____/ The Ghost In The Machine on Thursday 06 September 2007 17:06 : \____
> In comp.os.linux.advocacy, Roy Schestowitz
> <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> wrote
> on Thu, 06 Sep 2007 01:39:12 +0100
> <1425593.I5jnop91Bc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
>> ____/ The Ghost In The Machine on Wednesday 05 September 2007 16:41 : \____
>>
>>> In comp.os.linux.advocacy, Roy Schestowitz
>>> <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>>> wrote
>>> on Wed, 05 Sep 2007 04:50:02 +0100
>>> <9601132.YlorqA9QdY@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
>
> [snippage]
>
>>>> Linux distributions and their pertinent packages are
>>>> updated very regularly. Owing to modularity, unlike
>>>> Windows, packagers do not require *years* for testing
>>>> (Vista took about 1 years) and then 2-3 years to iron
>>>> out the bugs in the final release (RTM -> SP[1-3]).
>>>>
>>>
>>> There is a flip side; Gentoo is subject to occasional
>>> disruptions if someone upstream makes a major change.
>>> The biggest one in recent memory is the xorg refactoring;
>>> that was mildly painful, but ultimately beneficial.
>>> KDE has also been refactored, though I don't remember how
>>> recently. The expat rev is probably giving everyone minor
>>> headaches, but on Gentoo a rebuild is easily enough done.
>>>
>>> Presuambly other distros also had to deal with these
>>> issues, in their own ways.
>>>
>>> There are also possible issues with kernel
>>> incompatiabilities, but these are rare, even
>>> if one's still on 2.4.
>>>
>>> Otherwise, yes; the fact that freeware distro packages
>>> are easily identifiable tends to make them more easily
>>> patchable. Certainly the xorg refactoring is a cakewalk
>>> compared to, reportedly, application and driver issues
>>> with Vista.
>>>
>>> So, uh, why would I want to downgrade to Vista again? ;-)
>>
>> I have been getting the impression that Gentoo is now
>> associated with tension and flamewars, but I was pleased
>> to see that there are many Gentoo users... off the top
>> of my head it would be over 2 million of them (although
>> counting is impossible). And that's desktops alone,
>> not servers. The Zunbox runs Gentoo and other embedded
>> devices also... some devices in places like China hide the
>> fact that they use Linux (and probably violate the GPL).
>
> I wouldn't know regarding china. I'm one of the Gentoo
> users; it is a stable, flexible distro. Its main problem
> may be ease of setup -- but the Handbook helps in that
> regard.
>
>>
>> Gentoo is still quite a hero of security (like Debian)
>> with quite a strong track record (there was a mild
>> setback recently, but only because of proactive
>> measures).
>>
>
> Their package database is still being audited, as of this
> morning.
I hear that Sabayon is loaded with about 7 GB of programs (uncompressed). While
it doesn't mean 'Registry bloat' (many installation do not slow Linux down or,
if so, it's not a linear function), it means less stability and consistency.
Of course, you could also use an apt-get-based distro. I really love being
able to fetch any piece of software within 10 seconds by just typing its name.
The same goes for removal and updates.
--
~~ Best of wishes
Roy S. Schestowitz | Useless fact: sheep outnumber people in NZ
http://Schestowitz.com | Free as in Free Beer | PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
Cpu(s): 27.2%us, 4.7%sy, 1.0%ni, 62.2%id, 4.4%wa, 0.3%hi, 0.2%si, 0.0%st
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