[gentoo-amd64] Re: Giving up 64 platform

[Duncan]

Allan Spagnol Comar posted
<1cc2dc830604230856y5598b0eexba15c73c4f0ed86a@××××××××××.com>, excerpted
below,  on Sun, 23 Apr 2006 12:56:29 -0300:

> Hi folks on list. I don't know if I am the only one on the list having
> dificult with gentoo amd64 stability. Most of the internet and graphic
> world is beyond my command, like firefox and java ( always crash
> firefox ) or flash player, or mplayer ......

Is that amd64 stability, or 32-bit/64-bit issues?  You say stability, but
then seem to list mostly 32-bit binary-only slaveryware.  That's a
problem of known technical limitations, not general stability.

> I had 3 boxes running gentoo on a x86 platform without any problem,
> but 64 platform it really frustated me, its fast but most programs are
> masked. a lot of the programs I use won run unless you install a 32
> bit binary ( so what the point of using gentoo .... )

Most programs masked?  I've found just the opposite.  With some
exceptions, most freedomware code has already been ported and is available
for 64-bit.  Where it's not explicitly marked, unless it's binary-only
slaveryware, you can often unmask it and try it, and it often just
compiles and works in 64-bit mode.  Where it doesn't, often, all it takes
is a bit of tweaking by those who know and understand such things. 
Sometimes, asking about it helps.  If they don't know folks interested in
running it on 64-bit, it naturally has a lower porting priority.

Slaveryware?  Well, it's slaveryware.  If you choose to run it on your
box, you have to beg the masters who refuse to set their code free to be
merciful and deign to release 64-bit versions you can run.  It's obvious
just what I think of such code and the folks who refuse to set it free, so
even if it works on 64-bit, I'm unlikely to want it on my box.  Radical,
maybe, but I didn't go to the trouble of dumping a decade of knowledge and
experience on slaveryware to switch to Linux and just get right back into
it!  My 100% honest opinion, altho I'm aware it's more radical than most
and don't /expect/ others to have the same opinion, or to the same degree.

> sorry for the talking. Thanks for all that help that was giving.

Not a problem!  It's fun to help people, where one can, and of course the
help isn't all one way.  Nobody's an expert in everything!  =8^)

> An answer to end. It's worth to use gentoo x86 on a AMD64, or should I
> run a binary distribution ?

You may find a binary distribution works for you.  Of course, asking here,
one would /expect/ to find most folks saying it didn't work well for them,
or they'd be there instead of here.  If you've run 32-bit Gentoo on
multiple boxes, you should be familiar with all the arguments as to why we
like the Gentoo approach, and why and where it's better (for us) than a
binary distribution.  Never-the-less, there are valid reasons to choose a
binary distribution rather than Gentoo, and if those reasons are more
important to you than the reasons you want a from-source distribution,
it's ridiculous to stay with Gentoo.

On the other hand, the arguments you've presented do NOT seem to argue for
switching to a binary distribution.  You've said you've run a number of
32-bit Gentoo boxes, and further said you had no problems there, so you
seem to do OK with Gentoo in general, just not Gentoo for AMD64.

There's an option you didn't mention, however.  I'd argue that it's the
best option for you, given what you presented above:

Why not simply run Gentoo for x86 on your AMD64 box?  AMD64 runs 32-bit as
well as any other x86 box.  Sure, it can run 64-bit as well, if you choose
to do so, and there are certain technical advantages to doing so, but if
you have a lot of 32-bit only programs you want to run, and no over-riding
reason to want to run 64-bit, running a standard 32-bit x86 OS on an AMD64
is a very solid option.

As I said above, given the arguments you've presented, it appears Gentoo
for x86 is your best option.  Sure, you can run a binary distribution in
for either AMD64 or x86, but you've already stated that you are quite
comfortable with Gentoo on x86, and it does what you want and need, so why
not just run that on your AMD64 box too?  That seems to ma a better fit
for you, given what you've said, than a binary distribution.

In any case, it's your box, your choice.  We can all make suggestions, but
in the end, it's you that decide, and you that has to live with the
results of that decision, not us.  I have a strong aversion to binary-only
slaveryware, and don't run it, but that doesn't mean you have the same
aversion to it.  If it works for you and you can live with yourself
running it, it's your box, not mine, so I can't say don't.  Most of those
here have a more mild aversion to binary distributions so of course will
say that's not a good choice.  It may or may not be, for your box, but
it's you that decide, not  me or them.  The Gentoo for x86 option I
presented looks to me to be your best option, but again, that's my view,
from here, given what you wrote.  If there's stuff you left out, it's very
possibly /not/ your best alternative.  The point is, it's you that decide,
and you that lives with it, so don't feel pressured to do what someone
here suggests is the best for you, if you don't think it's best for
yourself.

Hope that helps, and good luck, whatever your choice!  =8^)

-- 
Duncan - List replies preferred.   No HTML msgs.
"Every nonfree program has a lord, a master --
and if you use the program, he is your master."  Richard Stallman in
http://www.linuxdevcenter.com/pub/a/linux/2004/12/22/rms_interview.html


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