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Poll

Votes: 17

Gentoo Linux

Author:

anti filidor

Topic:

Diaries

Posted:

Jun 15, 2002

Comments:

Having succeeded in installing and configuring the sublime Windows 2000, I was left with a partition setup that still had room for a Linux distribution.

[editor's note, by zikzak] Font coloring changed in order to improve editorial acceptance of this diary entry.

More diaries by anti filidor

	Polyurethane Condoms?
	It isn't just Mandrake 8.2
	more kuro5hin bashing
	Windows 2000 and the joys of a healthy computer.
	Alcoholic Beverages.
	osnews
	Covert Mold
	excellent [REDACTED] post on slashdot.

Since, generally speaking, one of the most prevalent woes in a Linux installation is the partitioning (and frequently the consequent destruction) of ones harddrive, I figured that I wouldn't incur much risk by messing around with a Linux distribution.

I decided to give something new a shot. Rather than swallowing whole a prepackaged distribution, I downloaded a minimal Gentoo Linux ISO.

It's been surprisingly enjoyable. It took me a while, as I am not a computer expert, but I've got everything running more or less exactly as I had hoped to be able to run it. Moreover, the performance in Gentoo is appreciably better than it is in any other distribution I've tried. I've even learned a good deal about Linux, basic things that a casual Mandrake or Red Hat user would never know and so would never know how to fix in a tight spot.

Linux boosters should take heed, though. Gentoo has demonstrated to me what Linux really, really is: a hobby. I like to tinker. I get a slight thrill when I get something to work, or when I get something to work better than it had been working. The harsh reality of capitalism for Linux is that unless something drastic changes, Windows will always be several steps ahead in terms of usability and performance and a useful software library.

I confess that Gentoo Linux is fun. However, it would not be fun if I did not have my solid Windows 2000 partition waiting for me should I need refuge.

I recommend to all Linux users that you try Gentoo. It will remind you that this operating system is for hobbyists, and that that's not necessarily a bad thing. People just make fun of Linux because you vainly believe that Linux could ever usurp Windows or even challenge Windows. It is not so, not in any real sense. Linux is a toy, and you should use it accordingly.

	Surprisingly rational for the Adequacy (none / 0) (#1)
	by budlite on Sat Jun 15th, 2002 at 03:07:43 PM PST

	This article was an example of the sort of writing I wish was more prevalent on this site. I still don't think fun should be made of people who use solely use Linux though. If they're happy, then it doesn't really affect anyone else much.

	But that's precisely the problem. (none / 0) (#3)
	by RobotSlave on Sat Jun 15th, 2002 at 04:26:40 PM PST

	People who solely use Linux are not happy, and that's where the problems start. They're unhappy about hardware companies that ignore Linux. They're unhappy about license arrangements other than the GPL. They're unhappy about all sorts of reasonable laws. They're unhappy about the continued existence of their father-totem, Microsoft. They're unhappy about the world's refusal to place computers-minutia at the pinnacle of human knowledge. If linux-only zealots were happy, then they might shut up and leave the rest of us alone, but they don't. So far, we've been fairly patient, and repeatedly suggested that perhaps the linux zealots have only themselves to blame for their unhappiness, and that no-one can make them happy apart from their anguished selves. So far, this hasn't worked. Ten years later, they're still whining at us, and even pointedly ignoring them doesn't make them go away, because they don't know how to take a hint. Is it any surprise then, that more direct measures are being contemplated? © 2002, RobotSlave. You may not reproduce this material, in whole or in part, without written permission of the owner.

	What is your occupation? (none / 0) (#13)
	by Narcissus on Sun Jun 16th, 2002 at 10:33:44 PM PST

	Do you have any sort of law training or background or are you just using that little frontal lobe of yours to embelish laws you saw on some movie? I'm not sure why you try to tell others what laws mean, and could someone higher on the totem pole tell me if Se�or Slave was made editor to head this "War Dept." or did he take this upon himself after gaining the title? -------------------------------- Ok, who picked the flower???

	You're carrying a bit of a grudge, aren't you? (none / 0) (#19)
	by RobotSlave on Mon Jun 17th, 2002 at 01:48:32 PM PST

	I don't think the comment you replied to contained anything in the way of legal opinion, expert or not. As to "higher up," I'm afraid I'm as high up in the editorial heirarchy as any, because the organization is perfectly flat when viewed from below. You're either one of the elite, or you aren't. As to whether or not I have legal training, why do you even bother to ask? If I told you I did, you'd just claim I was lying, or that whatever level of training claimed wasn't "enough." If I told you I had no training at all, you'd still have to abide by copyright law, and you'd still be subject to Adequacy's strict interpretation thereof, and you'd still be unable to whine about it in a manner that conveyed even a rudimentary understanding of the legal principles in question. © 2002, RobotSlave. You may not reproduce this material, in whole or in part, without written permission of the owner.

	Dear gordonjcp: (none / 0) (#18)
	by RobotSlave on Mon Jun 17th, 2002 at 01:34:29 PM PST

	Don't fuck with my intellectual property, little man. © 2002, RobotSlave. You may not reproduce this material, in whole or in part, without written permission of the owner.

