From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 4.0.0 (2022-12-14) on finch.gentoo.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.1 required=5.0 tests=DMARC_NONE,MAILING_LIST_MULTI autolearn=unavailable autolearn_force=no version=4.0.0 Received: from chamber.cco.caltech.edu (chamber.cco.caltech.edu [131.215.48.55]) by chiba.3jane.net (Postfix) with ESMTP id BC65E201607C for ; Fri, 29 Mar 2002 16:24:15 -0600 (CST) Received: from gasser (gasser.caltech.edu [131.215.38.22]) by chamber.cco.caltech.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id OAA21327 for ; Fri, 29 Mar 2002 14:19:47 -0800 (PST) Message-Id: <200203292219.OAA21327@chamber.cco.caltech.edu> Date: Fri, 29 Mar 2002 14:29:36 -0800 To: gentoo-dev@gentoo.org From: George Shapovalov Subject: Re: [gentoo-dev] Gentoo linux packages Organization: Caltech X-Mailer: Opera 5.12 build 932 X-Priority: 3 (Normal) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Sender: gentoo-dev-admin@gentoo.org Errors-To: gentoo-dev-admin@gentoo.org X-BeenThere: gentoo-dev@gentoo.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.6 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: gentoo-dev@gentoo.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: Gentoo Linux developer list List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: X-Archives-Salt: 212e6753-a638-47c0-ab01-787bbaa09ad3 X-Archives-Hash: 1a4935b4863e0e50afeb1e64525bdc6b 29.03.02 11:13:18, "Michael & Malania Copeland" wrote: >I have some newbie questions that I would like to >respectfully ask. I learned about Gentoo linux through Jack >Kolesar's article about the Shuttle AK35GTR motherboard. I gentoo users are on a rise :-). >Anyway, my home internet connection is not broadband, so >downloading XFree, KDE, gnome etc. would take a >prohibitively long time. I noticed that Linux System Labs In fact with gentoo it is POSSIBLE to have a nice up to date system even without any broadband. Unlike other distributions (Red Hat, Mandrake, even debian to lesser extent) you can only fetch sources that you absolutely need on a per package basis. The install CD is only 16MB (~ 1.5 download). Bootstrap will require more time, but you are likely to do it overnight, aren't you? (expect good 2 hrs for compile only, add about 3 more to fetch files). Generally my estimate is that on an average PC (think 450MHz/128MB - normal for year old system) downloads over 33,600 modem link will increase you install time by amount similar to what compile will take. So in short do all large packages overnight, small are Ok even while you are at it. If you have broadband somewhere else, you can definitely speed things up. Download sources (look at ebuild file names and sometimes inside to figure out what source is called), bring them home on any media and then put them under /usr/portage/distfiles. To see what packages are going to be installed (including all dependencies!) do: "emerge --pretend category/package" (same will do for emerge system, etc.)). Another trick to speed-up initial "emerge rsync": download portage tree (see FAQ) tarball and untar it under /usr/portage (4MB download instead of 20!). >has the latest Gentoo linux CD-R. I was wondering if that >CD-R included other applications and if not, which CD should >I get that has gnome, kde, XFree, mozilla or opera, star >office etc. applications? I do not know what is included on that CD, but I bet it is allready out of date :-). With gentoo there are no big releases in terms of what packages are included (this is still similar to this for portage code though). Everyday new ebuilds are submitted and old ones are updated. You can contribute to!! (and this is the nicest thing about this distro). >I'm sure you are very busy, so please bear with my newbie >questions. I know that getting the source code and You are definitely welcome. BTW, questions of this kind are more appropriate for gentoo-user and gentoo-newbie mail-lists. You should probably subscribe to those. Sidenote to developers: I think this question should be incororated into a FAQ since it appears so often. There is "What if rsync doesn't work for me?" but no "Where do I put the sources after I downloaded them at other location?". Do you think "Is it realistic to use this distro without any broadband?" should be there to? I'll submit it via bugzilla sometime unless anybody tells me not to. George