I've posted quite a bit about Gentoo last week, but I never really summarized. I may have focused too much on my difficulties with Gentoo. All-in-all, I'm very impressed with Gentoo. Sure, the install is a bear, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who is not serious about Linux, but I love the flexibility. Ironically, the source of my greatest difficulty was the kernel configuration, so maybe I should just blame Linux. (Have I mentioned I hate compiling the Linux kernel? Well, I do.)
As a result of my experience thus far, I would like to see some things improved in Gentoo. There should be better integration for binary packages in the portage tree. Why not incorporate them right in? One should be able to use the source or binary for any package. "emerge" should have better support for uninstalling with dependancies. "clean" and "depclean" just don't cut it. Finally, regardless of the install stage chosen, one should have the option using a generic, pre-rolled kernel. It's nice to be able to get the system up and working and worry about the kernel later.
If I had more time, I would jump in and contribute. I like Gentoo's philosophy. I don't have the time, so I feel like one of those critics that just sits around complaining about the current state without pitching in to make things better. Hopeful I can make a difference in the future.
Posted by enigma at March 9, 2004 10:55 PM