Gentoo Linux Announces Gentoo Linux 2004.1 377
Keppy writes "The departure of Daniel Robbins hasn't dented the progress of Gentoo Linux with version 2004.1 being released. ... please support Gentoo by purchasing something from the online store. The Gentoo homepage also has a short message about the future of Gentoo Linux now that Daniel has left. ' Robbat2 writes with an excerpt from the linked announcement:
"Please consult our
mirror index for download
locations and the
Gentoo Linux Installation Handbook
for detailed installation
instructions. Support for Gentoo Linux 2004.1 can be found through our
user community by way of the Gentoo Forums,
IRC, and various
community mailing-lists.
Release notes for each architecture
can be found linked from the
Gentoo Linux Release Engineering project page."
Gentoo is one of the best linux distribs, and here (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Am already there! (Score:3, Interesting)
emerge -uvD system
emerge -uvD world
etc-update
Hooray for Gentoo (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Gentoo is one of the best linux distribs, and h (Score:5, Interesting)
emerge is as easy for me as apt-get was, and the only difference is I have to be patient with long builds. For me, thats a "so what" ?
I'd personally rather wait during the install, than wait while the machine is supposed to be running.
And while I am not a linux newbie, I certainly am no guru (yet
Anyhow, whatever *nix one chooses, it handily beats Windoze over the head except for gaming. *sigh*
Linux on THE desktop? Linux is on MY desktop.
Drobbins' store (Score:2, Interesting)
-Not that he hasn't done alot to deserve the money. But If your trying to support the community that supports gentoo you may want to wait untill the NFP community is actually created instead of funding the departing founder.
Re:Gentoo is one of the best linux distribs, and h (Score:2, Interesting)
Portage-NG (Score:1, Interesting)
Stages are more flexible than that! (Score:5, Interesting)
I have a stager script that I've hacked the bejeezus out of and configured to generate 2.6-headered NPTL systems that are fully optimized, even though the installs start at stage3. I've got flowcharts and stuff to keep track of the 'stage evolution'
here's my process, IIRC:
1. have working gentoo system with stager and a stage1 snapshot.
2. emerge sync
3. unmask or modify certain
3. stager snap $DATE-custom
4. stager athlon-xp 2 stage1 $DATE-custom
5. stager athlon-xp 1 $DATE-custom $DATE-custom
6. clean out temp files in
7. stager athlon-xp 2 $DATE-custom $DATE-custom
8. stager athlon-xp 3 $DATE-custom $DATE-custom
so now you've got a fully-native NPTL stage1 to build other stages from and a fully-native stage3 ready to install.
My actual system is a lot more complex, as I build a 'generic i686' stage1 and then fork off to Pentium3 ad Athlon-XP builds for my different machines. I've also got a totally seperate stage geneology for the PPC build, but they all share the portage snapshots and configs for consistency.
Help is an IRC channel away. (Score:5, Interesting)
Very helpfull people there. Base install of Gentoo comes with "irssi" IRC client that you can hook up to right from the install CD. Ask your question (no need to ask "can I ask a question") and try to be as specific as you can.
Now, this IS an IRC channel so you might run into a few knuckleheads there, but be patient and you WILL be helped. The people there are very well versed and many of the OPs are themselves Gentoo developers and they know the system. They will help.
I go there to help also. It's my small way of giving something back to the community as I'm not a developer, but I can try to help others.
Most people are very patient there, but if you're asking a question that's plainly right in the install guide, they'll direct you to that usually.
Don't be a jerk there and you'll do fine. Others I've seen log into the channel and go "this sucks, I can't get this and this working...Gentoo sucks...I can't do anything". Then when no one responds in about 20 seconds they shout "how come no one wants to help me...this sucks". And on and on. Some people are beyond help it seems...and not for just and OS install either, hehe.
Re:Gentoo is one of the best linux distribs, and h (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Am already there! (Score:3, Interesting)
Gentoo on dialup means regular updates unless you want to end up in download hell.
