Is Gentoo Linux too difficult for newcomers to use?

Gentoo Linux has always had much to offer any user that that wants deep control over their Linux computer. But nothing is free in life, and Gentoo exacts a price from each Linux user by requiring a certain level of knowledge in order to get the most out of it.

LinuxInsider looks at the pros and cons of using Gentoo Linux, and finds that Gentoo may be too difficult for some users.

According to LinuxInsider:

The main advantage to using Gentoo Linux is its performance and customization. These two factors far exceed what the user settings in the KDE desktop provide.

Another benefit is the source compiler maximizes all possible optimizations and makes the software run as fast as possible. However, on less-powerful computers, this process can take what seems like forever to complete.

Another major disadvantage of Gentoo Linux is the difficulty factor. You can not expect to install this distro easily and have it work out-of-the-box. Mastering Gentoo requires an investment in time to navigate its steep learning curve.

More at LinuxInsider

LinuxInsider

I’ve always thought of Gentoo as an acquired taste. Those who choose to use it generally seem to know what they are doing, and also what is expected of them from Gentoo. It certainly is not a distribution for folks who are new to Linux, or who just want their distribution to “just work” with no input from them. You will get out of Gentoo what you put into it.

I’m very glad that Gentoo is around though since it offers a very different choice than Ubuntu or Linux Mint or any of the other distributions that are geared toward users who just want them to work “out of the box.” Not all users are like that, and it’s important that those who require a deeper level of control of their distribution can get it. And Gentoo is indeed a great option in that sense.

So I think when we consider Gentoo versus other distributions, it’s important to note that we are basically talking about apples and oranges. Certain distributions are meant to be installed and configured with little input from the user, and others require knowledge and experience to use properly. What’s matters is that Linux continue to serve both casual and more sophisticated users, and Gentoo is an important part of that effort.

You can get more information about Gentoo on the official Gentoo site, including downloads, support, wiki and a discussion forum.

Is it easy to avoid systemd in Debian?

A blogger thinks that systemd is actually easy to avoid.

According to Vitavonni:

Don’t listen to trolls. They lie. Debian was and continues to be about choice. Previously, you could configure Debian to use other init systems, and you can continue to do so in the future.

…here is a clean way to prevent systemd from being installed when you upgrade to jessie. (No need to “fork” Debian for this, which just demonstrates how uninformed some trolls are … – apart from Debian being very open to custom debian distributions, which can easily be made without “forking”.)

More at Vitavonni

Check out the reaction thread on Reddit to see what folks think of this blogger’s ideas, and see Lennart Poettering’s new scheme about changing how distros are built that indicates that systemd may be the tip of the iceberg in terms of changes coming to Linux. His article was posted back in September, but it’s worth reading if you haven’t seen it already. There’s also a reaction article from I Programmer that looks at some of the problems with Poettering’s additional ideas.

Civilization: Beyond Earth coming to Linux during the holiday season

GameSpot reports that Civilization: Beyond Earth is coming to Linux for the holiday season.

According to GameSpot:

The latest Sid Meier game, Civilization: Beyond Earth, launches later this week exclusively for PC. Mac and Linux players won’t get to play right out of the gate, but Aspyr Media announced today that Beyond Earth will be available for those platforms through Steam and on Apple’s Mac App Store sometime “this holiday season.”

Mac and Linux players can preorder a Steam code for Beyond Earth today through Aspyr’s GameAgent.com. Preordering will net you the Exoplanets Map Pack as a free bonus.

More at GameSport

Check out the gameplay walkthrough video below:

And here’s the trailer:

What’s your take on all this? Tell me in the comments below.