Switched From Ubuntu To Gentoo!
Ubuntu has served me well for a few months, I think it was April when I started using it. I have to say Ubuntu is one of my favorite Linux distributions. It’s great for people who are new to Linux or have been using Windows for a long time and want to try out something different or more reliable.
My Quick Review on Ubuntu
The User Experience:
Ubuntu blows me away at how easy it is to use and set up! It’s quick and reliable. There’s no huge learning curve(you might have to learn 5 or 6 simple commands) and it’s really straight forward. You can even demo it, without installing, to see if you like it(Note that the speeds on the demo are much slower). Linux gives you so much freedom compared to Windows. The second you turn it on you love it. It opens up a new world of possibilities, it’s free and apps are free. Also, you can run Windows programs—the ones that you really need—in a virtual machine called Wine Simply Irresistible trailer . Unlike Windows, Ubuntu has only crashed on me ONCE. So yeah, you can live without Windows.
Who Is It For:
I would highly recommend Ubuntu to anyone who wants to try a “beginner friendly” Linux distro, and is sick as hell of the garbage that Windows forces on people! This is a great distro to start with if you don’t have much experience with Unix or Linux based operating systems. However, as you move up you may want to try other, more advanced Linux distros such as Gentoo, RedHat, Fedora etc. Or even consider Unix.
…
…but I chose to switch to Gentoo. The Devil’s Own video
The other day me and a buddy compiled Gentoo on my workstation. It took a while to install KDE but I’m almost there. Number 1 Rule: IF your new to Gentoo get someone to help you who knows more about it than you do! The reason why I chose to switch is that I want to learn more about the Linux Kernel and get better acquainted with whats really behind an operating system(something that can’t really be done in Ubuntu). A friend of mine, who uses Gentoo, suggested it a while back. It’s a HARD thing to install and I’m hoping the learning curve will help me understand more about how it all works. I think the experience will also make me a better programmer.
It’s a fun operating system, lots of stuff to customize.
I’ll blog about Gentoo more when I get deeper into it. Maybe get some tutorials or mini lessons written up.
-Clinton
Tags: Computer Technology, gentoo, gnome, kde, technology, Ubuntu, Windows
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Awaiting the tutorials, I use Ubuntu, should i change to Gentoo. I use Ubuntu only for multimedia purposes.
i like ubuntu.
i have a problem.my modem is a usb modem.i didn’t have the driver for it.
so without internet i can’t live.
late i switched to suse liked it but the same problem continues to worry me.
i got another problem on mounting.
at the time of installation i mounted it well.
but later after a few days i lost that mounting and i couldn’t able t regain it.
i love linux but it worrying me a lot.
I used Gentoo a few years back and have since moved to Ubuntu.
Gentoo is great for learning from, and their documentation is very good. It is not for the CLI-phobic but it really gets you into the skunk-works.
I moved to Ubuntu because I wasted too many eventing tweaking and fiddling with Gentoo, downloading packages (dial-up at the time) and installing (P3 500Mhz w/256MB Ram). I’ve moved into wanting something that just works. OpenSUSE also fits the bill.
Thanks chirax:)
biju – That’s strange that mounting didn’t work. It worked on mine just fine. It seems like the devices are all different among computers, e.g. my laptop calls the USB sdb1 and on my friends computer it’s sdc1.
Drew – It’s great that you found a distro that suited you. That’s the bet thing about Linux. And..yeah, one thing that I’ve learned it that Gentoo needs a lot of RAM. Every time you compile a program it makes all the difference. I have 4GB of RAM in my workstation so I should be OK.
I’m currently running Ubuntu on my laptop, and it does seem to be working (just about – http://dangerouslyfacetious.wordpress.com/2008/09/18/inexorable-troubles )
I wish I was able to do more with customization though, and from your review, Gentoo sounds tempting. But then if it does need a lot of RAM, I don’t think my laptop with cut it.
I’ll keep an eye out for your tutorials, to see if they can convince me otherwise.
Dom
Gentoo is nice if you have a lot of time to compile. I switched to Ubuntu because I got tired of spending three days doing a full compile every time a major new release of GCC came out and spending 3 to 4 hours compiling kde or gnome and then missing a variable and having to recompile it again. I used it for 2 1/2 years before jumping ship, but it is great on learning how things work and on developing troubleshooting skill in linux in general although not everything passes on to other distros.
[...] Switched from Ubuntu to Gentoo [...]
glad that I found this
I have been using fedora @ work for 3 years now. I am a basic user, with no advanced Linux knowledge..
recently, I bought a laptop, and installed xp on it..now, I want to have ubunto too, hmm attracted by it’s UI .. mac like experience .. how will you rate ubuntu experience on a laptop ?
and, is it safe to install it along with XP ? how should I backup my windows partition before installing it ?
thanks
In response to the article:
Getting a friend to help is always easy, however installing Gentoo shouldn’t be hard. The Gentoo Installation Handbook gives step by step instructions on installing gentoo, the only thing you have to think about is the file systems to use (ext3 is fine for about everything) and the partitioning scheme. Of course this can be an issue for people (there’s nothing wrong with having a hard time comprehending new information), but I think the Gentoo Installation Handbook is quite clear on this.
In response to comments made here:
Gentoo does NOT need a lot of memory. I’m running virtual machines on my machine with 1G and 512M memory allocated, I also ran one with just 128M of memory allocated and that worked fine. If you also add some swap space you don’t have to worry at all. There are some applications that will eat up some space in /tmp and eat a bit more memory while compiling, like OpenOffice.org, Firefox and some more large packages that are not split into several (Gnome and KDE are split up in small packages). However, for most of those large packages there are -bin versions which don’t require you to compile yourself.
Summary:
If you want to use Gentoo, go to gentoo.org, read the Gentoo Handbook and if you think you can handle it give it a try.
dinu:
I think Ubuntu is awesome one a laptop, I used Ubuntu on a small laptop for a few months before buying a new laptop and deciding to switch to Gentoo.
Ubuntu is easy to use but you’ll get a bit of experience if there’s any bugs. That’s why is always good to Google any problems you have, 8/10 times someone will have encountered the same problem and will give you an answer. The Ubuntu forums are SUPER helpful, they have a great community and lots of people post there all the time. It’s always good to know people in person who will help you if you become completely lost. However, Ubuntu is pretty easy to install and anyone can do the basics without becoming a nerd, though I think it’s always very useful to good deep and learn some command-line stuff, might help you out a lot.
About the partitioning, I’ve done the same thing to my new laptop with Gentoo and it should be the same with Ubuntu. I’m afraid I can’t help you with that part, my buddy helped me set it up so I can’t really remember how to do it. If you search the Ubuntu forums you should be able to find an answer.
All the best to you installing Ubuntu:)
Michael Croes:
Thanks for the comment and clearing things up about Gentoo. The -bins are always a great alternative to long compiling. I installed Open Office and FireFox on Gentoo too using the -bin when emerging. My workstation has 4 GBs of RAM and it murders Gentoo but compiling still takes a while.
Gentoo is fast but I think I can make it faster with some tuning. I’m the type of person freaks out about tuning haha.
Thanks for the link. I use that site and the Gentoo Wiki, two great resources.
-Clinton