Hi there,

I'm currently using Gentoo as my main OS, and I'm really happy with it, but can't live with the time it takes to have up and running; i.e. having to wait 1 day to compile OpenOffice, I just can't say that to my teachers as an excuse...

I know there are precompiled packages but, it makes no sense to use gentoo then.

So I'm looking for a distro who can match this features:

- Packet Manager with LOTS of packages (including closed source things)
- Included support for mp3, dvd playback, and other forbidden stuff... (Hate Fedora for this...)
- Can be up and running in hours not days!
- Not Fedora...

Thanks for your suggestions, and sorry for my bad english...

Debian and Slackware are what you are after - probably in that order.

I would say Debian much more than Slackware. Slackware has hardly any packages available and no "package management." You can run whatever you want (like on any distro), but mostly you have to build from sources- like Gentoo. It's a great setup, and very easy to use and configure, but if you want "LOTS of packages" you won't be happy.

Debian has a lot of packages, once you can figure out the sloppy-mess of using its package management it is very easy to install stuff quickly and easily. Everything just seems to work. You can get a Debian installation up and running with tons of stuff in less than an hour.

Pppphhhhtttt !!!.

Arch is probably the only choice for (soon to be) ex-Gentoo'ers.
i686 and decent package management.
Been there done that, but I still have Gentoo as my main system.

Arch doesn't have a huge amount of packages in the official repos, not anywhere near the magnitude of something like Gentoo or Debian. AUR makes up for that but I've seen plenty of new Arch users confused about the difference between [community] and [unsupported]...

Hi there,

I'm testing Debian in this moment, its working fine. I liked gentoo and learned a lot with it, but at this moment I need a distro for production not for learning (not saying that gentoo can't be using for production, it only takes loooonger).

Later I may try some other distros. Thanks for your time.

As other said, archlinux, crux and or sourcemage. Sourcemage is more close to gentoo being a source based distro.

This is funny. You are missing the whole point with Gentoo... First , the best way is to combine. Install binary OpenOffice (I do)! Installing couple of binary packets does not give up on all the advantages gentoo has, which are:
a) USE flags! You can compile/remove support for some components.
What are you gonna do if say in application A , which is a binary package you want does not include support of some feature in the compiled package. You will have to download sources and compile them manually with that flag and then it does not make sense to use debian or fedora....lol.
And there are quite some flags which can significantly improve perfomance (I am not talkin about compler flags) for certain applications such as X, any graphic or video application,.


b) Compiler flags = speed

c) emerge -u world PORTAGE

d) you can chose between very "fresh" packages and older "more" stable ones. For other distros packages are slightly older I think (but of course you don't always want today's release).

I think Gentoo is less popular because it has a bit complicated installation and thus distracts many.
Once it is installed it is a dream machine, enjoy. Compiling takes time, but you dont need to compile often or do it overnight.

I made the switch to Debian after a year or longer on Gentoo because of the tweakablility Gentoo has. I couldn't leave it alone, and compile times got to me.

Gentoo and Portage are great, and it taught me a lot. I am more comfortable in Debian now because of it.

And gentoo isn't any faster. Compiler flags can actually slow your system down. The appeal of Gentoo is being able to customize it completely. In actuality, it is no faster than the binary distros.

My Debian Sid install is just as up to date as a Gentoo ~x86 install (and all of my packages are from the Debian repositories). Apt can compile from source if need be, and I can type
to update my whole system. Apt can also revert to older versions.

Gentoo offers different frontends to do the same thing that other distros can do. The difference is, the community surrounding the distro is the BEST. The how-to's work for most other distros, and the documentation is astounding.

IMO, Debian is the binary package alternative to Gentoo (in my experience it is just as flexible). I was a gentoo user for a long while, and this is just my opinion. I am currently on Debian Sid, and I couldn't be happier.

If you're not running an "unstable" (~arch) installation, you should check "emerge --usepkg" in order to use precompiled binaries instead...

(and, as stingo said, you generally have a -bin version for some of the loOOOong-compile time packages...)

I know your question was about "another distribution" but I just thought it might somewhat interest you if you didn't already know that...

Regards,

--jan

Vlos for the win, cause its a precompiled Gentoo setup that uses a custom Gui for the emerge package system ran it for a while and enjoyed it somewhat

I recomend going with Debian if you must go, Gentoo is after all Debian based.

In responce to others though,

Randux - Swaret and Slapt-get are both package managment systems for Slackware. So if thats all that holds you back, your free to "slack" all you want.

gruven - Compiler flags will only slow you down if don't use them right. If you keep your system lean you shouldn't have any slow downs... not because of flags anyway. And if you use hdparm properly, you probably won't be able to find another distro thats faster.

Yes, I know. Most people go crazy though. I had a stable system for a long while, and it was fast, but there was not very much difference in speed between it and a binary distro (namely debian).

The only problem I had with Gentoo is not being able to leave the install alone. I find Debian to be just as flexible, but without the compile times.

Also, my Debian Sid install is just as up to date as the Gentoo ~x86 packages. Plus, I don't have to unmask anything. I know I run unstable, and yes it breaks every now and again, but I wouldn't run it if I didn't enjoy fixing it.

Well, I can't hate ya for using what you like. I think thats the whole idea behind Linux anyway... doing and using what you want to.