linux users unite!
- Thread starter Vulcanon
- Start date
jersey_emt
Member
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- 04 MSM #1089
I've used Red Hat, Debian, and (most recently) Slackware.
Gentoo looks interesting, I might give it a shot.
Gentoo looks interesting, I might give it a shot.
I use Suse.. I gotta get around to installing the latest version though. Suse makes me happy, especially since I came from Mandrake, and before that used Corel.
I heard Gentoo spends hours upon hours compiling things that would be much faster with RPMs. Is this true? Are the benefits worth the wait?
I heard Gentoo spends hours upon hours compiling things that would be much faster with RPMs. Is this true? Are the benefits worth the wait?
Check it out
Novell was giving this stuff away the other day so I signed up.
We used be a Novell shop.
This comprehensive Novell Linux collection includes the following on 3 DVDs (10 GB):
- SUSE Linux Professional 9.1 (Bootable Installation DVD)
- SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 (ISO Installation Images)
- SUSE Linux Professional 8.2 (Installation ISO images for use with Ximian Desktop)
- Ximian Desktop 2.0 Evaluation (ISO Image)
- Red Carpet 2.0.2 Evaluation (ISO Image)
- GroupWise for Linux 6.5.1 - Server, Client & Messenger (ISO Images)
- Novell Nterprise Linux Services 1.0 (ISO Image & NLS Companion CD)
- And more...
Novell was giving this stuff away the other day so I signed up.
We used be a Novell shop.
This comprehensive Novell Linux collection includes the following on 3 DVDs (10 GB):
- SUSE Linux Professional 9.1 (Bootable Installation DVD)
- SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 (ISO Installation Images)
- SUSE Linux Professional 8.2 (Installation ISO images for use with Ximian Desktop)
- Ximian Desktop 2.0 Evaluation (ISO Image)
- Red Carpet 2.0.2 Evaluation (ISO Image)
- GroupWise for Linux 6.5.1 - Server, Client & Messenger (ISO Images)
- Novell Nterprise Linux Services 1.0 (ISO Image & NLS Companion CD)
- And more...
Mark me down as another die-hard Gentoo user. It's the only distro we (my company and friends) have used for the last few years for both work and personal machines.
The portage (package handler) system is absolutly amazing. Easy updates that not only check stability and pre-requisite packages, but compiles optimized for your arch. The optimizations do help, and I tend to do my large compiles overnight. Ghastly programs like openoffice that take forever to compile from scratch have available Bin files right from the portage directory that you can download and install immediatly like rpms.
For situations where you know you'll be formatting or installing a mirror system on a few different PC with similiar traits, you can tell gentoo to backup the compiles as bins and then just tar up your directories and shoot them over to the next machine. No fuss and a quick install. Also good for backups
The install is now much easier and faster; Many of the core programs are pre-compiled and optimized for a variaty of systems including amd/intel/ppc/etc. Gentoo even has a library of easy to read and use documentation right on their webpage.
The best part, the gentoo forums are free, fast, well moderated. Not to mention they have a goddamn plethora of answers for any stupid situation I tend to get mysel..err. you may end up in.
Try it, you'll see why it's become so popular
The portage (package handler) system is absolutly amazing. Easy updates that not only check stability and pre-requisite packages, but compiles optimized for your arch. The optimizations do help, and I tend to do my large compiles overnight. Ghastly programs like openoffice that take forever to compile from scratch have available Bin files right from the portage directory that you can download and install immediatly like rpms.
For situations where you know you'll be formatting or installing a mirror system on a few different PC with similiar traits, you can tell gentoo to backup the compiles as bins and then just tar up your directories and shoot them over to the next machine. No fuss and a quick install. Also good for backups
The install is now much easier and faster; Many of the core programs are pre-compiled and optimized for a variaty of systems including amd/intel/ppc/etc. Gentoo even has a library of easy to read and use documentation right on their webpage.
The best part, the gentoo forums are free, fast, well moderated. Not to mention they have a goddamn plethora of answers for any stupid situation I tend to get mysel..err. you may end up in.
Try it, you'll see why it's become so popular
I say the best way to learn Linux is to completely erase Windows from your computer and install Suse Linux (i haven't actually used Gentoo yet, so maybe that's better). Then pick up a book like say The Linux Cookbook by Michael Stutz so learn the basic commands and stuff.
When I first started I installed Corel Linux on a crappy old computer of mine. Not a good choice. I just ended up never using it, because the computer was old, slow, and had a foreign operating system.
