Which is the best???
thanks

Best for what? Every person will have their own opinions as to which distro is the "best" for them.

You have to say what criteria you are using to judge the distros on.

The thing about Gentoo is that when you update libraries it sometimes will cause programs to crash. Did they fix it in newer version I am not sure.

Gentoo is a distro you for which you compile every packages directly on your machine with your optimised setting. Consequences are that it takes a LONG time to get it installed and you can't afford to just wipe everything and start again.. But also, as it is compiled on your machine, it is completely optimised for it.

Slackware, you can pretty much get everything out of the box using the install cd. However, packages are optimised for i686 platform only.

If you want to learn linux from top to bottom and have a month to spare, go for Gentoo and be ready to read a lot of manuals. The rewards are massive though I am sure!

Having said that, I found Slackware very rewarding too and I learnt a lot from it too. I gave up Gentoo 2 weeks after starting using it. Didn't have the patience to wait for packages to compile.

But yes, they are no "better" distro, it is just a matter of knowing what you want from it and how much you want to get your hand dirty/learn about Linux.

I have used Gentoo since March this year. It is nice and portage is quite good. I was even doing everything over 56k modem!
Over the last month however, I have had problems with Mozilla based browsers just closing or crashing on certain pages, making the system pretty much unusable. I was also getting quite tired of compiling absolutely everything.
I installed Slackware last night and I find it fine. The install was about 7 days less than gentoo :P
Doesn't seem to run any slower than Gentoo that I can notice (2.6 Athlon XP - 1 gig ram). I just have to learn the packaging on Slackware now.

I like slackware because it works. My monitor is a pain & I cant get the gentoo install program to run in a viewable fashion on it. Slackware does, installs fast & runs fast. This, for me , is typical of slackware.

Well I can't comment on how well gentoo works, but I can comment on how much of a pain it was to _almost_ install. I'm about 3 or 4 months into linux, and I don't know how to do a lot of things, but installing gentoo is a total pain. First of all it is not menu driven. I know I know this is linux you should know how to do the install, should be able to figure it out. Yes I can if it hadn't have crashed a step or so after installing lilo. And... THIS is 2003, what kind of people don't have a menu driven install? So I say $ wtf gentoo

I did install redhat 8. I was totally impressed with the way it installed. It was almost as easy as installing windows 98. Only difference was that you had to know a little about file systems.

I like slackware though. It was a snap to install, though it didn't detect correct settings for everything like rh did, there was plenty of information on how to do so. And as far as I can remember the only trouble I had was my cdrw and mouse. It doesn't treat you like a child as RH does, it lets you control your PC. I'm happy using slackware.

Never tried Gentoo as I felt at this point in my linux life it was a little over my head. I wasn't really learning anything with Suse so I opted to give Slackware a go. I must say the install was fairly painless (though you do have to know some things about your hardware) and I like the packaging. I have had no troubles updating libraries and installing apps. I still have a couple of things hardware wise I need to do but Slack does give you great exposure to the linux platform without hanging you out to dry

Short answer:

Gentoo = compile everything. Get updates fast... but only if you have DSL or cable. Machine is updated regularly, but maybe unstable.

Slackware = install a very stable system. Updates are few and far between, but that's because Slackware is very stable and fairly secure "out of the box". Updates are rather small, so can be downloaded with a 56K. Install software with code source/compiler.

Gentoo is great if you have a fast connection to the Internet, and if you don't mind having a machine that can be somewhat unstable. Gentoo updates are quick and easy, but they require compiling.

Slackware is great if you have a slow connection to the Internet, and if you'd rather have a rock-solid machine. Slackware updates are rather slower and harder than Gentoo, but they are pre-compiled and always rock-solid.

Use Gentoo if you want your machine to have the "latest and greatest".

Use Slackware if you want your machines to WORK.

1 members found this post helpful.

thanks all

I hate these stupid "vs." threads

Don't read em.

I love 'em. Very informative.

I have never used Gentoo but my friend went through a spurt where he used it. He was telling me all about when he had to compile all his software and such. After he mentioned that is when I decided that Gentoo wasn't for me (of course I had been using Slack before that anyways). I run a personal server with my Slackware box and I can't see having to wait to have to compile anything. I'd rather install it, make any changes to the configurations, and let her fly.

This isn't the best place to put this thread. People who post in the slackware forum will be biased towards slackware.