Re: [gentoo-user] Re: Is GWN dead?

[David Relson <relson@osagesoftware.com>]

On Fri, 11 Jan 2008 11:02:08 +0100
Michael Schmarck wrote:

> Shaochun Wang <scwang@ios.ac.cn> wrote:
> 
> > Maybe you joke will become the truth. Currently, Gentoo has not
> > updated its installation CD for a long time!
> 
> Well, actually, I never used a Gentoo install CD to install Gentoo. I
> also don't quite understand, why anyone would need such a beast. To 
> install Gentoo, I'd boot my favorite "rescue system" (GRMl nowadays,
> Knoppix back then, but IMO Knoppix is too "fat" for *this* *task*)
> and install from there. No need for an install CD.
> 
> As far as I'm concerned, the Gentoo install CD could easily be dropped
> without a loss.
> 
> Michael

I used the Gentoo LiveCD when I started with Gentoo in 2006.  Prior
Linux experience covered 8 or so years with Slackware, RedHat, and
Mandrake.

The installation was not smooth.  My recollection is that the GUI
installer asked for the same information multiple times and there were
problems installing packages from the CD's.  I ended up with a partial
install that needed manual fixing.  The process was painful, not
smooth, but I was able to get Gentoo up and running.

When I upgraded from 32-bits to 64-bits, I started with the minimal CD
and did a manual upgrade.  The process worked well though it was time
consuming (since I used my old world file to ensure I had 64 bit
versions of everything). 

By contrast, I've done multiple Mandrake/Mandriva installs, most
recently about 6 months ago (on an old laptop).  The Mandriva install
was dead simple and it was up and running within an hour.

IMHO, for new users to Gentoo having an easy to use installer and a
current LiveCD (no more than 6 months old) is very important.

Regards,

David
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