| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
joeljkp
Guru
Joined: 06 Mar 2004
Posts: 316
Location: Starkville, MS, USA
|
 Posted: Fri May 28, 2004 7:58 pm Post subject: Objective opinions about Linspire v. Gentoo |
 |
|
I've been using Gentoo for several months now, but my setup just died due to a hard drive failure. I figure this is a perfect time to try out some different stuff before I put Gentoo back on.
I have a lifetime subscription to Linspire and Click-N-Run (it was only $100, after all), so money's not a problem anymore.
Before I throw it on there though, I'd like some opinions. Coming from a Gentoo point of view, what are Linspire's showstoppers?
I realize it doesn't use GNOME, but I can get over that if the KDE environment is nice. It also has a rolling release cycle, like Gentoo, where end-user apps (but not system libraries and such) get updated as they are released. It seems as if everything's packaged up nicely, and it includes various extra packages, like the Deviantart wallpaper pack, licensed (so legal in the U.S.) DVD player, and various other things. They even have UT2004 packaged, like we do.
Linspire's philosophy also doesn't bother me, unless there are evil things I'm not aware of. They released their source code for Lsongs and Lphoto, are funding the development of NVu, are contributing to various other OSS apps, and push for Linux hardware support in retail outlets (like Wal-Mart).
Linspire also provides a degree of corporate backing and support, so it feels like I should be able to trust that things won't just break, or that I'll be stuck without any recourse.
So what am I missing here? What are the things that Linspire just doesn't get right, but that Gentoo does? |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
teedog
Apprentice
Joined: 09 Mar 2004
Posts: 211
|
| Posted: Fri May 28, 2004 8:05 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Seems to me that Gentoo and Linspire are fundamentally different, one being a source-based more-or-less-from-scratch distro and the other being a binary distro that runs out of the box. With Gentoo you can configure your installation and kernel to be as featureful or bare-bones as you want. You can't do that with Linspire and other distro's that run out of the box, right? The USE flags in Gentoo also ensure that you are not compiling in unneeded features. The CFLAGS customization gives you locally optimized binaries for your entire system. Portage is very good at keeping track of dependencies so your system doesn't break easily (don't know how good Linspire's package management is). Portage also contains ebuilds for almost every available application under the sun, and new ones are always getting added (due to the large userbase of Gentoo and large number of experienced users); custom ebuilds are easy to use and many are submitted for the dev team to commit to Portage. Package keywords make Gentoo/Portage even more flexible.
I am a complete newbie to Linux, but these are the main reasons I choose Gentoo as my distro of choice. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
joeljkp
Guru
Joined: 06 Mar 2004
Posts: 316
Location: Starkville, MS, USA
|
| Posted: Fri May 28, 2004 8:22 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Yeah, I think you're right about the fundamentally different concepts thing. But I chose Gentoo in the first place more or less because it seems to "Just Work". Once installation was completed, I could emerge whatever I wanted, and more often than not, it would work out of the box, so to speak.
Yes, customizability is a factor, but if Linspire gives me an experience that is highly polished, functional, up-to-date (this one's a biggie), and seamless, then I can do without choosing my own compile-time settings. Or maybe not, I don't know.
Of course, I say all this now. I may decide that sure, Linspire is good and all, but I really wish I had the freedom of Gentoo back. You never know. But you can be sure that I'll post my findings here.  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
PowerFactor
Veteran
Joined: 30 Jan 2003
Posts: 1693
Location: out of it
|
| Posted: Fri May 28, 2004 8:26 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| teedog wrote: | | With Gentoo you can configure your installation and kernel to be as featureful or bare-bones as you want. You can't do that with Linspire and other distro's that run out of the box, right? |
You can, but it's difficult and not typicaly "suported."
| Quote: | | Portage is very good at keeping track of dependencies so your system doesn't break easily (don't know how good Linspire's package management is). |
Linspire is debian based. And AFIK CNR uses apt behind the scenes. Apt is more mature and stable than portage and currently has better dependency handling.
