back to article MacPorts project leaving Apple’s OS Forge

Apple's Mac OS Forge is losing one of its highest-profile non-Apple projects, with the news that MacPorts is moving to GitHub. MacPorts is a community-run project that aims to take the pain out of running popular open source software on OS X, by making it possible to install projects without having to do battle with …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Didn't know they were still around

    Tried MacPorts once a few years ago, after buying my first Mac.

    It wasn't a pleasant experience, and getting software updated into it was very, very, slow (months).

    Tried out Homebrew instead, and haven't looked back.

    Seems like they're hoping the move to GitHub will breathe some life back into their project. Time will tell.

    1. xperroni
      Holmes

      Re: Didn't know they were still around

      Back in the noughties I struggled to get FOSS software running in my 2006 MacBook using Fink. Eventually I came to my senses and realized I might as well run Linux, as I had no particular need for Mac OS X.

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. Charlie Clark Silver badge

      Re: Didn't know they were still around

      I much prefer MacPorts because it allows you to replace more of the Posix stuff that Apple ships with each OS version and then largely leaves untouched until the next one.

      But Homebrew seems to have gained the mindshare.

      Apple's own engagement in the open source stuff has always been at best lukewarm and it looks to me like they're getting ready to close it down entirely.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Didn't know they were still around

        Apple's own engagement in the open source stuff has always been at best lukewarm and it looks to me like they're getting ready to close it down entirely.

        Yeah. Even though Apple are a heavy user of open source, they won't even provide hardware to projects trying to maintain (or add) OSX compatibility.

        Even the Homebrew developers had to scrounge up their own (now old) Mac Mini for doing build tests on.

        Seems a weird approach, when with a few targeted hardware donations they'd positively impact large numbers of OSX developers, and many more OSX users. (including their own internal staff)

    3. JLV

      Re: Didn't know they were still around

      Homebrew's got some good rep going for it, true.

      But MacPorts seems to work just fine for me in practice (since 2009-2010).

      No hassles, packages I want are available, no security snafus reported... This is strictly my perception as a user, did not try to upload package changes onto their service. Nor to change ports itself.

      If it changes for the worse, yes, I know I can count on Homebrew - good feedback overall - but for now I am happy enough with them.

      The move to GitHub? Probably a good thing overall. If done right, users won't notice the switch much.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    POSIX gloves to handle the steaming piles of GNU/Linux code

    MacPorts saved a lot of frustration dealing with the GNU/Linux oligopoly, whose stuff is so full of GNUisms and Linux stuff that building it anywhere else is a nightmare is not almost impossible.

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