[gentoo-user] re: about the 2007.1

[David Relson]

On Thu, 8 Nov 2007 22:30:24 -0600
»Q« wrote:

> Neil Bothwick <neil@××××××××××.uk> wrote:
>
> > On Thu, 8 Nov 2007 13:05:18 +0000, Guanqun Lu wrote:
> >
> > > We can't expect that all the Gentoo users should be a linux geek
> > > first, and then have a try on Gentoo linux sytem.
> >
> > Why not? Gentoo is aimed at more experienced users, Linux novices
> > are already amply catered for by other distros. I would never
> > recommend Gentoo to a new Linux user, in the same way that I
> > wouldn't recommend a Ferrari to a learner driver.
>
> I was a Linux newbie when I installed Gentoo;  it was the first distro
> I installed.  It was recommended to me by a friend who said if I
> wanted to learn a lot as I installed it and set it up, Gentoo was a
> good idea.  I now recommend it to newbies on the same basis.  But
> it's only useful to them in this way /without/ the graphical
> installer.

I had about 9 yrs experience with Linux (first Slackware, then RedHat,
then Mandrake) before installing Gentoo.  My goal was to get it up and
running with minimal aggravation so I could then find out what the
"Gentoo buzz" was all about.

In the fall a year ago, I bit the bullet and burned a LiveCD.  The
graphical installer was nice but buggy.  It'd ask for information then,
on a later screen, would need some of the same info again -- as though
the info had been forgotten or the screens weren't coordinated. If
memory serves, this happened (for example) with network configuration,
notably static IP addresses.  Then, as loads of packages were being
loaded from the CD and/or updated from the network, there would be an
error and the installation would die in a partially completed state.
This happened over and over.

Some efforts were also made with the command line installer.  My
problem there was typing and overlooking details.  If I mistyped
something (or forgot to enter needed info) and went on to the next
screen, there was no way to go back and correct the mistake/oversight.
It was not fun.

I eventually managed to get up and running as I got far enough in one
of the efforts to have a bootable and usable system.  Now after a year
of running Gentoo I'm quite pleased with it.  I've also updated my
hardware from an AMD XP to an AMD 64 X2.  

I've not yet updated to the AMD64 version of Gentoo because of the
painful memories of the initial installation.  I must be in the class
of users who use Gentoo _in_ _spite_ _of_ the installation procedure.

Regards,

David
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