> > Why? I don't want a GUI on my server, so why should the time it takes to > > get it running matter? > > because time == money? because i want to be able to have updates installed in > seconds not minutes or hours? because i want the resulting binaries to be > verified, tested, integrated and perhaps even certified? because if the > system is already compiled, i know i can rely on the fact that it will indeed > compile properly (since that part is already done)? because this added > blessing of compiling from source will end up meaning practically nothing for > me on my systems (a few % increase in speed really won't make or break me)? >
Time compiling when nobody is at the office == free in my books. Is it faster to wait for an RPM package, or an emerge script? I'll give you a hint. I could write an install script, and almost anyone on this list could read one. Verified, Tested, Integrated and certified like MKD9 which you recommended against because it doesn't install, and can't run on the person's box? Sorry, RPM has it's weaknesses, apt-get has it's weaknesses, emerge has it's weaknesses. They all do. Using a precompiled binary does not assure you of anything. Would you install something onto a production box without testing it first? I test everything before it goes into production. Therefore, actually emerging the app doesn't worry me, because I know it will compile correctly, and install in my environment. I've already done it in test. Granted the speed difference is irrelevant. I doubt it's even a couple of %. What it does is give me the assurance that if I give someone a burnt CD and they hum and haw about installing it for 6 months or a year. When they do install it, it is completely current. If I followed the instructions for Gentoo 1.2 from last year, I'd end up with a system rivalling Red Hat 8. If I had given the person Red Hat, they would be installing what, 7.0? How many things have changed since then for the better? How many security updates have came out? Most people, including on this list talk about Linux for months before they actually make the jump. Most evangelizers, myself included, burn them disks at even the first accidental slip of the word Linux from their lips. That means, that after they convince themselves to go for it, they generally have an old distro. Gentoo, Sorcerer, etc avoid that. Having said that, I wouldn't advise Gentoo to a newbie. I'd advise Knoppix. I can burn a disk, Or Tom's Root Boot floppy and from it install a current system even a year or two later. Kev.
