Distro hopping blues

Distro hopping is a great way to spend lots of time. Always, I would hope to finally get a system that would conform to my preferences. I would also hope to gain insight into the rationale behind the decisions that were made. Adding it all up, I'm sure I spent at least 2 weeks constantly re-learning all the non-standard nuances and web searching for eccentric configurations.

Release hopping is another great way to consume unbounded amounts of time. Many distros have a frequent release cycle and urge users to upgrade to the latest release. An upgrade often leads to a re-install where the nuances are again non-standard and the configurations are again eccentric. If you try to resist upgrading, you are likely to be informed that your system is no longer supported.

The above does not include the expenditure of time constantly setting up the "real" projects and files.

With over 300 distros, each having release cycles, there are always many choices to try something new. That can be fun and challenging but at some point, one may want to settle down.

I had had enough of that, and so I spent 2 weeks installing linux from scratch manually. It took that long because I wasn't necessarily present at the keyboard when it was time for the next command. Then I found that automating the build can take less time. This blog is mostly about the quest to automate and maintain a complete, customized system. At present, the tools to do that have not been fully developed.

In an interview with Gerard Beekmans, the Linux From Scratch initiator and project organizer, and he pointed out that LFS requires you to acquire a new level of understanding.
And that if you aren't 100% satisfied with a solution, "You always have a choice and it's not always so hard or daunting as it may at first seem."