Re: divx avi's

[mike808@users.sourceforge.net]

> > And, some guys who write Linux apps seem to revel in being contrarian

*cough* DevFS/Gooch *cough* Qmail/DJB *cough*

> Gentoo's a terrible concept, and it doesn't have anything to do with
> Linux, it has to do with not being logical.

IMHO, it has to do with doing Linux "the BSD way". At it's heart, it's just
BSD ports for Linux.

But it's the exact *opposite* of the current model of central distribution
repositories and a groomed network of mirrors. You get your "port" package 
direct from the guy who wrote it, and if he can only afford a part-time 
dialup uplink, tough cookies. No mirrors, except what each author manages to 
cobble together. Independently of everyone else's project and their mirrors. 
For these people, Sourceforge is their savior.

So I understand why BSD-ish folks like Gentoo, and Debian folks loath it.

> I don't like to bash on operating systems, but Gentoo seems to be
> overhyped. For some reason, people believe that their software will run
> more efficiently compiled for their specific architecture, 

I've come to agree with this, and it is overhyped. The real thrill is having
a nice guided tour of LFS/NG - Linux From Scratch, the Next Generation - and
actually *seeing* everything compiled from source.

Previously, this was only readily accessible in the form of bootstrapping 
your GCC compiler. But Gentoo takes that to the next level and offers up
the whole OS.

As I've said before, I've come to the view that it's really a B&D distro.

Especially when compared to the 'apt-get update && apt-get upgrade' "crack"
you get with Debian. At least that habit is easier than constantly running
emerges.

> > BTW, I built an LFS system once, too. Doing it is a good way to learn
> > some low-level system skills, and the LFS doc is valuable in its own
> > right.
> 
> That's probably true. It's a good way to learn what is what in a GNU
> system, and a lot of the nature of how an operating system works.

So why the Gentoo-bashing? How is that all that different from a stage-1 
tarball start of Gentoo?

I admit it's not for everyone and it's over-hyped, but it is a more accessible
version of the LFS path you trod down. Gentoo just has more handrails and
a guardrail or two more in some of the sharper turns.

Mike/

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