Gentoo Linux

[efript]

anyone use this? is it easy to setup? i have no clue about linux or any of that stuff.... but wanted to install it and test out. do i need a pro here to help me?

 

[cleverhandle]

Gentoo is probably a poor choice for a first experience with Linux - you compile everything from source, from the command line. Nice distro, but not one to start with.

 

[efript]

whats a good distro to start off with thats free?

 

[Need4Speed]

mandrake from what i heard is a good newb distro....redhat too
if you really want to learn linux, slackware and debian

 

[AnonymouseUser]

If you want a good desktop linux distro, then Mandrake is probably the best choice. If you need a server distro, then get something else.

 

[Granorense]

I am just learning Linux, I have installed Mandrake, Suse 8.0 and now RedHat 9.0. They are pretty nice, but so far my favorite one is RedHot 9.0. It's eassy to install, almost as easy as Windows OSs. if you don't encounter any problems I guess. As I said, I am just learning, as a matter of fact I got a RedHot book here that I am reading.

Good luck!

 

[GigaCluster]

Another vote for Mandrake 9.1.
A friend of mine who has almost no experience with Linux installed it COMPLETELY on his own.
As a funny aside, I was supposed to call him so that I could talk him through the installation, but when I called, at 1 AM, we realized after a short while that he downloaded three CDs for the PPC architecture instead of i586. So, he and I spent about 4 hours on the phone, chatting, while he was downloading the correct three ISOs. When he was finally done and ready to install, my unlimited night weekends ran out so we had to end the long-distance call.
Later that morning, he logs on to AIM and informs me that he is now in Mandrake. It appropriately detected all his hardware.

 

[Flatline]

Another vote for Mandrake 9.1 as a desktop, especially if you are expecting multimedia functionality. SuSE is also nice for the desktop, but you can't download ISOs and have to do an FTP install to try it out.

 

[NuclearFusi0n]

Here's a vote for Gentoo - it rocks. It's fairly easy to install too, just follow the guide - not hard at all if you have basic computer knowledge down.

 

[GhettoFob]

I messed around with RedHat for a while before jumping into Gentoo. It's a good idea just to get the basics of Linux before starting with Gentoo, I think. If you follow the installation guide, you should have no problems. Gentoo rocks!

 

[pitupepito2000]

My suggestion is to install either RedHat or Mandrake and use it for a few months, and then if you want to learn more about linux use either Debian, Gentoo, Slackware or a *BSD. I agree with everybody that first you have to get the basics of Linux down and then you can try to install harder distros such as Gentoo which requires a lot of compling, and thus you have to have a fast computer.

Here is a link to the best place online to get the iso images:
linuxiso

Good luck and welcome to the Linux world :light:

 

[Panther505]

Order of ease in my book:

Mandake - easy to install, lots of GUI tools and very little requirement to "learn under the hood"
Redhat- Installs about as easy as Mandrake but the functionality it less. You will have to "learn under the hood some"
Suse- Easy to install, outstanding package manager (will recover for most of the worst things that you can do to a package manager), But no ISOs
Gentoo- for when you are ready to learn the ropes of a BSD style system. Very good documentation. LOTS of compiling if you start from the stage 1, but you will learn a lot of the nuts and bolts
Debian (Where I am stuck now)/Slack- Gentoo with packages. Not as much documentation and the user groups aren't as friendly (a little elitist)

I have the testers that work for me start with RH and then do and run a Gentoo install for a while. They learn the RH stuff (what we support) and then they learn how to find it if the GUI is broke on the Gentoo box. The stuff isn't always in the same spot but they learn how to use locate, find, grep and the CLI as a tool not a crutch.

 

[CTho9305]

Originally posted by: Panther505
Order of ease in my book:
Gentoo- for when you are ready to learn the ropes of a BSD style system. Very good documentation. LOTS of compiling if you start from the stage 1, but you will learn a lot of the nuts and bolts

I disagree..... typing "emerge blah" does not teach you the inner workings of blah. It just shows you pages of gcc output.

I'd say go redhat/mandrake until you realize you are beyond them, then try out debian... and once you've broken enough things, linuxFromScratch (if you have time).

 

[Flatline]

Most of what you learn from Gentoo seems to be during the setup and getting everything working; it's not for first-timers. I would recommend something a bit more user-friendly for a noob, and if they want something a bit more intensive to start with they can always go with Debian or Slackware (at least that way they won't sit through a whole sh!tload of compiles to find out that something is broken)