> Well, I think that fixing that abortion of an installation CD > is of paramount concern. Like it or not, the first thing prospective > new users see, is the installation process. In my opinion, it > is of quintessential importance for Gentoo to have a normal, > functional, easy installation CD. > I disagree. When I started using Gentoo it was mostly seen as a better LFS than LFS. You start with a bare minimum boot CD and go from stage1. That was, and still is, the thing that attracted me to Gentoo. IMO the graphical install thingie should be ditched. Its basically masking Gentoo to look like something it's not (and failing miserably). There are other distros that do that in do it successfully. Gentoo has always been primarily a source-based distribution where you have to roll your sleeves and get dirty. Let's keep it that way.
> I've been using Gentoo since 2004. I know graduate students in Computer > Science that use Ubuntu in lieu of Gentoo, solely based on the > nightmare that installing Gentoo via a normal graphical install > CD is.... > Ubuntu is great for that. Ubuntu is great for people who want things to "just work" Gentoo is just the opposite. It's for people who like to fiddle, tweak, and get under the hood. For people who want "just works" I would recommend Ubuntu over Gentoo. What I don't recommend is turning Gentoo *into* Ubuntu. Ubuntu already has enough competition in that area as it is ;-) > If you do not like my opinion, you should look at what Daniel Robbins > had to say, as I ran across a posting of his today, about this very > issue. An awesome collection of techies does not gravitate users > to join the ranks of distro users. A (easy) graphical installation > method is a requirement. Gentoo get's tons of bad reviews, > based on the installation process. > This is a point where I disagree with Robbins, but I've disagreed with him before (such as his wanting to turn Gentoo into a for-profit instead of a community distro). The bad reviews are from those who are buying a kit-car and expecting it to work like a minivan. > Yes I've installed dozens of gentoo system, and the resulting > product is wonderful, much akin to a girl with a great personality. > However, she ain't every going to get 'laid' (become popular) > because the (installation) process is *UGLY*. Again, Gentoo ain't the girl you're gonna see on the cover of Cosmo. Gentoo is the girl whose not necessarily easy on the eyes but boy can she cook*! > > Let us first be honest about this, so it can be fixed. At that > point ( a normal installation CD), Gentoo can take it's > rightful place as a major distro.... I chose Gentoo to get away from the major distros. There is plenty of competition in that market. Let Gentoo be Gentoo and not Yet Another Ubuntu [TM]. * Substitute "cook" with whatever you please ;-) -- Albert W. Hopkins -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list
