Latest Reviews & Tutorials

Still in search of that perfect desktop distribution

May 3, 2012

The quest for perfection is an endless one. Like the quest for freedom (material or spiritual), there is always one more step. It is just the nature of things in the physical universe. The best we can do is keep trying. And that is exactly what I have been doing with regards to the free operating systems that power my (desktop) computers. There was a time when distro-hopping was fun, but for...

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The first thing to do after installing Linux Mint Debian 201204

May 3, 2012

Linux Mint Debian is a line of desktop distribution based on Debian, developed by the same group responsible for Linux Mint, a desktop distribution based on Ubuntu Desktop. The...

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Linux Mint Debian 201204 Xfce review

May 2, 2012

Linux Mint Debian is the line of desktop distributions from the developers of Linux Mint that is based on Debian. For the record, Linux Mint Debian is different from Linux Mint, which is based on More

What will ‘rm -rf /’ actually do to your Linux/BSD machine?

April 29, 2012

For expert users of Linux and other UNIX-like operating systems, the command line is where the action is. We (they) claim that stuff gets done faster and easier on the command line than pointing and clicking on a fancy graphical interface. While that may, to a very large extend, be true, the command line can be a scary place for new users. What do you do at the command line if you do not...

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Linux Mint Debian 201204 MATE/Cinnamon review

April 28, 2012

Linux Mint Debian 201204 MATE/Cinnamon is the latest edition of Linux Mint Debian, a desktop distribution based on Debian. It offers a choice of two GNOME-based desktop environments - MATE and Cinnamon. MATE is a fork of GNOME 2, while Cinnamon is an attempt to bring sanity to...

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What’s the point of having 2 scrollbar types in Ubuntu 12.04?

April 27, 2012

With free software operating systems, a popular practice is to install, out of the box, more than one application for the same computing task. For new users, it is a good thing, since it made it possible for them to test-drive the best applications that their distribution has to offer. The only downside to the practice is the extra disk space used by the duplicate applications. However,...

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Install the latest and greatest Cinnamon desktop on Ubuntu 12.04

April 26, 2012

Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, code-named Precise Pangolin, is the latest release of the popular Linux distribution. It was made available for the public just a few hours ago. While the distribution itself is very popular, the Unity desktop, the graphical interface that we all see, is not necessarily as popular. And that is because it is not very user-friendly. It has a tendency to get in your way more...

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How to run Linux Mint Debian Cinnamon in VirtualBox

April 26, 2012

One edition of Linux Mint Debian released a few days ago, features two desktop environments - MATE and Cinnamon. The former is a fork of GNOME 2, while the later is an attempt to bring sanity to GNOME 3, to make it look like something designed for use on desktop computers. So that if you installed it on your computer, the login screen's session menu will show options for both desktop...

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Manual disk partitioning guide for Linux Mint Debian

April 25, 2012

The latest ISO installation images for Linux Mint Debian, the line of Linux Mint based on Debian, were made available for download a few days ago. While it is one of the most user-friendly desktop distributions out of the box,...

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Chakra Archimedes-2012.04 review

April 23, 2012

Chakra Archimedes-2012.04, the second iteration of the latest stable edition of Chakra, a desktop Linux distribution forked from Arch Linux, was released just this week. April 16 to be exact. The first stable edition of Archimedes was released back in February this year. You may read the review at More

How to install Takeoff Launcher on Kubuntu 12.04

April 22, 2012

Takeoff Launcher, one of 2 cool reasons to use the K Desktop Environment, is a fullscreen menu (for KDE). It is one of several menu styles available for that desktop environment. Published articles on this subject include how to compile and install it on More

Replace Oxygen with ROSA theme on any KDE-powered distribution

April 21, 2012

I like beautiful graphics, but beauty, as they say, is in the eyes of the beholder, so what I consider beautiful, might not be that to you. So when I say the icons that come with the Oxygen theme on the K Desktop Environment are not very visually appealing, do not get mad if you do not agree. After all, it is just my opinion. If you are not running a KDE system, the representative icons...

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5 user-friendly applications you could be using now

April 20, 2012

Nothing boosts productivity like an application or piece of software that makes if very easy to get your computing tasks done without fighting your way computer all the way. And I am always in search of such applications. In the past few months, five such applications have come to my attention. And they are all free software, available on your favorite distribution. But you will not find...

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ROSA Desktop 2012 beta review

April 12, 2012

ROSA Desktop is a Linux distribution derived from Mandriva Desktop and developed by ROSA, a technology outfit based in Moscow, The Russian Federation. ROSA Desktop 2012 beta is the first pre-release edition of what will become ROSA Desktop 2012. It is supposed to be a Long Term Support (LTS) edition, with a 5-year support period. Given...

