[tenchi86]

Ok I posetd this up in polls but figured its worth a thread. I recently downloaded Mandrake on a 56k connection so it toke a few weeks (around 3 or 4) what I am wondering is before I get into learning mandrake should I get gentoo? Is it that much better that it is worth a 3-4 week download over mandrake? If so what makes it better?

[Tatuya]

Everything makes gentoo better.

Seriously though, the ONLY good thing about mandrake IMO is that it's very easily installable and easier for n00bs (like me) to learn from. Otherwise, gentoo is better if you can get it installed.

[{PMS}fishy]

Originally Posted by tenchi86

Ok I posetd this up in polls but figured its worth a thread. I recently downloaded Mandrake on a 56k connection so it toke a few weeks (around 3 or 4) what I am wondering is before I get into learning mandrake should I get gentoo? Is it that much better that it is worth a 3-4 week download over mandrake? If so what makes it better?

The Gentoo install CD is only about 80mbs. Its a minimal text install, and you download the rest. You can get a package CD too, about 700mbs worth. I have never had to install gentoo over anything as slow as 56k, but I would imagine that it would take awhile. Im not sure if the Live CDs even support modems, you might need to connect a router, to the modem, and connect to the interent that way.

Everything, other than the install, in Gentoo is better. The package manager is better, the OS is faster, its fully customizable, ect.

As far as learning Mandrake vs Gentoo goes, you are learing Linux either way, and learing what each distro does differently. Mandrake puts some files in differenet places, and has lots of GUI config tools that Gentoo lacks. Once you have a basic understanding of linux, you can sit down infront of any distro, and do almost anything.

If I were you, I would install Mandrake, as its a much less painful install, and you already have it. Give it a shot, learn the ins and outs of it, and if you really like it, than by all means stick with it. However if you are looking for somehting that is faster, more responsive, easier to update, has more and better options, than Gentoo might be up your alley.

[MRD]

Reposted from the other thread, in case you aren't reading that one.

Gentoo has a lot of advantages and one major disadvantage.

The disadvantage is that the install is kind of a pain and takes longer. It isn't really hard, it just involves following directions much like a cookbook. When I did it the first time, I typed a lot of commands that I didn't understand, but it all worked and the install went fine.

The advantages are:
- Gentoo is by far the fastest version of Linux out there. The boot is faster, and applications run faster because they are optimized for your PC.

-Portage (the package management system). It couldn't be easier. I left redhat because I couldn't get stuff to install. With Gentoo, it couldn't be easier. For example, say you want to install firefox. You open a terminal, and you type emerge mozilla-firefox, and go afk. It goes onto the web, finds it, downloads it, unpacks it, compiles it, installs it, and configures it.

-There is no bloat. Gentoo installs only what you tell it, NOTHING more. For example, it doesn't install some very basic software like a cron, cvs, a web browser, X windows, a window manager, etc. You have to install all of this. However, it's very easy to do and just takes a command "emerge <name>".

-Completely customizeable. Because you choose what apps you want, it is exactly what you want. You choose exactly which kernel to install, whether it be the plain vanilla 2.4 or 2.6 or the gentoo optimized of whichever version, or the gaming kernel, or whatever.

You can update every piece of software on your hard drive to the most recent version with one command: emerge world.

Once you get through the initial install, it's easier than any other OS I know of, and a LOT faster. I would spend hours installing programs in red hat due to dependency hell. It couldn't be any easier in gentoo.

[Tatuya]

Originally Posted by MRD

Once you get through the initial install, it's easier than any other OS I know of, and a LOT faster. I would spend hours installing programs in red hat due to dependency hell. It couldn't be any easier in gentoo.

I had the same problem with Mandrake

[tenchi86]

Ok so since I already downloade the 3 parts of mandrake each I tihnk they are like 650 MBs I will try it for a bit and when I get the curage I might download gentoo becouse it does sound nice, The emerge feature sounds real handy.

[Kendan]

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=236968

Check this out. It might save you some serious dialup download time

[tenchi86]

thanks your right that might help me out a lot.

[tenchi86]

Ok well I am going to sleep soon so thanks for your help. I am new to Linux though I know a decent amount of command promt I dont think they will help me at all in linux so its probaly good im starting with a easy one. Any way its leeping time so thanks your your input.

[dalek2.0]

You can always buy the CD's and install from that. Then all you have to do is update to the latest. That is not usually to bad. Gentoo keeps theirs pretty up to date. Very little to update that way.

I'm on dial-up too. Doing a install from dial-up will take a long time. I did mine from CD's to save time. I can get the CD's faster than I can download the stuff. I get 26K.

I think the CD supports wvdial and ppp. You will need to config wvdial and ppp for it to work though. I did it once on a friends rig. I think the command for ppp is ppp-config and then answer the question, usually default. Also note, Linux does not work with AOL and some other ISP's. Save you that headache. You can route them through a windoze box though. It is the dial-up program that messes it up.

If you have Mandrake installed already, you can install Gentoo from it instead of the CD. Get your Mandrake connected to the net then open a konsole and do just like you would with the CD. That was how I did mine. It was easier. I could get help in the forums, searching first of course, and not have to stop the install or exit the chroot.

I have done this over ssh before for people. If you had a real good broadband, I would do it for you. I did two in Sweden a few months ago and another in Michigan. They worked on first boot too. Strange how that happened.

Here is a good link for you. http://forums.gentoo.org/ That will be real handy. SEARCH first though. I almost always find a fix to what is giving me trouble. It's faster to search than to wait for a answer. They also have a thing called duplicate threads. You're dead in there.

Hope that helps. I also posted in the other thread.

Later

[Ebola]

I say you should go with fedora core 3. I used to use mandrake and it never worked quite right. Lots of apache problems and menus suddenly dissapearing when you install new apps. Last week I tried out Fedora core 3 and it was NICE. Even mysql and the apache tools worked from the get go.

The updater is slick too.

[dalek2.0]

Redhat uses those pesky rpms too. I have never used Redhat but it sounds to much like Mandrake to me. That dependancy he** is no fun. I would only recommend Mandrake to someone new and is too nervous to try anything else. Mandrake was sort of . . . buggy for me too. I'm not sure why though. It was certainly not as fast as Gentoo.

The Gentoo install is not real bad as long as you follow the guide. Prior knowledge of Linux is a big plus though. I was no guru when I did my install either. I did learn a bit though.

Later

[Vertical_Zer0]

RPMs drove me to the brink of extinction. I just switched to gentoo stage 1 this weekend (yes, it took from friday @ noon to sunday night) and portage (emerge) is incredible.

[SickBoy]

I also was driven to Gentoo by RPM he!!. I installed Redhat 8 w/o X or anything - and it's still kinda weird to try to configure stuff on Redhat using just the configuration files. Stuff doesn't conform to GNU/Linux standards... you wind up learning Redhat, not learning Linux.

Gentoo started to appeal to me after I finally got it running on my desktop. Soon after, I installed it on my fileserver and laptop. The only box I have that doesn't run primarily Gentoo right now is my GF's old PC - FreeBSD 5.2.1. Packages/Ports is a very similar system to Portage and I wanted to try it....

[CrashOveride]

Gentoo kicks.
___________

go go gadjet: emerge program

*walks away*
*comes back*

Soopaikoo ~ $ program

*basks in program's glory*

*goes to sleep*
___________

(Although I did leave out the DAYS it took me to install. No matter, I learned so much about linux.)