Has anyone tried Gentoo?

[newbienNJ]

I'm just wondering if anyone has tried Gentoo and if so what are their thoughts about it. So far I am happy with both Kubuntu and Ubuntu, though I am a bit more for kubuntu because of the KDE. But I am just curious about other types of Linux distros

[jakykong]

Re: Has anyone tried Gentoo?

As far as I can tell, the BIGGEST difference between linux distributions is the package management system. Certainly they all have configuration differences, and a different complement of software, but you can change those if you really want to...

Just happens to be that debian-based distributions have a large complement of software, plus alien to install most other packages.

I would use RPM-based distro's next (is Gentoo rpm-based? I think it is...), if for no reason other than RPMs being more prevalent than even debs.

Aside from RPM and Deb distributions, i can't say i've tried others. Never saw the need.

I haven't tried Gentoo. I've heard it's pretty good, i think it's RPM-based, and it has a little more industry support (red-hat style industry support, not kubuntu's forums style industry support :P, not to say that forums aren't good support!) than kubuntu.

My suggestion: try it out. Free a partition, and then go ahead and install it. I have a spare desktop for that sole purpose, personally

[askrieger]

Re: Has anyone tried Gentoo?

I think that Jakykong is confusing Gentoo with some other distro (Fedora, perhaps?). Gentoo is almost unique in that users compile EVERYTHING from source. It obviously does not use the RPM package management system. Instead it uses a system called "Portage" which I believe originated in one of the BSD variants, but I may be wrong. There are actually ways to get at least part of the system as a binary, but that defeats the purpose of generating a system which is set up for exactly your hardware and your preferences with none of the extraneous material that you get in other distros (like Kubuntu).

Of course, you have to configure and compile everything which takes quite a bit of time (especially if you have a slow machine) and substantially more knowledge than most people possess when they start. Installing Gentoo is a great way to learn a lot about Linux, but (in my opinion) it's not the best way to get a working Linux system.

I believe that the best way to get a working Linux system is Kubuntu, but, of course, if I didn't think that I wouldn't be here.

[ageilers]

Re: Has anyone tried Gentoo?

Wikipedia has a good write up on Gentoo. I have not tried it myself, but since I found Kubuntu, I wonder if I even want to try other distros. There are hundreds of them. Personally, I have found what I am looking for, and will be spreading the word.

Speak the gospel of (K)Ubuntu!

[newbienNJ]

Re: Has anyone tried Gentoo?

Thank you to all of you who have replied to my question. I was just curious about Gentoo. After some carefull thought, I think it would be best for me to stick to Kubuntu.

[Amoeba]

Re: Has anyone tried Gentoo?

I've used Gentoo for 4 years now. I do not recommend it for a newcomer to linux UNLESS they are hyped about getting their hands dirty, expect breakages, expect LONG compile times and have a desire to learn.

Otherwise, it's not for you.