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