On Monday 06 April 2009 21:16:08 James wrote: > Momesso Andrea <momesso.andrea <at> gmail.com> writes: > > Here is an intersting article by a gentoo dev (darkside): > > http://blog.jolexa.net/2009/02/25/gentoo-yearly-releases-help-or-hurt-gen > >too/ > > OK, > > I'll bite on these postings (Although my question > was really about the profile...) > > > 1. Where is the official discussion/instruction on rolling > my own profile, since 'profile' as a gentoo supported > file is deprecated?
A profile is just a list of stuff to be installed, plus some USE flags, plus some instructions as to what is masked out (sse on sparc for example) plus the definition of what comprises the "system" set. The docs (definition of docs used very loosely here) are man 5 portage as the developer docs (link at bottom of left side bar of front page on www.gentoo.org) > 2. I have a friend with a band new smoking > amd64 tablet. Which instructions do I tell > him to follow to install gentoo on his new > tablet-gadget? Do you really think something like that, brand-new, will even be remotely supported. That is beyond the bleeding edge, your friend gets to figure it out himself and write the docs for the second wave of users. > 3. I have a very smart teenager who is willing > to learn and struggle with Gentoo. I think > he should use the systemRescue path to gentoo. > Where are the instructions related to installing > off of a SystemRescue media (usb/cdrom)? The handbook. But first he has to realize something: He has a running system when the SystemRescue boots, so set up a chroot and from that point on everything works as the handbook says. > Where will he read about which weekly release > for his old p3/4 hardware? Where to find old > drivers? Use an older kernel to ease the initial > installation? How is one handbook going to > address new and old but usable hardware > issues? What level of expertise does this hypothetical teenager have? > Where do we find documentation and step by steps > answers to 1, 2, and 3? There aren't any. Why: The user is supposed to already know those things. I think you are missing a crucial part of what Gentoo is. This keeps coming up on the list every few months and by and large, there's a great big elephant in the room. Let me point out the elephant: Gentoo is not for newbies. It never was, it never will be, and despite whatever anyone else says (or dearly wants to believe) it has always been this way. No amount of blogging or whinging will ever change this fact. First-time gentoo installers really do need a certain level or prior expertise, and that level is actually quite big. They need to be completely familiar with the executive summary of how to compile kernels, they need to know hardware well and know the difference between agp and PCIe. They need to be completely au fait with chroot and basic Unix tools like tar, rsync, wget must be almost second nature. The user especially needs to be real up close and personal with google, with log files, man, /usr/share/doc and --help. Analogy: installing gentoo is like getting your pilot's license for twin engine turbo props. If you don't already know how to fly single engine radial kites, you don't get to hold the stick. Period. There is nothing wrong with setting the bar at a suitable level for the thing under discussion - in Gentoo's case this happens to be high. Lower level users need to get going with Fedora/Ubuntu etc (who cater *exactly* to that market). Later, these users can dabble with gentoo if they feel up to it. Maybe they will, maybe they won't. But why should the devs and doc authors spend an inordinate amount of time covering all the bases on subjects that should already be known? -- alan dot mckinnon at gmail dot com
