Slashdot Mirror
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.)
I'm glad that my favorite distribution has finally gone retail. I will definitely be among the people that shell out $15 for the two pressed CDs and the printed installation manual.
Been using Gentoo for my linux boxes since late 2001; I couldn't be happier.
This comment was randomly generated by a school of piranhas chewing on the PCB of a Microsoft Natural Keyboard.
You're not whoring. The reasons why I went ahead and bought the CD set when it came up, even though I'd already downloaded the ISO, were a) I was lazy b) I needed to know the CDs weren't going to fail on me like a copied ISO might, and c), the biggest reason of all, I want to support Gentoo.
My primary experience with Linux in the home has been SuSE, and I know I'm going to find Gentoo painful to start up and might even go back to SuSE at this stage in the game. But Gentoo seems to be about much more than Linux: from what I understand, they're working on platforms for other OSes out there, and that greatly increases the probability that many more people will benefit from their work on Portage and the rest.
Oh, and just in case someone thinks I'm karma whoring, myself (like I should care?), let me say that I also broke down and ordered an OEM version of Windows XP Pro yesterday, along with a requisite piece of hardware to meet the licensing terms, etc.
Get off my launchpad!
Face it, we have Intel and AMD on the cusp of major architecture changes AND the migration to the 64 bit processor. Both changes require a complete recompile of your system to exploit the improvements.
At the same time, you have a distro that for the first time brings parity between the x86, PPC, and sparc architectures. Plans are even in the works to port portage to Cygwin, BSD, and MacOSX. The GCC compiler is getting good enough at building across architectures that a new hardware platform could have a Linux port in weeks.
Computing power and RAM are plentiful in PC's. People bicker about 19 hours to compile OpenOffice, but I can remember a time when (assuming it was possible at all) a compile like that would take weeks.
All of these factors are pointing us to a world in the near future where binaries are an afterthought. Even if the hardware you are running on can't compile on the fly, you can plug it into a server farm that CAN.
Gentoo may be a half-assed Linux distro. But it has the potential to completely change how we distribute software.
"Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
--Dr.W.Edwards Deming
is it too much to ask for gentoo to get its on topic category? its got a pretty cool logo. jeez even turbolinux has one.