Looking at Gentoo

Post #204,239 by cwbrenn 4/21/05 8:52:12 AM Reply	Looking at Gentoo I've been looking into Gentoo -- haven't mucked with it yet, but it's interesting. The thing that makes it really interesting to me is that it does with source what Debian does with a binary... it's apt-get and an automated compiler all thrown together. Which means (I think) that you don't have to maintain separate software repostories for different processors... you just grab the source and compile it for your pentium or for your AMD 64 processor, or for your powerpc, and you're good to go. The problems I see are that apparently it's a pain the ass to install (there are, I'm told, TEN STAGES of installation) and I have no idea how easy the "grab and compile" tool is for non-programmers. From what I read it's similar to apt-get after you configure it, but I don't know what's involved in the configuration part. (I guess that's part of the installation process?) Anyone have any experience with this distro? "We are all born originals -- why is it so many of us die copies?" - Edward Young
Post #204,242 by admin 4/21/05 9:19:38 AM Reply	Very large PITA to install, IMO Regards, -scott anderson "Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
Post #204,254 by cwbrenn 4/21/05 10:19:00 AM 4/21/05 10:19:33 AM Reply	That's the impression I get. I guess I need to decide whether or not it's worth the pain. I remember back when I finally got OS/2 installed and running for the first time I decided that it had all been worth it... but I was younger then, and my tolerance for pain much higher. "We are all born originals -- why is it so many of us die copies?" - Edward Young Edited by cwbrenn April 21, 2005, 10:19:33 AM EDT Expand All History
Post #204,256 by admin 4/21/05 10:27:01 AM Reply	With Mepis and Ubuntu around, I doubt it. To me, GenToo seems like the distro of choice for pain mongers. Regards, -scott anderson "Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
Post #204,340 by folkert 4/21/05 4:45:27 PM Reply	Agreed. Even I have been looking at Ubuntu and Kubuntu for replacing my Debian desktop-installation of many years. The only thing that has me worried... the archive. I can make anything work... I just don;t wanna have to rebuild everything from Debian Source -- [link\|mailto:greg@gregfolkert.net\|greg], [link\|http://www.iwethey.org/ed_curry\|REMEMBER ED CURRY!] @ *i_wethey* [image\|http://www.danasoft.com/vipersig.jpg\|\|\|\|]
Post #204,402 by cwbrenn 4/22/05 9:56:25 AM Reply	Well... that's the advantage of Gentoo. ... which is why I'm still torn. I finally bought a new laptop. AMD 64 bit, verra nice. I'm currently running Xandros on it, and it runs acceptably, but it's 32-bit... it currently has no 64-bit-AMD-compiled version. So I'm looking at Ubuntu (well, Kubuntu, since I'm a lot more comfortable with KDE)... but how logical is it to expect people maintaining those software repositories to compile and keep updated all the releases of the software I'm using which are still beta and in development? (Specifically thinking of Inkscape here, but also nvu). If I could get past the horrors of a Gentoo install, it wouldn't be an issue -- based on what I think I understand (and I may be misunderstanding the process). Portage automates the compilation of source code, so I could take the source of a nightly build of inkscape, run it through portage and poof, a 64 bit application... without having to rely on someone else creating a binary package for me. That is an awfully attractive scenario, assuming it's true. Of course, I don't know that it's attractive enough :) -- right now I have a perfectly functional laptop running a 32-bit linux, and I'm not motivated enough to jump through hoops just to say I'm running a 64-bit OS. I seriously doubt that I would notice any appreciable difference. I might, but what do I do with it? Draw comics, write, tinker with HTML. That's it. But, you know, I'm constantly messing with things that work just fine and that I know I should leave alone, just because I'm curious. Why? Because I am a fool, sir. A simple, simple fool... "We are all born originals -- why is it so many of us die copies?" - Edward Young
Post #204,669 by pwhysall 4/25/05 7:20:56 AM Reply	When 64 bits are not, and other stuff. A simple recompile will not produce a 64-bit application, but rather a 32-bit application recompiled for a 64-bit platform. In fact, 64-bitness in and of itself is probably a net lose for an application that's already satisfactorily running in a 32-bit environment, because all of a sudden it's slower and bigger. My main gripe with Gentoo (apart from the crawling horror that is the installer) is that the main reason for running it (lots and lots of software, all designed to work together) is torpedoed by the crappy package QA. Also, compiling everything gets really old the moment you hit any serious amount of C++; Mozilla/Gecko and OpenOffice spring to mind as particularly tedious. You're a KDE fan? C++, all of it. Honestly, you're better off with Slackware if you want to fly THAT much by the seat of your undies. You sound like a Debian Unstable kinda guy. That, or get your Kubuntu pointed at the Breezy Badger release; that way you'll get the oohshiny with more of the wooandyay and less of the lookmaIbrokemypooterandnowitwontbootcuzld.soisbroke. 64-bit is actually really dull. It looks, smells and tastes the same as 32-bit (but with the aforementioned slowness and occasional hilarity(by which I mean extreme foul moods) caused by applications that assume 32-bitness). I discovered this when moving from VMS on VAX (32 bit) to VMS on Alpha (64 bit). 64 bit addressing comes into its own, thought, when you're talking storage. Very Big Disks need 64-bit pointers to address all those lovely terabytes. If you do decide to plunge into Ubuntu/Kubuntu, and get stuck, gimme a yell. There's plenty of folk around here running it; you'll be well-supported. Peter [link\|http://www.ubuntulinux.org\|Ubuntu Linux] [link\|http://www.kuro5hin.org\|There is no K5 Cabal] [link\|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org\|Home] Use P2P for legitimate purposes!
Post #204,743 by folkert 4/25/05 12:06:58 PM Reply	Even those not running it... and know Debian can help. Since many of the Core Ubuntu Developers are also Debian Developers, there tends to be alot of... "I want it to work like Debian does" methods and practices going on. There are some little territory grabs going on... but nothing serious. And it doesn't look like it will be for long. -- [link\|mailto:greg@gregfolkert.net\|greg], [link\|http://www.iwethey.org/ed_curry\|REMEMBER ED CURRY!] @ *i_wethey* [image\|http://www.danasoft.com/vipersig.jpg\|\|\|\|]

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