	Don't be a retard (none / 0) (#2)
	by Anonymous Reader on Sat Jun 15th, 2002 at 03:56:22 PM PST

	Linux is far from being a toy. I'm not even going to try to convince you as to why, because I don't want you using any unice, at all, ever. I seriously doubt that you could function in any unix environment regardless of how many neophytes have adopted it and run it on their desktops. Stick with the operating system that came pre-installed on your dell, dude.

	This is why people hate you. (5.00 / 2) (#6)
	by anti filidor on Sun Jun 16th, 2002 at 12:31:31 AM PST

	Really. On the interland and in real life. Know that I wasn't insulting Linux, so you did't have to defend your surrogate mate. Obviously I was talking about Linux on the desktop--I do not run servers for a living and I certainly would not do so for a hobby. I like my hobbies to be fun. Linux on the desktop is a toy, a novelty, a frequently crude hack. That doesn't meant that it doesn't have value, but its value is not in its being a Windows substitute, and it never EVER will be. Microsoft's employees are too well compensated and Microsoft's products are far too popular for a diffuse "group" of open source programmers to ever make even a small dent in the Windows desktop marketshare. Linux on the major servers that Mad Scientist has pointed out is solely there because it is cheap, and in most cases Linux replaces another more costly UNIX or UNIX-like system. Amazon isn't exactly the most profitable company in the world, in case you Linux zealots haven't heard. So really. Give it a fucking rest. Despite my reservations, I posted something positive about Linux, and you still had the audacity to be contrary about it. This is why people hate you, and they will continue to hate you for so long as you continue to be this way.

	Ummm.... (none / 0) (#14)
	by Anonymous Reader on Mon Jun 17th, 2002 at 01:19:34 AM PST

	I like my hobbies to be fun Who the fuck are you to determine whether any hobby that you don't do is "fun" If I happen to like to spend 40 hours rigging the lines of a model sailboat, who the hell are you determine whether that's enjoyable to me?

	I was talking about myself and only myself. (none / 0) (#17)
	by anti filidor on Mon Jun 17th, 2002 at 09:34:36 AM PST

	Who are you to tell me what I did or did not mean? I brought up server maintenance as a hobby, and I commented upon it according to my own tastes. If it hurt your feelings because you love your servers more than you love yourself, that's your business, not mine. Don't worry, I'm not laughing at you; I find it deeply sad, not amusing.

	hahaha (none / 0) (#12)
	by BurntAsh on Sun Jun 16th, 2002 at 09:48:07 PM PST

	=)

	a toy (none / 0) (#15)
	by stud9920 on Mon Jun 17th, 2002 at 04:12:59 AM PST

	<i>Linux is far from being a toy</i> Of course. A toy is fun to play with. And that piece of junk can't run anything more elaborate than xbill

	Readability hint (none / 0) (#4)
	by The Mad Scientist on Sat Jun 15th, 2002 at 05:03:58 PM PST

	Some of local editors acquired the annoying habit of selecting color schemes that are... well... unlucky, if we want to keep the labeling within the margins of political correctness. Luckily, there are options; text-only browsers, forcing your own stylesheet, javascript overwriting the paragraph styles, or - the simplest - selecting the text. Ctrl-A works as a keyboard shortcut with MSIE, or just click-drag the mouse. Or, if your HTML skills are higher than zero and the options above are for one or another reason unusable, read the page source.

	A toy... (none / 0) (#5)
	by The Mad Scientist on Sat Jun 15th, 2002 at 05:46:00 PM PST

	...that is good enough to power Google and Amazon, even if still only a toy. Well, now this is what I would call very promising.

	as I mentioned in a previous comment: (none / 0) (#10)
	by anti filidor on Sun Jun 16th, 2002 at 12:51:48 PM PST

	Amazon is a failing, flailing company, and every penny they can save by using a cheaper OS is crucial to their bottom line, even if it comes at the expense of functionality. Google has a great many computers (their database is distributed) and they are still very much a fledgling company with no proven longterm revenue stream. Licensing would destroy them now, but look for them to switch to a commercial product once they're more established and profitable.

	Oh yes! (none / 0) (#20)
	by Anonymous Reader on Mon Jun 17th, 2002 at 03:39:52 PM PST

	The smart guys of Google, as soon as they get money, will ditch the tools that got them the money. I love business made that way.

	I Dont Understand... (1.00 / 2) (#11)
	by BurntAsh on Sun Jun 16th, 2002 at 09:40:12 PM PST

	i dont understand why i bother with this site anymore, maybe to see what stupid ass will troll next. it makes me laugh when i see the stupid asses here troll on about something they have no clue about. linux will never die because too many people love it and devote their time to it so that it stays alive. and now that it is one hell of a server, its definately here to stay. the only thing linux hasnt accomplished is to capture the desktop. but slowly people are learning about just how easy linux can be to use, and window managers such as KDE3 simplify the crossover process. alot of people hate windows and they know why, its a shitty os. most of those people however dont know about the alternative. all they know about is apple. so how about all you windows lovers, take your hands off bill gates ASS, and start looking for actual proof that linux sucks. besides, its a matter of preference, and i can bet you that you that all the people who make fun of linux have never even tried it, and those who have.. gave up on it because they cant devote their time to anything but sex with bill gates. :)

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