Penultimate Reality

In recent years, the Internet has exploded in popularity. Everyone and his grandma is now wired and browsing web pages on a daily basis. The most popular aspect of the Internet so far is clearly the World Wide Web. There is a very large number of web sites out there, with varying levels of traffic. But what does it take to become a web designer yourself? The list of requirements isn’t large, but it’s still a somewhat ambitious goal, as there can be a lot of work in producing an excellent web site that will appeal to all. I suppose that’s why you’re here reading this article. You want to be in the know, and don’t worry, I’ll help you get there. Grab a few cases of Mountain Dew, warm up your fingers, and get ready. Your exciting trip into web design is about to begin, and if you follow the tips I’m about to provide, I guarantee you’ll be an absolute master almost overnight.

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I’ve used a number of GNU/Linux distributions over the last few years. Going back a few years, I experimented with both Debian and (the now defunct) Corel Linux. More recently, I’ve used Gentoo, Arch, and Ubuntu. I even briefly installed Fedora Core on a test machine. I’ve also experimented with some other distributions, primarily in virtual machines. The short of it is that I have used to some degree or another a moderate number of distributions.

However, the vast majority of my GNU/Linux experience has been confined to machines running Gentoo. I have run it as my primary operating system for over two years, excepting the week a few months back when I briefly ran Ubuntu. The only other distributions I consider myself moderately familiar with are Debian and Arch. I ran Debian for a week or so in 2002 before switching back to Windows so I could use some software for a course I was taking at the time, and Wine was nowhere near as useful as it is today. I’ve also played with it sporadically on various machines (physical and virtual) since 1999. Arch is a simple and easy-to-understand distribution, and I’ve used it enough in a virtual machine to feel moderately comfortable with it. Even with all this experience, however, I can’t seem to shake my Gentoo installation. It simply seems to fit my needs and usage patterns the best so far.

Before you read on and proceed to dissect my arguments, keep in mind what I’ve said above about my experience, and also that as much as I am telling the world why I use Gentoo, I’m asking for information about other distributions in the following areas, and reasons why people use a particular distribution.

With that in mind, no other distribution has managed to stay installed on my computer as long as Gentoo has, and no other distribution has struck the same chord in my mind. I know some of you in the back are shaking your heads now, thinking to yourselves, “Oh geez, not another ricer. I wonder what kind of ridiculous flags he’s passing to GCC.” I know this might disappoint some of you, but my CFLAGS are rather mundane. So in the spirit of dispelling any assumptions you may have made, I’ll open this post with a list of things that aren’t reasons why I use Gentoo.

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