this post was submitted on 27 Jul 2023
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Linux
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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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Annoy is completely the wrong term. You're getting to control over what is to be built and what's not, and since softwares are compiled and optimised according to my hardware, they are lighter and faster with less attack surface.
That may sound cumbersome for a novice to setup the portage configuration but in return it is really worth the time, and it is usually one time, unless you plan to add or remove features. But once you're satisfied with your configuration, you don't have to look back at it.
I found YouTubers complaining about going through hour long upgrade on the daily bases very misleading. Only a few core packages can take that long, which are upgraded on a quarterly bases.
Wait did you seriously called it a hype? Before switching to Gentoo, I was using Arch, softwares have better support of eachother and if feature isn't working you can always talk with the dev how to resolve it. They might even look into modifying the ebuilds to make them compatible.
FYI, I never came across any breakage and I've been using Gentoo for about an year now.
you don't update your system? this is what turned me away from gentoo. i setup my system just the way i wanted but everytime you upgrade you re-compile everything again and again. and some of those updates require some tinkering.
You misunderstood. The configuration is one time. Updates and patches gets configured according to your configuration.
FYI, The updates you get are also pre-compiled by the distro team, and are compiled with generic flag to ensure compatibility.
Because you can compile parts out of many programs and suites; you can also change dependencies, such as never including audio support or MP3 libs for anything. Sure it means no sound but if you're on a system without speakers then it's no real loss and you've reduced your attack surface.
Go through this https://www.gentoo.org/support/security/
Most people have some compilation tools installed on a binary based Linux, the tool chain yes would increase the surface too but being able to entirely remove specific parts of the os or say kernel code that is entirely unused reduces your surface. You can't expoilt code that isn't there.