luck.  There is a binary package available for it, and there 
are many who recommend using the binary to avoid the headache of finding a 
maximal set of desired USE tags that will still allow the app to compile.

My luck eventually ran out, and I wasted many days trying to get an important 
upgrade to build.  For those who have never been through this: each iteration 
involves changing the configuration, starting the build, going to work (or 
sleep) while the machine churns, and coming home (or waking up) to a new 
error and having to start over.  Even a very conservative set of USE tags 
would not allow me to proceed.  Unfortunately, since the binary did not work  
with my Japanese input method, I was unable to follow the advice of those who 
recommend using it.

My time also ran out, and I was forced to just switch to another distro for my 
desktop system.  The problem, of course, is that OpenOffice.org is a bloated 
mess.  Gentoo does quite well in dealing with it, and my pains are just 
something that one must face when using a source based distro.  I bet it 
would be likely that I would be able to get it to work again now that some 
time has passed, but I currently do not have the time to gamble with it.  I 
still love Gentoo, but largely due to this problem, I now only use it for 
systems on which OpenOffice.org with Japanese support is not needed (test 
systems running under VMs).

Travis