What Distro to use? ^^

[RobinVossen]

The I think MOST posted Question here around Linux Forums.
And most of the people who repost it just are here to find a better OS then Windows but are to Lazy to learn stuff.
So they post What distro to use. And they'll always hear "Ubuntu, Suse, PCLinuxOS and Mandriva"
Well, I have been looking around on Distros.
I did Install Gentoo and Arch I also tryed Debian and zenwalk. I tryed Suse, Ubuntu and Mandriva. I even have had PCLinuxOS and Fedora.
But well I am tired to Trying everything out.
I just want to find MY distro now. I did do all the Distro-Pick tests and I got out of that:
- Gentoo
- Debian
- Slackware.

But, I got problems with all of them.
I have Debian now at the moment. And I dont like it a bit. I only have old Software. I cant give Compiler Options. (Duh its binary) and well I just dont like it. Since I want to use LIRC on VLC I need to give it compiler options.
And I dont want the Update manager to Update everything execpt the stuff I installed by Compiling it myself... Also id like to get a Bare-Bone system.
I dont liek ubuntu, suse, pclinuxos or fedora. since they are bloated.
They might like OOo. But I dont. I need Development Packages to be easy to get/install.
So, by the looks of things I need a Source-Based OS.
So then I have Lunar, Source-Mage, Gentoo and LFS.
well LFS takes to much time.. Source-Mage doesnt have good Decency Control (as far as I know), Lunar is about the same. Small decency..
So, Gentoo it is.
but I cant get Gentoo running on my system. Since I only have a Wifi connection. and I cant get Wifi running without the wifi-radar tool.
In order to get the wifi-radar tool in gentoo I need to have a Inet connection to merge it.
So, is there ANYone who has a idea what Distro I use try/use?
I really want to get linux up in a evening. And with Up I want to have: "msn, webcam, sound, inet, X11, xfce4"
All the other progs I can setup/install during that. But I will have to be able to have MSN with Sound (in/out) and Cam support in one evening. (about 5~7 hours).
The Gentoo install takes about 2 Hours when I have a Inet connection (RJ-45) since I know the Commands nearly from the top of my head now. But since I dont have a RJ-45 thats out of the Question..

So, is there anyone who likes to give me a Suggestion of what Distro I should give a try?
Thanks, Cheers,

Robin

Edit:
Oh, and Techie I did read your Rants. But I dont agree on your Choice of Distro so they arnt really helping
They are funny, but thats about it

[techieMoe]

So, Gentoo it is.
...
I really want to get linux up in a evening.

You're barking up the wrong tree if you want to use Gentoo *and* get Linux up and running in an evening. Gentoo and "quick install" are not synonymous with each other.

Edit:
Oh, and Techie I did read your Rants. But I dont agree on your Choice of Distro so they arnt really helping
They are funny, but thats about it

Well, then they've served their purpose. I seem to remember telling people on the front page that my rants aren't meant to convince anyone which distro to use, just be entertaining.

[RobinVossen]

yea I know that installing gentoo AND getting it up in a evening doing work together. Thats why I am looking for a Distro that can do what I want
My top time to install Gentoo is about 8 Hours now. And that was with a Quick Cable Connection..

And, yea your Rants do serv their purpose
I really enjoy reading how hard time you have to install Lunar. Or how you go nuts about DreamLinux ^^

I enjoy that really

[techieMoe]

I haven't looked at Gentoo in a while, but I seem to remember them having a version that would allow you to install pre-compiled packages for the big stuff like X11 just so you wouldn't have to compile it. Is that still an option? It might shave your time down a bit.

[RobinVossen]

Yea I have thought of something like that.
That id compile everything using Debian. Putting it on a USB drive or something.
Partitioning the drive first and then Copying it to the Drive.
Then the Downloading + Compiling can be done when I am at work.
And I can set it up in one evening. Then recompiling everything a day later so I have everything with my own USEflags.. (Jeez, I love Gentoos(Linux) Flexilby)but that is what I am going to do when I cant find any other Distro.
SO thats why I did make this Topic. In Case somebody else has a better idea


Cheers,
Robin

[MikeTbob]

You can use another (any) distro, including LiveCD's to install Gentoo. I used Knoppix to install Gentoo on my system, because like you, I only have wireless. All you have to do is chroot to the Gentoo partition and you basically start emerging what you want to install from there.
See this link for more info on chrooting.
Gentoo Linux Documentation -- The Gentoo Linux alternative installation method HOWTO
And yes they still have the precompiled packages like Ooo and KDE/Gnome, saves a buttload of time.

