-> That's not really needed any more, with the kernel supporting modules etc.
-> I've not built a custom kernel for some time (Years). I used to though on my
-> linux radio machine (ax25).

I know.  However, I used to work for a Linux shop where building a
custom kernel was a requirement every time we installed a new server.
"Performance increases and security issues" was the reason we were
given.  Fortunately, every server they had was pretty much the same
hardware configuration, so once we had one kernel built for one machine,
the rest was easy.
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5