[PLUG] Another pre-linux newbie question...

david yrn4dsl at attbi.com
Sat Nov 23 03:43:12 UTC 2002


On Fri, 22 Nov 2002 19:06:53 -0800
"tranceboy" <tranceboy at tranceboy.com> wrote:

> I was preparing to install FreeBSD when a friend of mine recommended Gentoo
> Linux, and now, after having looked at their pages, I'm interested.
> 
> Does anyone here use Gentoo?  How easy is it going to be for a novice Linux
> user to install and configure?  As a disclaimer and warning, let it be noted
> that I'm not an incredibly patient person when it comes to computers - I
> don't mind waiting for 8 hours for something to compile/install, but if I
> need to read the gideon bible just to get to the 8 hours of waiting, I am
> not interested.  Please note that this is not an "I'm not willing to read
> anything", but I'm also uninterested in becoming an authority on
> dependencies just so I can watch movies on my system.
> 
> I like the idea of a light, fast system that's customized for my hardware,
> however, so if installing Gentoo would not be an ordeal or an exercise in
> frustration for someone who isn't a unix administrator, I'm definitely up
> for it.  I've taken a look at the Gentoo installation pages, and nothing in
> there looks too horrible, but I'd prefer impressions from someone who has
> been through the install process, along with any pointers or
> recommendations.
> 
> Thanks,
> -henry
> 
The last version of Gentoo I installed was 1.2 Unless they've made significant progress on their install system since then I would not recommend it for a newbie. It's not quite Linux From Scratch, but it is definitely more hands on than most novices are prepared for. On the other hand, once installed it seemed like a good system. Until Nvidia released drivers for FreeBSD I was considering switching.

Why the special interest in Gentoo and FreeBSD?




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