ARTICLE - ESR gives up on Fedora

[Nigel Stewart]

>  However, the "build most things from source" solution is not without
> issues itself.  It it slower than binary packages (imagine installing
> the first GNOME package this way -- please wait while we build the
> world from source).  It's largely incompatible with the world of
> closed-source, binary-only software.  Depending on the user, that
> might be considered a feature, or a fatal flaw.  It can also make
> testing/SCM/support a real nightmare, as now every system can have a
> slightly different configuration.

	I'm also bothered by the general problem of reproduceability
	with building from source.  Installing each package affects
	the environment in which subsequent packages get built in.
	The way configure tends to adapt to the environment it
	finds itself in, GNOME could well be built differently
	(and exhibit different bugs) on two machines of the same
	distro, depending on the order.

	Besides this, I find it quite valuable to be able to download
	and install something in a short enough timeframe that I havn't
	already forgotten what I intended to do with it. :-)

Nigel