I think I am going to go to the library after class tomorrow and print out all of the LFS book. I am a bit scared though, I couldn't even get Gentoo to work perfectly; after two weeks of painfully trying to get my internet to work I just yelled some profanities at my screen and erased the drive clean. I do not find the Gentoo install hard, but the configuring is. A lot of stuff wouldn't work for me and I ended up just getting pissed off every time (four installs, ironically my first install was near flawless except Portage was somewhat screwed up). Is there a problem here? Will I not be able to handle this? I am kind of tired with the distro shuffle, just trying to find one that really suits me. I want my own this time. Just a few questions then:

1. Can I have all the latest stuff? (a 2.6.11 kernel)

2. One thing I'm really not grasping: package manager. Can I get Portage? Apt-Get? I just don't understand this part.

3. How hard is this really? I am terribly busy both in school and in the summer, I need a functional computer, not a command line.

4. With enough work put into this can I do cool stuff like play DVD's, game, listen to music, etc.?

5. If all goes well and I am truly shocked about how it turns out, can I make a .iso of it and burn it to a disc so my friends can take a look at it?

Thanks for all the help.

why do you want to do LFS?

I am sick of all the distros (there's 300 of them I think..) that don't work the way I want them to. Debian or Gentoo was the most fun I had with Linux, even if I didn't get Gentoo to work perfectly.

I basically want something that works the exact way I want it to.

tried slackware? If that doesn't do what you want then you don't want linux

Ah, I was a Slacker for a long time. Forgot to mention that.

Did that have a package manager? Heh, sorry but I'm kind of infatuated with package managers right now..

yeah, has pkgtool

Ohh.. I'm slow.. heh, I need to read more stuff.

Well I think this could be more of a project when I have more time. I'm kinda itching to get Slack back on here.. Thanks for the help.

To answer your questions:

1) Yes, you can get all the latest. However, if you choose to install something outside what the book recommends, you are "on your own" regarding support. The idea is, if you're comfortable to blaze your own path outside of provided instructions, then you need to be able to handle any unexpected hiccups you come across. This is primarily because nobody can support all combinations of all software for conflicts/instability. If you decide to do LFS, then I strongly suggest you follow the book to the letter the first time.

2) As you go through LFS, you'll probably find you don't need a package manager nearly as much as in the past. LFS is all about compiling from source code. Once you're comfortable with it, then dealing with package managers seems like a waste. At least, that's how it is for me. However, there are some people who still want to use package managers. So, the short answer is: yes, if you can find the source code for the package manager, then you can use it. There is a catch though. You'll need to install packages that match the components you installed (in particular your architecture, and your version of glibc).

3) If you follow the book exactly as it is provided, you can probably finish it all in one solid day. In other words, expect to devote at least 16 hours to it. This comes from reading, typing, and waiting for compiles. However, when you say you "need a functional computer, not a command line", then this may not be for you. When you complete LFS, that's exactly what you have: a command line. That's it. You will have to install X and a window manager to get a minimal graphical interface running. If you add Gnome/KDE, then you'll have quite a bit more compiling to do beyond LFS. Compiling X, certain window managers, Gnome, KDE, and everything else you would probably want is described in BLFS. You might be able to cut a whole lot of time out by using a package manager, but I can't say, because I've never used one on my LFS system. Just remember, if you're not using package managers, you have to compile everything: firefox, xmms, mplayer, etc., etc.

4) Yes, if there's software out there to do what you want, then you can probably get it to run with little trouble. Configuring it properly can take time.

5) Understand, you're compiling the system on your machine, and tweaking it based on your hardware. It's not very likely to run very well on someone else's machine unless they have the same stuff you do. That said, I believe there are instructions available on the LFS site that mention how to turn your installation into a live CD. I've never tried it, so I can't say anything about it.

OK, thanks for the info on Slack ror.

And huge thanks for the info on LFS Dark Helmet (like the name, Spaceballs right?) this is definetely a project for later when I have more time.

Man, I gotta put Slack back on.

I feel sorry for that library...