Sorry, this is a 'newbe' question.

[Kevin Walzer]

Alexander Aakesson wrote:
> Hi,  my name is Alec Aakesson, and I just moved from linux/freebsd 
> environment to a Mac environment.  I would like to download the darwin 
> ports and install them on my Mac [OS X 10.4].  I would like to know if I 
> have to pay to do that or buy any special software?  Is it available to 
> any one?  I am not doing this for any organization, but for my own 
> edification.  When I went to download the source for the ports I was 
> asked to enter my 'work e-mail address.'  I am used to working with 
> freebsd ports, but I am not quite sure how Mac does things.
> Please let me know.
> 
> Cheers,
> Alec
> 

MacPorts is free and open-source software released under the BSD 
license. There is no cost to download it, and install it, and install 
software with it.

Did you download it from http://www.macports.org? It doesn't ask for a 
work e-mail address to do this.

The base MacPorts distribution is a command-line application; if you are 
comfortable with the terminal then you should be fine. If you prefer a 
graphical interface, there are a few different options, some which are 
free/open-source and some which are commercial applications (I develop 
one of the commercial GUI applications).

Hope this helps,
Kevin

-- 
Kevin Walzer
Code by Kevin
http://www.codebykevin.com