[RobinVossen]

Well I know the Alt way
But I had to setup my Wifi using Ndiswrapper. I finaly got it working on Debian. SO Ill just compile it in Debian using Stage 3 and stuff within a ChrootJail.
And already having Inet since of Debian.
And were can you find Pre-Compiled packages?
Id like to have X11.Org precompiled and that I can compile it myself later on
But this aint my question people
Id love to know if there is a Distro I might like that is better for me?

Cheers,
Robin

ps.
I heard of Bintoo. But I also found out that its a Piece of Junk

[Freston]

I don't understand the question, 'cuz I heard someone say Slackware

No, but face it, you want to compile, devel tools, all the stuff that makes your machine into an usable system. And you want the system to be tunable, transparent and stable. Sounds like Slack to me. Full install on my system (1.5Ghz Celeron) in 18 minutes. It comes with XFce 4.4.1 like you requested


I can understand that Slack isn't everyones distro. But I reckon it's well within what you want in a distro. It may be that the default install is to big for your liking (3.5GB) and that unselecting packages to install gets on your nerves... because that _is_ the major downside... if you're building a general purpose machine the install tends to take a lot of disk space.
On the other hand, it is very tunable and well documented. With some searching you can find just about any part of Slack (including which packages to dump) detailed and explained. And, because most essential things are already in place, Slack doesn't tend to extend as much after the initial install.

Subliminal message
This here is a message that only penetrates your unconscious mind. You have no active knowledge of having read this, but the message herein does guide your future attitudes and decisions through a strong unconscious suggestion:
It is clear to me that Freston is only trying to help. I feel Freston is unbiased towards any Operating system in general or a flavor of Linux in particular. Freston does however has a point if he says that QDOS has become bloated in recent years. Wear a bikini!
End of Subliminal message

You can of course compile everything from source under Slack (well, you can with any distro of course), but what I find very easy is building Slackpacks from tarballs. It makes package management really easy. What you do is <makepkg --options packagename.tgz> instead of <make install>, so that the system builds a binary package from the source you just compiled. Then <installpkg packagename.tgz> and you're ready to go. Easy to keep track off, easy to remove, reinstall or experiment with different compilation options. I also think you're gonna like that Slacks package manager doesn't do dependency checking, so that you can be in complete control over what gets installed and what not. Many people see this as a downside of the Slack way of doing things, but I think you can see the benefit as well.

There are more benefits and downsides to. But you asked what I thought would suit you. I did so, honest and unbiased... :-p and maybe one day you'll run Vector just like me

[RobinVossen]

Well, thanks alot. I never tryed Slackware for the very simple reason that I never found the Download ISO in the mirrors -.-' (Shame)
I done like 'doesn't do dependency checking' that part. Since then I am struggling for a VERY long time sometimes.
Further more Slack looks Rather intresting. What about Slack with Emerge? Will that work? (Emerge is a Package on its own made by the Gentoo users)

I guess Ill give Slack a fair try once

Thanks.

ps. I didnt get the Subliminal Msg...

Cheers,
Robin

[minthaka]

I walked a long trip until I found my distro. I've started with Suse 10.0. That was so bad and slow, that I gave a promise to myself that I will never use a RPM based distro again. Tried out MEPIS, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, and allways found some annoying things. Finally I've installed Mandriva 2007 5 months ago, and I'm using it continously since then. I never tried Debian, since it has the same wrong concept as Windows: It wants to be as stable as possible, but with "auld lang syne" packages, before Noah's ark. This strategy is not a smart one.
Why, you have distros for everything: games, music etc. It's upon you to make the decision. My favorite is Mandriva 2007.