I do believe that portage is more flexible for us "advanced users" though. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Deebster
Tux's lil' helper
Joined: 16 Nov 2003
Posts: 126
|
| Posted: Sat May 29, 2004 10:37 am Post subject: |
|
|
| By default, the setup will have you running as root. Since I'm sure you know far better than to do that, you'll be setting up a normal unprivileged account. I hear that things don't work so well after that, although things may have changed. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
ScubaStreb
Tux's lil' helper
Joined: 01 Jul 2002
Posts: 118
|
| Posted: Sat May 29, 2004 1:14 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: | | By default, the setup will have you running as root. |
I thought they fixed that after the early releases, or at least made it visible and recommended you change it during the install. However, I've never used it so I might just be typing out my arse. I thought I read about that somewhere though...
Debian based distros are very nice! Since you already own the lifetime membership to CNR, it might be a nice thing to put on your mother's/sister's/father's/own computer depending on their computer literacy. You could also use it to try out apps before you compile them. I've tried to go to other distro's a few times, but keep coming back here. For me, there is no substitute for Gentoo. YMMV, but it's worth a try. I doubt there are any showstoppers for you if you are not ideologically opposed to the concept.
_________________
"Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza." --Dave Barry |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Deebster
Tux's lil' helper
Joined: 16 Nov 2003
Posts: 126
|
| Posted: Sat May 29, 2004 1:21 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| ScubaStreb wrote: | | However, I've never used it so I might just be typing out my arse. |
Neither have I, and your information's probably more up-to-date than mine. If you can run as something other than root without problems, then Linspire could well be ready to be recommended to beginners.
However, with regards to the original poster, he might find Linspire a little too beginner if he's used to a (functioning) Gentoo system. Still, it'd be nice to have him run it and report back on his experiences, mostly because I'm curious but don't intend to run it myself  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
placeholder
Advocate
Joined: 07 Feb 2004
Posts: 2500
|
| Posted: Sat May 29, 2004 1:54 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| I will try to wrap this all up a sentence or two. If you like the way Gentoo works and you like the freedom of choice and all that, you're more than likely not going to like Linspire. I have a friend that tried it on a Live CD and he says that it's good for showing someone how it works in order to help them make the switch to Linux, but other than that it's just meh. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
richk449
Guru
Joined: 24 Oct 2003
Posts: 345
|
| Posted: Sat May 29, 2004 5:55 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: | I've been using Gentoo for several months now, but my setup just died due to a hard drive failure. I figure this is a perfect time to try out some different stuff before I put Gentoo back on.
I have a lifetime subscription to Linspire and Click-N-Run (it was only $100, after all), so money's not a problem anymore.
Before I throw it on there though, I'd like some opinions. Coming from a Gentoo point of view, what are Linspire's showstoppers? |
Wow, that is like saying "I had some engine troubles with my Ferrari, so I figured I would just get a Taurus." Sure, there are some advantages of driving a Taurus (simplicity, ease of mind), but you are also giving up alot (power, speed, street cred).
By all means, give it a try, and let us know how it goes. My prediction is that you will be back to gentoo the first time something breaks: your new digital camera won't work, and there will be no hope of getting it to work until a new version of gphoto is included in click-n-run, or something like that. Your options will then be to install from outside click-n-run, which will probably bork your system eventually, or wait. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Deebster
Tux's lil' helper
Joined: 16 Nov 2003
Posts: 126
|
| Posted: Sun May 30, 2004 10:15 am Post subject: |
|
|
Hmm, I'm not sure people read joeljkp's post properly. Note the first paragraph (emphasis mine) | joeljkp wrote: | | I've been using Gentoo for several months now, but my setup just died due to a hard drive failure. I figure this is a perfect time to try out some different stuff before I put Gentoo back on. |
So give it a go joeljkp and let us know FreeBSD could be worth a play too, it's one I keep meaning to try. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
Gentoo Chat