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How to install Jitsi in Fedora

April 6, 2012

Jitsi is a multi-protocol, multi-platform voice and video instant messenger client. It is mostly implemented in Java, and is Free/Open Source software licensed under the LGPL. Where other VoIP services and clients send data in the clear, Jitsi sets itself apart by making use of ZRTP to set up secure communication with SRTP, Secure...

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Install Jitsi 1.0 in Debian, Linux Mint and Ubuntu

April 4, 2012

Jitsi is a multi-protocol, multi-platform voice and video instant messenger client. It is mostly implemented in Java, and is Free/Open Source software licensed under the LGPL. Where other VoIP services and clients send data in the clear, Jitsi sets itself apart by making use of ZRTP to set up secure communication with SRTP, Secure Real-time...

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3 minutes with GNOME 3.4 built-in desktop recorder

March 30, 2012

GNOME 3.4 was released a couple of days ago. A summary of the new features and screen shots have been posted here and here. Two features that I promised to write about are Boxes and the built-in screen or desktop...

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How to install and configure a graphical firewall client on Comice OS 4

March 27, 2012

Protecting your computer from network and physical attacks should be at the very top of your computing to-do list. And if you are new to Pear Linux Comice OS 4, a Linux distribution derived from Ubuntu Desktop, the network security aspect has been made a little bit easier for you. And...

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Tweak Pear Linux Comice OS 4 dock

March 27, 2012

Some tasks in Linux are so easy to do that you think writing a tutorial about them would be a waste of time, until you start seeing significant search traffic related to them. That is what prompted this very brief tutorial. And it is all about the Dock in Pear Linux Comice OS 4, a desktop-centric distribution based on More

Pear Linux Comice OS 4 review

Pear Linux Comice OS 4 review

March 26, 2012

Judging from traffic that recent articles about Pear Linux has been generating, it looks like the community is still searching for a user-friendly desktop distribution that uses the GNOME 3 desktop environment. For those not familiar with the discussion surrounding GNOME 3, a "user-friendly"...

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  • Still in search of that perfect desktop distribution
  • The first thing to do after installing Linux Mint Debian 201204
  • Linux Mint Debian 201204 Xfce review
  • What will ‘rm -rf /’ actually do to your Linux/BSD machine?
  • Linux Mint Debian 201204 MATE/Cinnamon review
  • What’s the point of having 2 scrollbar types in Ubuntu 12.04?
  • Install the latest and greatest Cinnamon desktop on Ubuntu 12.04
  • How to run Linux Mint Debian Cinnamon in VirtualBox
  • Manual disk partitioning guide for Linux Mint Debian
  • Chakra Archimedes-2012.04 review
  • How to install Takeoff Launcher on Kubuntu 12.04
  • Replace Oxygen with ROSA theme on any KDE-powered distribution
  • 5 user-friendly applications you could be using now
  • ROSA Desktop 2012 beta review
  • How to install Jitsi in Fedora
  • Install Jitsi 1.0 in Debian, Linux Mint and Ubuntu
  • 3 minutes with GNOME 3.4 built-in desktop recorder
  • How to install and configure a graphical firewall client on Comice OS 4
  • Tweak Pear Linux Comice OS 4 dock
  • Pear Linux Comice OS 4 review

Gentoo

source-based | January 25, 2008 9:51 am

Gentoo Linux Gentoo is a source-based, free operating system based on either Linux or FreeBSD that can be automatically optimized and customized for just about any application or need. Extreme configurability, performance and a top-notch user and developer community are all hallmarks of the Gentoo experience.

Origin – Home Page: USA – Gentoo

Desktop: None by default. As a source-based operating system, Gentoo gives you the freedom to install – from scratch – any available desktop that you wish to use.

Price: Free and Open Source

CommentsWhat a source-based distro like Gentoo offers is the freedom, assuming you have the time, to install and customize the OS any way you want, and Gentoo makes available some of the most detailed documentation to guide you every step of the way. If you are just looking for a distro that works out-of-the-box, this is not it, but if you love to tinker with stuff, and learn a lot along the way, you will love Gentoo. In addition to the excellent docs, the Gentoo community is very noob-friendly.

Since you will be compiling the Linux kernel (the core of the operating system) during installation you can enable or disable any features, including LVM (Logical Volume Management) and RAID support. If Gentoo sounds like fun, but you do not have the time to install a system for yourself, Sabayon is a desktop-oriented, Gentoo-based distro that you may want to explore.

Download/Buy: Install iso images are made available for download here.

Tutorials/Tips: If you are ready to discover for yourself what it takes to set up a Gentoo system, the Gentoo Handbook is a good place to start.

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