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On Thu, Dec 8, 2011 at 12:05 PM, Paul Hartman |
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<paul.hartman+gentoo@×××××.com> wrote: |
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> I just want to say that I love Gentoo Linux, have used it as my |
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> primary OS for years on multiple computers and can't stand to use |
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> anything else. I like having total control over everything. I truly |
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> enjoy it, the Gentoo Way just feels like "the right way" in general to |
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> me. That is my subjective opinion. |
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> But I also want to say that just because you're forced to do things |
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> yourself doesn't mean that makes them inherently better-performing or |
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> secure. :) One can just as easily screw up their CFLAGS and a have |
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> terrible security setup, especially a beginner. This list's archives |
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> are full of such stories... |
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> I say install a binary distro to get your feet wet with Linux. |
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> Understand the basic concepts of how the system works, using a shell, |
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> editing config files, etc. Once that's not a 100% foreign experience |
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> to you, then go and install Gentoo using the great docs, wikis, |
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> forums, mailing lists and IRC as your guide, and we can be your |
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> hand-holding friends along the way. |
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> I would also suggest using a virtual machine for your first |
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> installations. It will make it a lot less scary. You messed up |
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> partitioning? No problem, you didn't just destroy your Windows |
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> installation or your life-long collection of digital photos (that you |
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> probably never got around to making a backup of). |
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> As a newbie to Linux, comparing distros is usually equivalent to |
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> comparing the default desktop environment, wallpaper and color scheme. |
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> They don't know enough to care about bootloader, filesystem layout, |
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> LVM, package manager, or whatever holy wars linux distros are having |
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> these days. :) |
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> A beginner can certainly follow along the Gentoo install docs, but I |
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> think it takes a certain kind of person to tolerate it... Blindly |
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> copy-pasting commands that they don't understand isn't necessarily |
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> going to teach them anything. Not any more than blindly copy-pasting |
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> example code from a programming textbook makes you a programmer... |
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> Having at least some basic understand of the commands you're typing in |
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> will greatly enhance the experience, in my opinion. |
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Nice suggestions. |
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> Good luck to the OP, whatever he chooses. Welcome to the dark side. :) |
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Thanks. |
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