gentoo linux

[lainlives]

I am thinking obout trying gentoo linux. for it looks highly customizable
but i am not sure which version do dowload

Minimal CD/InstallCD
or
Universal install CD

and what is the
Package CD


also clear some things up on archetexture i am a little behind on that (i know mips/x86 and other common ones)

does it support installing RPM or DEB packeges??

[Twey]

which version do dowload

Minimal CD/InstallCD
or
Universal install CD

The universal CD has some common software included on it. If you have a working Internet connection that doesn't require unusual drivers, go for the minimal CD and download what you need from the Internet when you need it. You'll get the up-to-date versions directly that way, as well as only downloading what you need, instead of having a CD full of packages you won't use.

and what is the
Package CD

The package CD contains some binary packages. Because compiling an entire operating system from scratch is quite a slow process, especially on older systems, and some people need a system up and running quickly, these are provided so that one can have a basic system up and running and be working on it whilst compiling in the background. They're an intermediate measure, however, and often out of date: you're meant to update to source packages as soon as possible.

also clear some things up on archetexture i am a little behind on that (i know mips/x86 and other common ones)

What are you stuck on?

does it support installing RPM or DEB packeges??

Barely.

[lainlives]

what is hppa ia64 ppc sparc

[Twey]

hppa is the Hewlett Packard Precision Architecture, and it's used in their servers. ia64 is the 64-bit Intel series: Itanium and friends. ppc is the pre-Intel Mac CPU. sparc is the architecture found in Sun servers, and sparc64 is the 64-bit version of that.

[lainlives]

thanks