Hello, TC Linux users ;) Get ready for some msispelled words ahead. Sorry about the long text :( I would just like to rant a bit about Gentoo and the concept of compiling your software. I have installed Gentoo successfuly from my first try, all thanks to the documentation - very on-topic and straightforward - and some help from the folks in #gentoo. I dont understand why people think and assume that compiling your own software from source (like using Gentoo emerge to do so) makes it more unstable and/or slower. Yes, most of this stuff is from the Gentoo thread. Some of you think that Gentoo is frustrating to install, maintain, and use. I would like to argue against that. If you folow the documentation, stap-by-step and do exactly what you are told to do so, then you will end up with a fully working gentoo setup. I, on the other hand, had to be even more careful because I am dual-booting with Windows XP on my first primary NTFS partition. Nothing too hard, I just used common sence. Instead of deleting all of my partitions (like the handbook advices,) I created an extended partition in the free space left on my hard drive. Not so hard. Common sence, its all about that. In esence, installing Gentoo was a breeze. I have never before installed a Linux distro where I was required to compile the kernel. Now I can say I have ;) Portage is probobly the best concept of managing software that was ever made. I use FreeBSD on my server, and managing software (updating, uninstalling, reinstalling) using the Ports Collection is extremely easy. Most of the installation of software is automated. Using emerge is very easy too. If I want to update all of my software: emerge -Upv world Review what will be updated, installed, and configure that using the USE variable USE="mmx sse -cups" emerge -Upv world Once I am happy with the software selections, I remove the `-pv' flags and hit enter. I go get some coffee, somthing to eat, and come back to a freshly updated system. How wonderful is that? Portage is truly the heart of Gentoo, and the prime of (IMHO) all software/package managers. Yes, I have used Debian, Slackware, RedHat and I just find that they do not stack up against what Gentoo's Portage offers me. Now, compiling your own software. I use emerge to install almost (if not all) of the software on my desktop computer. Some of you think that if software is installed from source form, and not from a pre-compiled binary version (like from a .deb or .rpm file) then it is 1) slower and 2) less stable. I have to argue against that. When you are installing from package form, and not from source form, do you actually think that some special ultra-optimization techneque was used to compile the software? Dont you think that the author/creator of the deb/rpm probobly used general compiling procedures when making the binary? Dont you think that is is better for you to compile your own software when you can select optimization based on your archetecture and processor features? Sorry, but I dont understand how one can think that compiling software from source is anything but better then installing it from pre-compiled packages. Someone please, enlighten me on this. This is not a flame, but an observation. I dont aim to prove Gentoo Linux to be better then any other distro. All of the distributions that I have tried all have their pros and cons. Gentoo pleases me more then anything else, and I find it hard to understand why someone would find it so bad and hard to use. Wow, once again my fingers have gone lose on me. I am going to get some more coffee now, and get somthing to eat while I update xfree :) Good day. Any thaughts on this? I know its a long read, but if you have the time and the will to discus, then I am all ears. -- andrei bazhgin | aftermath | programmer | nan2d.com _______________________________________________ TCLUG Mailing List - Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota http://www.mn-linux.org tclug-list at mn-linux.org https://mailman.real-time.com/mailman/listinfo/tclug-list