[St. Joe]

Originally Posted by gruven

Completely Windows Free Since 12/05

Heh, I'm just too damn cheap.
I paid for the stupid thing and so it stays.

[thinktankted]

I have been trying to get gentoo going for a couple of weeks now. 1st try was stage3 install. Got everything going except Cedega didn't work. Tried a couple of things suggested in posts, then tried a stage 1 install, couldn't get nvidia drivers to work in X. Now I am going back to the stage 3 install from the CD, because the nvidia drivers worked from that install, and work the cedega issue some more.

This makes 3 Land o' Lakes (Minnesota) people on this forum thread. Not much to do in the winter, huh (if you don't icefish, snowmobile or ski)

[gruven]

I just installed Cedega as a matter of fact (the pay version, I don't mind supporting something that helps me out), and it works quite nice. I did a stage 3 install, upgraded GCC to 3.4.4, and then rebuild the system from the ground up while still running.

Very fast, and nice. Basically it was a stage 1/3 (stage 1 with a stage 3 tarball).

Anyway, it is a total addiction, and very fun. I am sure someone here can help if you have any problems!

[johnlgalt]

I started with FC2, then read up on and compiled my own kernel (using the CK sources, I think) and was amazed at the change in boot time - from over 1:45 down to just over 30 seconds. I was hooked on configurability, and when I asked where could I find a distro that afforded me that sort of configurability, everyone (almost) pointed to Gentoo.

I now am running the Jackass project 2005.2 install, and am quite happy with it. Although I have been inactive recently, I did test for a while with the Jackass! project, and am looking to get back into testing here soon.

I agree with some of the sentiments expressed here, in that the configurability ( specifically architecture specific configurability) may make things run a bit faster, and more optimized, but it can be a catch 22 or sorts, in that, if you are not careful, you may break something later on down the road. However, since I don't play around changing hardware in my computer all that often, I find it relatively safe to build my system specifically for my hardware as I have it built, and that by itself allows for a slight performance gain (and with this beast being 4 years old, I need all the help I can get).

Besides, I can say I have it the way I want - no frills, nothing. I get razzed on for using XFCE4 for example, and I always reply - b/c it does what I want it to and no more. Call me the Frank Lloyd Wright of Desktops - but I hate frills. If I don't need it I should have the right to take it out and get rid of it - permanently. Or, conversely, prevent it from being added in the first place. With Gentoo (and the Jackass project specifically) I fell I have that sort of control.

[ImNeat]

Been on linux a little over a month, and I'm thinking of going gentoo. I switched to linux to learn - nothing more or less. I think a gentoo jump will be great for that.
I'm gonna keep Fedora Core 5 on my main desktop, so I'll be able to keep the manual on a screen while I gentoo my laptop.
After reading this I'm a *little* scared... but what's there to lose, right?

If all goes horribly wrong I'll hit up slackware.

[kbk]

I just installed Gentoo a few days ago, and other than having a few problems with cats knocking my HDD out of the socket, it went pretty well. USE tags are kind of a pain, but do come in handy. I rather like Gentoo, but still can't get the sound working. I do notice that it is alot more configureable and at least a little faster than most distros I have tried (mostly, if not all, Debian based).

[Weedman]

I started with it after about 10 months.

I have been using it since January, but I am now finding some instability issues directed directly at gnome & openoffice.

apart from that, it's fine.

[pupdaleon]

I installed it a few days ago it's everything people rave about.

Most problems for me during my test install stemed from not knowing my hardware. When i actualy installed it for real i did everything right that time and it works "out of the box"

Is it actualy newbie friendly or i'm no longer a newbie?

[kbk]

I really don't feel it's newbie friendly, however, after dealing with that install, I don't feel very n00bish anymore. Still can't get the damn sound working though..

[coplan]

1) I dabbled in Linux for almost 8 years and used it regularly for 3-4 before I tried Gentoo. That said, I pretty much got it right the first time from a stage 1 installation. I think the hardest part is what to do next...Gentoo leaves you with a working system, but no GUI or anyting like that. You need to know what you want (KDE, Gnome, etc) and what options to throw in the USE flags (/etc/make.conf), but otherwise it's not that bad. If nothing else, the Gentoo community is unmatched anywhere.

2) It's constantly under debate, but there's no reason to start with a stage 1 anymore. You can start with a stage 3 to get the system up and running (which is the default method now) and then run "emerge -e system" to recompile everything as necessary. Time consuming? Yes. But you don't have to be there. I've left portage on its own for as long as 3 days without any problems.

3) It may seem simple, but the Gentoo documentation is really well written. It teaches you a lot about your system as you're installing. I think the Portage section can get pretty confusing to a newbie, but jump on the forums and ask questions. It's really hard to BREAK a gentoo system beyond recognition.

4) Print it out. No reason not to, and they're a good reference.

5) I am always browsing between distributions, and I always come back to Gentoo. On newer hardware, the speed difference isn't always as noticable. But the huge advantage to gentoo is that you can custom tailor everything with use flags. Some flags may even cut down on the dependancies if they are deselected (prefixed with a '-'). Smaller footprint and generally optimized for your system. Can't beat that. Some people argue about the time it takes to compile things...but as I said, you can leave it overnight if you have to. You can also update from a remote location (I update from work all the time).