Gentoo Features

Description

Gentoo Linux is a special kind of Linux distribution. Nearly every software application is build and optimized for your system. Extreme performance, configurability and a first-class user and developer community are the quality marks of Gentoo.

Thanks to the Portage system, Gentoo is well-suited as

• secure server
• development system
• professional workstation
• gaming system
• embedded system
• what ever you like...

This is the reason Gentoo is called a metadistribution.

Assets and drawbacks

+ Support for x86-, PowerPC-, UltraSparc- and Alpha
+ Live-CD based installation for x86 und PowerPC
+ Several optimised Linux kernels (2.4.xx-gs, 2.6.xx)
+ Modern development system (glibc 2.x, gcc 3.x.x)
+ Great choice of file systems (ReiserFS, XFS, ext3, EVMS, LVM, ...)
+ Great hardware support (NVIDIA, Creative Labs Live! und Audigy)
+ Modular OpenGL- and Compiler-Sub-System
+ Over 4000 modern and up-to-date software packages
+ Extended Portage capabilities
- Linux knowledge required
- All software is compiled from source. This is very time consuming (but necessary).