Then I did a dualboot with Win2k (new at the time) and Mandrake Linux (don't remember which version, i think it was in the 6.x range). I kept Windows in case I needed Microsoft Office or wanted to play video games. Well, since I wasn't familiar with Linux and the computer still had Windows on it, guess which one I ended up using. I really learned when in December I completely got rid of Windows on my computer and installed Suse Linux. OpenOffice satisfied my needs for an office suite, and I wasn't really playing any good PC video games at the time so I didn't miss that at all. I bought the Linux Cookbook and read the first chapter I believe.. didn't get very far in it because I was so busy with school. I learned some of the more basic commands that I needed. I was no longer afraid of the command line.
Later today I'm going to install Gentoo Linux while waxing my car so I'll see if it's a better choice than Suse.
When I first started I installed Corel Linux on a crappy old computer of mine. Not a good choice. I just ended up never using it, because the computer was old, slow, and had a foreign operating system.
Then I did a dualboot with Win2k (new at the time) and Mandrake Linux (don't remember which version, i think it was in the 6.x range). I kept Windows in case I needed Microsoft Office or wanted to play video games. Well, since I wasn't familiar with Linux and the computer still had Windows on it, guess which one I ended up using. I really learned when in December I completely got rid of Windows on my computer and installed Suse Linux. OpenOffice satisfied my needs for an office suite, and I wasn't really playing any good PC video games at the time so I didn't miss that at all. I bought the Linux Cookbook and read the first chapter I believe.. didn't get very far in it because I was so busy with school. I learned some of the more basic commands that I needed. I was no longer afraid of the command line.
Later today I'm going to install Gentoo Linux while waxing my car so I'll see if it's a better choice than Suse.
www.linuxiso.org they are a good source for iso's and help.
Also, if you like Linux, you might give Freebsd a try. More Unix-y than Linux (not a Unix geek, so dont know if this is true or not, just what I have read), but can install most Linux apps. Plus it has a ton of its own apps.
www.freebsd.org
EDIT: oh also, there is only ONE freebsd, unlike Linux, where there are tons of distributions. This is why I picked freebsd over Linux. If you learn it on freebsd, you can take that knowledge to any other freebsd box and do the same thing. Not always true with Linux - each dist. can do things a little differently. The downside to Freebsd is that there isn't near the community/support/books that Linux has. But still, help can be found.
scorch70
www.freebsd.org
EDIT: oh also, there is only ONE freebsd, unlike Linux, where there are tons of distributions. This is why I picked freebsd over Linux. If you learn it on freebsd, you can take that knowledge to any other freebsd box and do the same thing. Not always true with Linux - each dist. can do things a little differently. The downside to Freebsd is that there isn't near the community/support/books that Linux has. But still, help can be found.
scorch70
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Is there a simple graphical install for gentoo, or do I have to deal with using a command line fdisk to manually create partitions and such? I have the universal intall cd and the athlon-xp package cd burned.
This alone may make me just choose Suse, although the gentoo packaging/compiling setup seems godly.
This alone may make me just choose Suse, although the gentoo packaging/compiling setup seems godly.
We got 7 new lab machines (all DELL 2.6GHz towers) at work and it was my job to install OSes on them for development purposes. (I work in the porting department for CA eTrust Antivirus). Out of all the systems I installed I have to say that SuSE SLES 9 was the sweetest. Their additions to KDE make for a slick looking interface. Redhat 9 is also nice and is more geared toward the home user.
I also installed Redhat 7.3, Redhat 8.0, Redhat WS 3.0, SuSE 8.0, and SuSE SLES 8.0. Two of the machines are going to be for Netware. I will be very happy when Novell switches over to Linux completely. Netware sucks. A new Apple G5 should be coming in next week. Can't wait.
I also installed Redhat 7.3, Redhat 8.0, Redhat WS 3.0, SuSE 8.0, and SuSE SLES 8.0. Two of the machines are going to be for Netware. I will be very happy when Novell switches over to Linux completely. Netware sucks. A new Apple G5 should be coming in next week. Can't wait.
I guess I'll print the guide out that is on the universal install cd, I was reading it in a text viewer and switching back and forth to work on things to get the install going... tomorrow morning this windows bloat crap shall be eliminated! I want to keep this as a dedicated linux box and have my laptop dualboot linux and windows... gotta order that laptop tomorrowKpaBap said:
I'm gonna miss Suse but Gentoo sounds too awesome to ignore. I'm rambling because I'm falling asleep at the keyboard so yeah.. I'm out ....
