Gentoo Linux is good. It is good for many reasons, some of them strange. Gentoo is a source-based Linux distribution. Most Linux distributions are binary-based. Usually, when you use your computer, you are using applications (binaries) that someone else has prepared on their computer (or “compiled”). But, all computers are slightly different, so if you were to make them specifically for your computer then they would be faster. Of course, compiling can take a long time. But, I’ve found that because I’m going to have to compile software, and this is the strange side-effect of using a source-based distribution, I’ve begun to do my research and find out what software has the fewest dependencies and will therefore compile the fastest and most likely be the fastest software available for a given task. Links is a super lightweight web browser that I’ve recently encountered because of this process, and I highly recommend it if you’re running Linux. It’s really worked out well so far. We’ll see if I keep digging on Gentoo.
Why Gentoo is good
2004-03-21,