Not mentioned yet, or often around here (Score:2, Interesting)
There have been lots of issues over the past few months regarding improper (too hasty and with too little testing) moving of pacakges from ~x86 to x86. This often results in pacakges that will not compile cleanly in the stable branch for all users.
There was a hideous bug a few months back introduced into ~x86 that basically screwed up the build environment for all packages. I was one of the lucky ones that it hit. Weird permission conflicts that could not be resolved that forced a complete system reinstall. And, while one might correctly point out I'm running unstable, this was an error in portage itself, and should not have been introduced into the system at all.
Also, two weeks ago, there was an issue with xine, where the only way to get it compiled was to start the emerge, pause it, then change directory into the sandbox, remove an erroneous file, then unpause the build.
Then there was the problem with OOo not compiling correctly in the sandbox. Solution? Don't use the sandbox (red flags should be going up, here).
Then there was the problem where I somehow caught half the latest KDE upgrade in portage, but not ALL of it. So, portage upgraded some packages, then downgraded those same packages to reinstall lower numbered KDE pacakges, which then forced me to recompile everything again on the next complete sync.
Now, one may point out that all these problems will eventually be fixed with correct and updated ebuilds. And they were and will continue to be. However, these problems are not infrequent to begin with.
The moral of the story is, gentoo is great, "May she live forever", etc etc. However, updating is NOT always as simple as "emerge sync && emerge -uD world". If you put off updating for a few weeks, you will get dozens of packages that will be updated next time you sync. Sometimes you can let it happily hum for a few days autonomously recompiling stuff. Othertimes, compiling will exit for no good reason, and you'd best get your thinking cap on.
It's NOT idiot simple.
(incidentally, I started off using the stable tree only, but had enough problems with it that I decided i might as well use unstable to get on the bleeding edge.)
Gentoo is not for everyone... (Score:4, Interesting)
Some Gentoo developers just seem to release stuff without thoroughly testing it out. Here's some examples just from my own experiences over the last 2 months:
Gentoo can be a very cool distro if you're willing to put up with the annoyances of (IMHO) a somewhat muddled and slipshod update-release process.
Re:Gentoo is one of the best linux distribs, and h (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Gentoo is one of the best linux distribs, and h (Score:5, Interesting)
And this is one thing I really love about gentoo. Especially if you're a newbie to linux (I wasn't, but I like you, was certainly no master). Following the installation guide that gentoo provides was a very educational experience for me. Not only does it tell you step by step what to do to get your system up and running, it tells you WHY you're doing it. I was very impressed with the instructions. Oh, and when I ran into any problems at all, their forums had the answer, and when they didn't have the answer, someone responded to my post within a matter of a couple hours, and had the solution to my question.
-matt
Gentoo unrealistic for production environments (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Help is an IRC channel away. (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Help is an IRC channel away. (Score:3, Interesting)
But then again, some people don't feel they're ever helped it seems. I'm not saying you're one of them of course, but some don't have the patience.
It is free by the way. I've found #gentoo an enormous help when I was first installing my system. They helped me get everything up and running and pointed out certain areas I would need to look more into etc etc. I was amazed at how helpfull.
But I understand you can't please everyone all the time. All I can say is if you're ignored at first, or they were busy helping others, just try back later.
Should IRC and #gentoo be used in place of a tech support service, of course not. But you may find that it's a very nice place to get help.
Re:Gentoo is one of the best linux distribs, and h (Score:4, Interesting)
the more or less manual install, coupled with the very good documentation and guides, helped me grow acustomed to linux more than I had by just using it through shell accounts or on friend's boxes
the full immersion that comes with its install is a learning experience that can't be beat, and when help is needed there are docs, forums, and irc -- and let me say the irc (imo) is one of the best ways to learn
Re:Help is an IRC channel away. (Score:2, Interesting)