> Hogwash. What's so hard about it, as opposed to any other Linux distro, > once you get past the install issue?
Several points here: 1) The install issue is the crux isn't it? A Linux newbie would falter at this first hurdle. I have recently installed two Gentoo stage 3 installations, and the biggest problem a newbie would face is that if something went wrong during the install (i.e. they missed a step in the instructions somewhere) they wouldn't have the experience to work out where they went wrong and fix it. 2) The install procedure is a relatively lengthy process (mainly due to the time it takes to download and compile). Both of my installations had to be spread over two or three evenings before the kernel was built and the Gentoo system was ready to stand alone. Without a good chunk of prior experiece, a newbie wouldn't know how to get back to where they left off. 3) Linux newbies generally come from somewhere - the vast majority don't stumble upon Linux as their first OS. Which means they will be coming from a Windows or Mac background. Both are heavily GUI focused - don't underestimate the intimidation factor of a Console to the average Windows/Mac user. > Just what precisely is so not-simple about Gentoo as opposed to any > other distro (barring perhaps Linspire)? See above and in addition, most mainstream Linux distro's out there will with little work from the user provide a desktop environment with all of the office and multimedia software installed, and hardware set up. These are not criticisms of Gentoo - I love it so far. After the initial install, setting up Apache and subversion was a doddle, and took far less time than when I did it on the previous Suse installation, with the advantage that I now have a lean fast and tidy server, rather than the bloated and messy system Suse gave me. This is mainly due to Gentoo's excellent Portage system, and superb documentation. But then I am not a Linux newbie, and work as a software developer for a living ;-) JM2PW -- Ant... -- gentoo-user@gentoo.org mailing list
