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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Is gentoo a good choice? (self.linux)

submitted 1 year ago by BeautifulPain to c/[email protected]

32 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I mean, is it really worth it to compile every single program that I install? Wouldn't that be a waste of time? I am inclined to try it out but on the other hand idk

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[–] theluckyone 6 points 1 year ago

I've been a long time Gentoo user. Years. Gotta be over a decade now.

Back in the early '00s, I tried a few Linux distributions... SUSE, Centos, another one or two that I can't remember. Each one, I was left at the desktop after a successful install wondering exactly what do I do now.

Friend recommended Linux From Scratch, so I took a couple months and went through the process, three times. First time, I had no clue what I was doing. Second, I started to get a hang of it. Third, I breezed through, then tried to install X.org and all of its dependencies by hand. Taught me a lesson of the value of a package manager. I did end up installing it successfully, then contemplated a DE, but decided to switch distros.

Did a bit of research, found Gentoo, and stuck with it. Updating it isn't a pain as long as it's done regularly, and I enjoy having the control and just a bit of feeling like I have some clue as to what's going on. I don't get that with a distro focusing on precompiled binaries. It's also given me the experience to compile software from scratch if I need to.