sorry if this is old news or if I'll start a flame war.
but I've been reading about linux for amd64 and the general consensus is that either gentoo or Kubuntu would be good choices. I've used kubuntu before and I think its nice. I'm still pretty new to linux. but when reading, people said that 64 bit software is easier to come by in gentoo. but a lot of other people seemed to hate gentoo.
what I want to know is why do people hate gentoo? is it really that bad? would you recomend it to someone that uses linux but isn't intimately familiar with it?
would I be able to install stuff like the 32bit firefox along with 64bit, would a general noob be able to get wine working in gentoo?
whats the difference between gentoo and the rest of linux?
I honestly want to know. I'm interested in gentoo but would like to ask around a bit before I go through the long install and end up not liking it.
and I have been using ubuntu and decided I wanted to dual boot so I can still use Photoshop. so I installed windows again, and I thought I would look around for a linux distro before jumping back on the ubuntu bandwagon.
Hi. just looking for info
Message
This is just my opinion of course.
Gentoo is a source code based distribution. All code installed on a system is compiled and installed. (well mostly).
Gentoo has a tool called portage which enables a system admin to update packages very easily. However, its so easy that its easy to break the installation configuration.
Actually its not that easy, but because people don't read they end up replacing configuration files when they shouldn't and they lose they're configuration and whine about it on the forums. God knows I've hosed myself at least a dozen times before I finally learned all the necessary tools.
A gentoo install is very time consuming because all code is compiled. It helps to have a couple of machines in the houserunning distcc, but its still very time consuming.
Ubuntu is a binary package based linux. All libraries, kernels, and software are strictly controlled and compiled in advance to be compatible with each other. These packages are KNOWN STABLE and usually a few months or more out of date (depending on the code). If you need a cool new program you may or may not be able to find a binary to install. You can build from source on Ubuntu or any distro, but you have to configure that and learn how to do it by hand.
Ubuntu just works. Its clever at detecting hardware and it runs on just about anything.
Gentoo can run bleeding edge software, or leading edge software or you could let it get very very stale if you want once you get a system working. You can run almost anything and you can find an ebuild for almost anything (see http://breakmygentoo.org) and you can completely hose your system by emerging something that isn't quite ready for general consumption.
Gentoo allows you to determine your compile options to tune everything for your processor. It eeks out a few percentage points in performance by doing that but again if you over tweak you can break your gentoo.
With Gentoo, building your own kernel is pretty easy and compiling it for your specific hardware is pretty easy as well. However I imagine that's pretty easy on Ubuntu (I did it with Mandrake years ago).
'emerge world' is why I run Gentoo, because once you know the necessary steps getting updated is pretty easy and painless.
Gentoo is more a nerdy nerd's distro. Its for hackers and tweakers who like total control of their system.
Ubuntu is for average users as well as nerds and is much easier to set up but, in my opinion, more difficult to maintain because you can't choose to install new software until someone compiles it for you (unless you want to install it yourself which can be a configuration nightmare).
My advice, since you are asking this question is to steer clear of Gentoo unless you are fully committed to learning the Gentoo method. It takes time, patience and a whole lot of reading.
However, once you learn, you never go back.
I run Gentoo at home, on my personal server, on a MythTV Box and on my work PC (without IS's blessing) and I adore it.
I have beryl at work and it rocks. I got it early on because someone made an ebuild... now its in portage.
Rock on dude!
Brian
Gentoo is a source code based distribution. All code installed on a system is compiled and installed. (well mostly).
Gentoo has a tool called portage which enables a system admin to update packages very easily. However, its so easy that its easy to break the installation configuration.
Actually its not that easy, but because people don't read they end up replacing configuration files when they shouldn't and they lose they're configuration and whine about it on the forums. God knows I've hosed myself at least a dozen times before I finally learned all the necessary tools.
A gentoo install is very time consuming because all code is compiled. It helps to have a couple of machines in the houserunning distcc, but its still very time consuming.
Ubuntu is a binary package based linux. All libraries, kernels, and software are strictly controlled and compiled in advance to be compatible with each other. These packages are KNOWN STABLE and usually a few months or more out of date (depending on the code). If you need a cool new program you may or may not be able to find a binary to install. You can build from source on Ubuntu or any distro, but you have to configure that and learn how to do it by hand.
Ubuntu just works. Its clever at detecting hardware and it runs on just about anything.
Gentoo can run bleeding edge software, or leading edge software or you could let it get very very stale if you want once you get a system working. You can run almost anything and you can find an ebuild for almost anything (see http://breakmygentoo.org) and you can completely hose your system by emerging something that isn't quite ready for general consumption.
Gentoo allows you to determine your compile options to tune everything for your processor. It eeks out a few percentage points in performance by doing that but again if you over tweak you can break your gentoo.
With Gentoo, building your own kernel is pretty easy and compiling it for your specific hardware is pretty easy as well. However I imagine that's pretty easy on Ubuntu (I did it with Mandrake years ago).
'emerge world' is why I run Gentoo, because once you know the necessary steps getting updated is pretty easy and painless.
Gentoo is more a nerdy nerd's distro. Its for hackers and tweakers who like total control of their system.
Ubuntu is for average users as well as nerds and is much easier to set up but, in my opinion, more difficult to maintain because you can't choose to install new software until someone compiles it for you (unless you want to install it yourself which can be a configuration nightmare).
My advice, since you are asking this question is to steer clear of Gentoo unless you are fully committed to learning the Gentoo method. It takes time, patience and a whole lot of reading.
However, once you learn, you never go back.
I run Gentoo at home, on my personal server, on a MythTV Box and on my work PC (without IS's blessing) and I adore it.
I have beryl at work and it rocks. I got it early on because someone made an ebuild... now its in portage.
Rock on dude!
Brian
Some day there will only be free software.
thanks
looks like I'll go for Kubuntu on the desktop pc. thanks for the info and I actually think that gentoo may find its way onto my laptop. I like to use that for a kind of "testing ground" because I don't actually need it to work all the time.
Thanks for the info I realy do appreciate it!
one last thing... anyone know of a good gentoo VM?
Thanks for the info I realy do appreciate it!
one last thing... anyone know of a good gentoo VM?
- alex.blackbit
- Advocate
- Posts: 2397
- Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2005 8:04 pm
Perhaps you mean WM? Being window manager? Like a desktop environment (DE)?
If that is what you meant, then it depends on your specs. Gnome and KDE use more resources than Xfce or *box (Flux, Black, I think there is Blue), but tend to come with more little things, if you know what I mean. For a old system, Xfce or any of the *box's are good, and if you have enough RAM, Gnome or KDE is fine. But then there are also eye-candy things like Enlightenment and Beryl that you can look into.
Hope that's what you meant!
If that is what you meant, then it depends on your specs. Gnome and KDE use more resources than Xfce or *box (Flux, Black, I think there is Blue), but tend to come with more little things, if you know what I mean. For a old system, Xfce or any of the *box's are good, and if you have enough RAM, Gnome or KDE is fine. But then there are also eye-candy things like Enlightenment and Beryl that you can look into.
Hope that's what you meant!