Wonderful world of new dists..

[Dan Miller]

 >  Can you expound more on the "nice to maintain" part?  Or any other
 > parts that you like about Gentoo?  I've contemplated checking Gentoo
 > out (just because I like to sample what's out there), but things like
 > this:

Gentoo has a script (at lest I think it is) call etc-update that will go 
through and check for outdated config file. Gives you a nice menu. To 
update your system you issue 2 commands. emerge --sync (This syncs the 
portage) and then emerge -u world. This will update all applications 
that are in the world file (all apps that are installed) and will update 
them. You can also include the D switch which will grab dependicies and 
recompile them also.

Gentoo runs nice for servers, firewalls, desktops and whatever else you 
want. I like the lack of applications that are installed. If I want an 
application, I get that application and its dependicies only. I don't 
get everything else that people think I need. If I want KDE (for 
example) I get X, qt, qt-libs, KDE and all of its basic stuff. I don't 
get other random programs I don't need. Many distros will package 
everything, not Gentoo.

I also like the speed and responsiveness of a Gentoo system. It feels 
snappier than other distros I've used. To me the layout of a Gentoo 
system is natural. My first distro was RedHat, then Mandrake, then 
Gentoo. There were issues I had with RedHat and Mandrake (mostly rpms, 
and gui themes, I felt that they were bloated). When I first installed 
Gentoo on a 450Mhz from Mandrake, the system was more responsive then 
with Mandrake.

The power that Gentoo gives you as the final say is nice. I can play 
around with use flags, or compile flags and alter my system with 
different libraries or how the apps are compiled. Gentoo makes me feel 
that I am in control of my box.

 >
 >> USE="-imagemagick -dri -arts -gentoo-sources -dev-sources -cervisia
 >> -apache2 -qt3 -qt4 glibc-omitfp nptlonly no-seamonkey blackdown sdl java
 >> tiff svg unicode ldap nptl xv xvid nsplugin glitz cairo win32codec
 >> quicktime ada subversion opie sunbird thunderbird firefox ithreads
 >> -threads mysql mythtv gtk gnome -kde dvd alsa cdr dvdrw dvdr xinerama
 >> vlc mozilla dvd ffmpeg mpeg mad wxwindows aac dts a52 ogg theora
 >> oggvorbis matroska -freetype bidi xv svga gnutls stram vlm httpd cdda
 >> cvd cdio live mozbranding"
 >
 > ... always make me run away screaming.  ;-)   I figure there *must* be
 > some benefit or return-on-investment for worrying about stuff like
 > that, but I dunno what it is, and I'm genuinely curious.
 >

Yes there is. Many packages have failed, so they have ended up as a 
-use-flag in my flags. Say you are setting up a samba server. Personally 
I don't want X, I don't want anything about dvd, gui, or cd-rw stuff. I 
want a basic samba system (command line only) with CUPS. In this example 
I might set the use flags as: USE="nptl nptlonly cups samba logrotate 
logwatch -gnome -qt -gtk -alsa -kde -dvd -arts -X -xpdf -motif -pdf"

If I want mysql in there too, just add mysql in the flags, and then 
mysql will be compiled also. In this example, I'm saying any dependicies 
that include gnome, qt, gtk, alsa, kde, dvd, arts, X, xpdf, motif or pdf 
ignore. There are some utilies that will want X, but I won't get those. 
This will give me a system that will have cups, and samba and their 
dependicies. If your having a system that is a samba server why do you 
need X? You don't have it here. This is one example of how use flags 
work for you.

Another one is the mozbranding. Because of issues with Mozilla (many 
have been raised) by default Firefox does not get compiled with the fox 
and the globe, with mozbranding, it does.

 >  I promise not to criticize any of your reasons/likes.  :)   Not
 > looking for a distro war here...
 >
 > -- Ben "Currently running Debian etch, but has gotten tired of having
 > the X server break every time I run 'apt-get upgrade'" Scott

I've been admining a box in Utah that is running Debian, things are not 
the same. I can migrate around and do many things, but when I go looking 
for conf files, they are not were I think they should be. But this is 
the first time I've used Debian.

I will say not everything is in the portage. I've downloaded a few (less 
than 5) apps that I have compiled and put on my box. Usually by the time 
I have an issue I want to find out how to fix, there is a fix on the 
forums. The documentation on how to setup many things are up and the 
community is very helpful.

Hope this answers your questions. Let me know if it doesn't.

Dan



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