Gentoo Linux developers have released the final version of 2008.0 of the Linux 'meta-distribution', moving to a newer version of the Linux kernel most notable for additional hardware drivers.
Gentoo calls itself a 'meta-distribution' because of the flexibility of its unusual package updater and installer, Portage, which compiles each software component from source code, rather than using pre-compiled binaries.
The system means each package is customized for the user's hardware and software, with the drawback that more complex systems, such as the KDE desktop system, can be slow to install. (Gentoo has released pre-compiled binaries for some popular software such as KDE, OpenOffice.org and Mozilla Firefox.)
With a reputation for speed, the software was designed to reduce the workload for maintainers by making extensive use of scripting. The new version of Gentoo uses the 2.6.24 kernel, which adds new drivers for hardware released since the 2007.0 release, developers said.
Gentoo also gets a new installer, which changes the way networkless installations are carried out and fixes bugs in extended and logical partition management.
The LiveCD release, the most common way of installing Gentoo, has saved disk space by switching from the Gnome user environment to Xfce, according to Gentoo. Users who prefer the competing user environments Gnome or KDE will need to install them from source, developers said.
The project has postponed, and may cancel, the release of a LiveDVD version, which was delaying the software's release.
Other updated packages include version 2.1.4.4 of Portage, the basic install and update system, Xfce 4.4.2, version 4.1.2 of the Gnu C Compiler (gcc) and version 2.6.1 of the Gnu C Library.
By default Gentoo installs only the most basic packages, leaving users to build the rest of the system using the Portage package manager. Gentoo currently has more than 10,000 packages in the Portage tree.
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