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Gentoo 1.4 Final Released
markds writes "After a long wait, the Gentoo team has finally released the latest version of their distribution.
Gentoo Linux 1.4 is now available. 1.4 includes automated kernel builds, CFLAGS generation, the Gentoo Reference Platform, and support for netless installation." And Beost writes "It looks like our favorite disto gentoo has released two of the new v1.4 LiveCDs. Enjoy!"
Reader Luke-Jr points to the list of official mirrors and "unofficial (though created by developers) BitTorrents." (Of course, you can also buy CD sets for a variety of architectures from the Gentoo store.)
You do not need to reinstall. Gentoo version numbers only refer to the install CD. emerge -u world and you'll be in the same place you would be with a 1.4_final install.
ask for help in forums.gentoo.org if you have installation trouble. I'm sure we could have gotten you up and running easily.
"...a distro that for the first time brings parity between the x86, PPC, and sparc architectures."
Debian has had a synchronous stable version for Alpha, ARM, Intel x86, Motorola 680x0, PowerPC, and SPARC since mid 2000.
Most recent stable release supports 11 architectures.
Soma: because a gramme is better than a damn.
Unfortunately the parent poster here clearly doesn't understand the danger inherent in assuming a CD-R is good if it simply reads correctly.
When you burn a MODE-1 ISO-9660 data CD-R, it's not simply writing your data out directly to the disc -- it's being encoded through no less than three sequential error detection and correction systems. Audio discs and discs that use MODE-2 without ISO-9660 error correction still go through the two sequential error correction and detection encodings inherent in the CD design.
The actual data on the disc is always riddled with errors -- the pits/lands (or in the case of a CD-R, the stained areas of dye) are simply too tiny and numerous to not have them obscured or distorted by microscopic scratches, bits of dust, tiny bad patches of dye, cosmic rays, etc. When you read a CD your CD-ROM drive is constantly correcting errors on its base level (C1), and if there is even a tiny visible scratch on the disc it's probably having to rely on its secondary error correction system (C2) to read the disc properly.
In normal operation your drive doesn't even TELL you about these errors -- the only way to know about them is to use special equipment or use a few special brands of drives that support reporting this information (C2 errors are reported by a number of drives, but C1 errors are only reported by a few drives (Plextor Premium, and recent Lite-On drives come to mind) and not in a standard way).
ISO-9660 MODE 1 (and MODE 2 with correction) adds a third layer of error correction to protect your data if all else fails, that's why a somewhat scratched disc still works.
What I'm trying to say here is that simply comparing the md5 sum of your cooked (i.e. ISO-9660 error corrected) data track is not a way to judge the quality of a burn. Your disc might read fine today but die tomorrow.
dd doesn't know the difference between a well burned disc with only a few C1 errors and no C2 errors, versus a badly mismanufactured disc that might've been exposed to the sun at some point that is riddled with errors that only your ISO-9660 third-level error correction is managing to fix. The first disc will probably last quite a while, while the second disc is already on its last legs and will probably not be readable in a month.
Analyzing these "hidden" errors is key to getting a good burn and making trusted archival copies.
(Unfortunately it seems that CD-Rs are nowhere near as durable as they are supposed to be. Many cheap brands of discs burned only 6-7 years ago are becoming unreadable now! So far my Metal Azo Verbatim Datalife Plus discs are holding on like troopers though -- knock on wood -- but even on those I can see C1 error counts creeping up over time).