[linux-audio-dev] Hello - FYI - intro

[james at dis-dot-dat.net]

Not meaning to start a war or nuthin', but...

On Tue, 24 Aug, 2004 at 02:55PM +0200, Robert Jonsson spake thus:
> On Tuesday 24 August 2004 13.50, mark at kfm.co.za wrote:
> > Thanks for your support and I will give Gentoo a shot..
> >
> 
> Hi Mark,
> 
> I have to disagree with this advice. Though gentoo will give you immense 
> insight into how things work and it's probably unparallelled performance I 
> would not consider it an operating system for a beginners.
> I would, on similar grounds, also not recommend slackware...

I recommend Gentoo still.  Once it's set up, the package management
just works.  And Debian is great, I agree.  In fact, I used it for
over a year, but music software seems to go through many changes in a
short time and Debian stable just isn't up to date - and yes, I know
it;s not supposed to be.  I also know about Sid - Debian Unstable.
And while it's a lot more stable than it's namesake, it's just not as
stable as Gentoo.

Another reason I prefer Gentoo to Debian - Debian can start stomping
it's feet and having fits at you if you mess with it too much.
Gentoo seems much more willing to accept thepoking that's sometimes
too hard to resist.  YMMV, of course, but that's what made me switch
in the end.  The same goes for Redhat and the others of that breed.

I didn't recommend Gentoo for it's performance, just it's niceness.
 
> They are both very competitive on their own merits but this does not include 
> ease of use/setup etc...
> 
> I defintely think you should try a binary-only distibution. 
> Fedora/Mandrake/Suse/Debian 

This is sound advice, of course.  I still say give Gentoo a chance.
Try installing it and if you get to instruction 3 or 4 and your head
hurts too much, then just go back to a binary distro.  You're
reinstalling anyway, right?  You might even find that it's not that
much of a hassle.

There's another post daring to point out that Gentoo isn't for
everybody*, but I see that one has been fielded by one of the other
followers.


*That's right, it's not for everybody.  If it was, we couldn't be so
elitist and snobby about using it.

If all of the argument so far hasn't swayed you, try this:

Gent00 r0xx0r5 ur b0xx0rs.


> Some concluding remarks. 
> This community, which I think works very well, is very much centered around 
> these mailinglists, to get things working you are much more likely to succeed 
> by asking here (though linux-audio-user would be more appropriate in this 
> case) than to bang your head against the wall on your own. 
> 
> So... basically you are on the right track ;-).
> 
> /Robert
> 
> > If I have learnt anything by re-installing it is that the second+ time
> > around one starts getting selective and soon a lot of things don't
> > seem as important by the third time around.
> >
> > On 24 Aug 2004 at 12:17, james at dis-dot-dat.net wrote:
> > > Don't give up just yet!
> > >
> > > On Tue, 24 Aug, 2004 at 12:38PM +0200, mark at kfm.co.za spake thus:
> > > <snip> > energy - to drown people - to open portals of thought and
> > >
> > > Drown people?  That's a Freedom that linux doesn't really give you.
> >
> >  I mean in terms of surround sound with flavour and depth ?>
> >
> > > <snip>
> > >
> > > > My linux thought is that the main difference between linux and
> > > > windows is that under windows everything is packaged i.e. that one
> > > > installation will actually get that desired product to work - while
> > > > under linux a lot more time is spent on finding the correct patches
> > > > mixes matches reading than end time using/producing. Obviously linux
> > > > has flexibility power stability way beyond the confines of windows
> > > > or mac but it is the tieing up of those 'loose ends'  which make it
> > > > easier for a new user to get going that make the ultimate
> > > > difference. While windows users have licence issues some linux users
> > > > have other.
> > >
> > > I know where you're coming from.  As an experienced user, I have no
> > > problem with manually keeping a system udpated, patched ans running
> > > smoothly.  Generally, I know where problems that occurr are likely to
> > > come from.  The thing is, I don't want all that hassle.  If I did, I'd
> > > use LFS.  Instead, I use Gentoo.
> > >
> > > Gentoo isn't just for ricers.  Personally, I find it has the nicest
> > > package management (although that's probably not the best way to
> > > describe it).  I've also used Debian, but I still prefer Gentoo -
> > > mainly because it's a little more configurable (like USE flags and
> > > such) and it's a lot more up to date - Debian is safe, stable and
> > > tested to death, Gentoo has regular updates to all components, and
> > > still seems more stable than Debian Sid.
> > >
> > > Now, I recommend you give Gentoo a try.  Sure, there'll be some pain -
> > > the install process consists of some instructions and a command prompt
> > > - but it's worth it.  For a start, you know how your system is
> > > constructed to some degree.  Secondly, installing stuff and keeping
> > > stuff updated is a doddle.  To install Jack, I type "emerge
> > > jack-audio-connection-kit".  When Jack gets updated, my system updates
> > > next time I do an "emerge world".  Thirdly, the documentation is
> > > really nice and #gentoo on irc.freenode.net is a very helpful channel.
> > >
> > > Now, I know that other people will favour other distros.  I know that
> > > Gentoo isn't for everybody.  But I like gentoo, and I think you might,
> > > too.
> > >
> > > Give it a whirl.  If you're reinstalling all the time anyway, why not
> > > try it out.
> > >
> > > Have fun.
> > >
> > > James
> > >
> > > <snip>
> > >
> >
> > Be Well - Best wishes
> > Mark McBride
> > Cell 08 4414 6809
> >
> > Tel.: +27 21 462 0044
> > Fax: +27 21 465 0277
> >
> > Bitwise Computer systems
> > EMail : tech-support at bitwise.co.za
> > EMail : sales at bitwise.co.za
> >
> >
> >
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-- 
"I'd crawl over an acre of 'Visual This++' and 'Integrated Development
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