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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 Linux really worth it? (iusearchlinux.fyi)

submitted 8 months ago by potentiallynotfelix@iusearchlinux.fyi to c/linux@lemmy.ml

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I've installed gentoo but there seems like there's so many sacrifices. I love that it's all open source, but I really don't mind closed source software now and then, because after all I would be using it to play closed source games. The biggest compromise I've observed is the very long build times. I have a lukewarm cpu(i3 10100) and it's powerful enough for good gaming but the build times are still like 10x minimum for some software. All this to say, is using gentoo really worth it? I love the idea behind it, and if I was doing criminal activity I'd definitely use it, but is there some absolute upside to it or is it a really good OS for privacy that sacrifices in usability?

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[–] Flaky@iusearchlinux.fyi 8 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Gentoo can be good if you desire some very weird or exotic configurations or just want more granular customisability that binary DIY distros don't offer. The way it's built allows that in a way that makes it easier there. If you don't really need that and aren't a fan of the build times, it won't hurt going for something like Void or Arch which are also DIY distros but all-binary so you don't need to worry. (unless you use xbps-src or the AUR).

[–] TarantulaFudge@lemmy.ml 2 points 8 months ago

As a developer the cool thing about Gentoo is you can have a full debugging stack. You can compile every single library and program on the system with debugging symbols and source and you can trace an issue all the way through. It's really not possible to do on other distros. Having learned a bit more about gdb when debugging, it is really cool.