What are you using GNOME or KDE, and what is the theme and icon theme

To get the scroll wheel working in X, generally you want to add this line to your xorg.conf (assuming you use X.Org):

Option "ZAxis Mapping" "4 5"

This is in: Section "InputDevice".

Gentoo is a distro which really helps you learn a lot of stuff during installation and use. I like Gentoo for that. However, the problem comes when you are using a slow machine. Everytime you want to upgrade you end up keeping the machine busy till compilation is done. Even though one can(and should) set flags according to their hardware, I have heard reports that the system slows down after a few months of upgrading.

I tried installing Gentoo last Aug. The best thing about Gentoo unlike any other distro is easy of getting support for it from Gentoo Forums.

Here's a 'Did you know' - you're currently on a Gentoo server, as mozillaZine runs it on all of our servers.

jason

George, I use Gnome with the Milk 2.0 theme for the controls and Glossy P for the window border. This also required a different theme engine, which was installed by typing "emerge gtk-engines".

DNapalm, you were absolutely right. I just managed to fix the problem and then, afterwards, read your comment. :) I got part of the X.Org config file from my Gentoo friend, who claimed the setup was the same on my mouse (MX700) as his mouse (MX500). Obviously, that wasn't corrent, since he had ZAxis mapping "6 7" instead of "4 5", which made my thumb buttons scroll instead.

I'm a huge Gentoo fan as well, and have been using it for about a year as my primary operating system (I only loaded windows back on for the sake of Half Life 2 :).

I haven't tested this yet, but these guys seem to have developed a distro based on Gentoo that includes an installer:
http://desktop.vidalinux.com/

Also, just to throw this out, one of the great things about portage is that they include binary packages as well when appropriate.
emerge mozilla-firefox-bin mozilla-thunderbird-bin

You probably will want to look at imwheel to get the full functionality of your mouse. There is an imwheel package in portage but the install is very wrong in my opinion. I have the MX700 as well and I now have all my buttons working but it wasn't easy. Definitely take a look as you'll likely want to use your side buttons.

I wonder about the first name in your buddy list ;)

I am a big Gentoo fan. Last year, I started using Linux. At a friend's suggestion, I tried Debian. However, its documentation for managing unstable (which was necessary for the hardware support) was skimpy. I then tried Fedora Core 1, but it still seemed buggy and hid too much from me. I then figured I'd try the Linux from Scratch concept. However, package management becomes a nightmare if you actually intend to use it like a desktop system. I finally ended up with Gentoo. I definitely get to learn much about how Linux works without the trouble of dealing with package management since Portage takes care of that.

I have to agree with everything you said, and I can back it up with the fact that I did try out Gentoo before any other Linux distro

I started with a Stage 3 install which didn't work out despite being the most straight-forward, although that was down to some strange hardware. After that, I decided to give stage 2 a shot to get the hardware working properly, and on i think my 3rd attempt, it worked!

It is a major major pain to get installed, but I have also learnt a lot of how Linux works by doing it and once its installed, it is a dream to operate

I'd never installed a GNU/Linux OS at home until Gentoo. Why? b/c I was told I would learn the most from it. This is very true. I recently installed Fedora and Mandrake -- they're plugnplay compared to gentoo. If I hadn't started with gentoo, I might not have ever really understood the way in which linux breathes. Kudos to portage.

"Just imagine how hard installing Windows XP would be if you "only" had the source code!"

Interesting comment.. I have absolutely no idea how difficult installing Windws XP would be if I only had the source code, and I doubt you do either, as neither of us know the steps required to install Windows XP from the source code! Unless of course you know something the rest of us outside the Windows XP development team knows?? It might be really easy, but we'll never know as we'll never get our hands on the source code.

Great review other than that though. I've been trying to install Gentoo but being a basic novice with Linux, I'm struggling a bit. Perhaps I need to start with an easier distro. Been looking at Mandrake which looks promising. Any suggestions??