Re: GENTOO
  By: Angus McLeod to Ibanez on Tue Mar 18 2008 09:46:00

 > So what would be wrong with that?  If it becomes necessary to compile the
 > entire distro, then you compile the entire distro.  Slackware comes with
 > that option.  While the entire distro can be installed from pre-built
 > binaries, but each and every component is also provided in source form,
 > with a 'SlackBuild' script to compile them.  Set your options as needed
 > and compile away!
 > 
 > Except, only those parts of the distro that you were using need to be
 > compiled.  Or more correctly, only those parts from which you need extreme
 > efficiency.  No need to compile the browser, for instance, if you are
 > satisfied with the browser's performance.
 > 
 > And in the mean time, you can bring up a new Slackware box in what?
 > Twenty minutes?
 > 
Gentoo nay sayers have either never used it, or used it on a generic P4. I will
concede that an a generic P4 you are not going to see much improvement if any
than most binary distributions. However, on non-generic systems compiling from
source with optimizations with any distro will give you an improvement in
performance. Gentoo makes that easy to do (for the experienced Linux user) as
well as easy to update.

I think if you like Debian (more specifically it's apt-get) but like the idea
of a tuned OS/apps compiled from source then Gentoo is the way to got. And if
you are running PowerPC, Alpha, Sparc or other non-intel architecture then
Gentoo will not only give you a performance boost, but is quite possible the
only choice for an up-to-date distro.

You can install software from packages in Gentoo too if you want to get up and
running quickly. I'd shy away from Gentoo though if you're not looking for
bleedng edge and want a stable server. Not that Gentoo is unstable, but it can
be if you don't pay attention to how you conduct system updates.

Regards,
Doug
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