Re: [SLUG] Amusement for Gentoo nonenthusiasts

From: Chad Perrin (perrin@apotheon.com)
Date: Tue Dec 07 2004 - 14:01:07 EST


R. Samuel Jose, Jr. wrote:

> I am one of the Gentoo converts, but not for the leet hax0r
> compile-for-speed reasons. Mainly it was for the ease of updating
> existing packages and installing new packages.

That's much of the reason for my own choice of favorite distribution.
I've never had to deal with a broken dependency, using apt.

> Also, unmerging doesn't remove dependencies, which is not horrible, but
> sort of undermines the whole notion of having only the packages you need
> and nothing else.

That seems to be a common problem, with both ports-based and
packages-based distributions. While tools exist for addressing the
problem using apt in Debian, they are not part of the default set of apt
tools, and many Debian users don't know they exist. I'm still keeping
an eye out for more tools to deal with that sort of problem, in case
tools that work better than those I use (deborphan and debfoster) exist.

>
> So yeah, it's a little more involved to do things the Gentoo way, but I
> like it, since I often learn something as I go. However, it can be
> maddening for a new Linux user, since much of the admin is done by
> hand. My sister wants me to install linux on one of her old boxes, and
> I will be installing SuSe there since it's pretty newbie-friendly, and
> it comes with lots o' docs.

I don't personally like using SuSE much, but I think it's an excellent
choice as a "first Linux" for new immigrants from Windows-land.

>
> Anyway, I'm not trying to slam any other distros. Each distro has its
> place; I'm just happy with Gentoo these days. :)

Perfect. With the distro that works for you is where you need to be. Heh.

I'm actually planning to take a whack at a ports-based OS in the very
near future. It won't be Gentoo, though -- it'll be a BSD. Wish me luck.

--
Chad
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