tlug: Evil Netscape RPM & search for alternatives

[Matt Gushee <matt@example.com>]

Uh, I'll try not to be too much of an advocate here ... right now I'm
busily saying to myself "I will think *good* thoughts about Laser5
... I will think *good* thoughts about Laser5 ...".

Now that I've got a big new hard disk, I'm having fun loading it up
with all the apps I've been holding off on for months ... as well as
finally getting my Nihongo stuff into shape. One of the goodies I
picked up the other day was Linux Japan, whose CD contains an RPM/SRPM 
version of muriyari-nihongo-netscape-4.07. I thought it'd be easier
than downloading. 

I thought!

So this is partly a warning and partly a question. First the warning
part:

I decided to use the SRPM, since I didn't want to use up /usr/local,
and I thought it might solve the libc.so.5 not found problem. Stupid
me. If you run 'rpm -bb' on it, the SRPM:

* unpacks the files and goes straight into installation -- and since
the installation scripts have hardcoded pathnames, they don't obey the 
spec file. Actually, the first part -- the English part -- asks you
where you want to install, but the Japanese part doesn't ask, just
goes ahead and makes /usr/local/netscape.

* offers to install its own version of kinput2, which 'supports Motif
events' or something like that. If you say yes, it replaces your
existing Kinput2 -- and theirs assumes you have /usr/local/canna, and
if you don't it doesn't work; if you say no, the netscape installation
fails. Serious teeth-gnashing time.

The point of this is not to criticize, just to say that if anybody's
thinking about installing that package, it might not be such a good
idea.

And my question:

Is there a reasonably up-to-date Japanified Netscape package that
won't mess with my system too terribly much? I don't *have* to have it 
... but having come this far, I really want to now.

Or do I have to do it by hand? Expiring minds want to glow ...

Matt Gushee
Oshamanbe, Hokkaido
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