UPDATE:

The inevitable has finally occurred. I signed off on the Slackware forum at linuxquestions.com and I unsubscribed from all the threads which I had been following. More importantly, I converted my last computer, my new Compaq laptop. Now all of my machines have Gentoo installed.

What I really love about Gentoo is how configurable it is, especially the networking. As I mentioned in the article, Gentoo has the simplest network setup I have ever tried. Editing one small file can give you an infinite number of networking possibilities.

For instance, on Gen-tosh, the networking automatically configures itself at boot time depending on whether the wired or wireless adapter is installed into the PCMCIA slot. If there is no adapter installed, then it automatically configures for no network. It's an awesomely sweet setup!

On this machine, the network automatically sets up for wired or wireless networking depending on whether or not the net cable is plugged into the on board network card. If it is, like now, then the network sets up to run with the wired adapter, ignoring the status of the wireless adapter completely. If the net cable is unplugged, then wireless sets up automatically. NICE NICE NICE!

Now, getting the networking to set itself up this way doesn't happen by magic. Through reading the forums, and doing some reading on other general Linux topics (like script writing), and about five hours of experimentation, I got it to work. Considering what's happening when the computer makes the networking adapter decision, I really didn't work all that hard to make the "miracle" happen.

When I tried to get that to happen with Windows, it was next to impossible. I know, because once I figured out that Gentoo could do this, then I switched over to the Windows side, and tried to get the same thing to happen. Windows fought me every step of the way, even though it was all point and click. I did get it to go, supposedly, but I have yet to really give it a serious acid test.

Doing the same thing with this machine would be impossible under Windows. As far as I know, there isn't an automated Windows networking solution. Please, anyone who knows differently, please let me know. Windows would force both net adapters to be active simultaneously...and that would be all kinds of hell. I don't even have the balls to try. Of course, I'd have to pay for the software to make it happen. Yeah...whatever!

With Slackware, I might have been able to accomplish the deed, but it would have been a lot more difficult. It would have required editing a lot more files. And it would have required documentation...which Slackware lacks, in abundance. I am sure I could have figured it out, but it would have taken a lot longer to get the job done. And it would have required me to fly a little more blindly, owing to the lack of documentation.

But with Gentoo, not only is the networking setup simple, it's also well documented. There are also programs available that will allow you to dynamically set your networking options on the fly with Gentoo. Fortunately, there are also folks who have documented doing what I did, but in a different fashion. Using their ideas as a starting point, I was able to figure out how best to detect the network card, and how best to switch configurations.

The long and the short of it is I have machines that now do things I never thought I'd get them to do. It's all because of Gentoo. For all its faults, and know that there are some, such as a lower aggregate stability as compared to Slackware, Gentoo shines like the lonely beam from a lighthouse scanning the sea on a foggy, moonless night. It has a je ne sais quoi that no other distro I have tried has. It is all that, a bag of chips, the factory that made the chips, and the farm that grew the potatoes.

I can't begin to tell y'all just how happy switching to Gentoo has made me and my systems. I feel like I have truly accomplished something. I have computers that do what I want them to do...at long last. I have learned a lot more in the past few weeks than I did in all the time I worked with Slackware.

This can't be helped. When someone decides to take on Gentoo, it's more than just putting an operating system on your computer. It's making a commitment to know your computer, and Linux, as never before. My brain has come close to exploding a few times, and I must admit that there are times I have to stop and take a break from it. Working with Gentoo can get very, very I-N-T-E-N-S-E!

But, I have something to show for the work in two ways: tangibly and intangibly. Tangibly speaking, I have three computers that work the way I have wanted my computers to work together for some time. Intangibly speaking, not only do I have the knowledge garnered, I also have the feeling of pride and accomplishment. I have the sense that the risk of trying Gentoo was so worth it when looking at the rewards.

So, I really haven't lost a thing by getting rid of Slackware, but dealing with a couple total assholes, and the frustration of poor documentation. Had I known what was going to transpire, I'd have knuckled down and allowed Gentoo to finish in the first place. I'd be a lot farther ahead, and I wouldn't have had to deal with some of the assholes at the Slackware forum.

So, once again, thank you Gentoo, and I am sorry for thinking you were anything less than the most awesome operating system I have ever installed on my machine. I was so wrong.

And while Gentoo is still really not for the n00b, my hat is off to anyone who can bite into Gentoo, and hang on for the ride of their lives.

Blessed be!
Pappy

by Pappy (61 articles, 0 quicklinks, 11 diaries, 860 comments) on Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 4:57:04 AM