Submitted by Linux Tech Daily reviewed Sabayon Linux, and concludes: “In the few weeks I have been using it, Sabayon has become one of my favorite Linux distributions. The developers have done a very nice job, particularly for a newer distribution. It is great for the whole spectrum of Linux users, from a new user to a seasoned vet. It is very simple with the potential to be as complicated as you wish. If you have been curious about Gentoo but put off by the installation, I heartily recommend Sabayon.”
Why is this associated with the Debian topic?
Is that it!?
I’m not criticizing the project at all. I love Gentoo and setting up Gentoo is one of the restrictions to using it ie Leave a weekend free.
The article tells me *nothing*, this Distribution is starting to get a lot of press, and other than a *RED* theme and being called a chicken; An italian thing!? I’m a little lost.
Is it the Coolness of Compiling from Scratch + Themed + Pretty Desktop + Pretty Desktop Effects + cutting edge?
The only other thing I gained from the article, and I did think was interesting, is the ease that it caters for two separate groups of Users those who will compromise over free software and those who won’t. Which is *different* from how I view most Distributions that fall into one camp or the other
agreed…
the author never mentions version numbers of anything (with the exception of beryl)…it isn’t even clear which version of Sabayon was reviewed?
Author here. Points taken. I appreciate you pointing out that I didn’t mention version numbers. That was sloppy.
As far as lack of content in the review, I was just trying to point out what stuck out to me about Sabayon. Maybe I should have called it an overview.
The criticism is appreciated. I want the site to be the best it can be.
Thanks,
rich
As far as lack of content in the review, I was just trying to point out what stuck out to me about Sabayon. Maybe I should have called it an overview.
I’d heard of Sabayon in passing, but at least I know what it is now!
Is it the Coolness of Compiling from Scratch + Themed + Pretty Desktop + Pretty Desktop Effects + cutting edge?
Basically, yes. It’s Gentoo + easy install and sanely preconfigured + lot’s of eye candy on by default + it just works. I believe this was the 2nd distro to ship with Compiz enabled when it came out, which gave them a lot of publicity. It sounds like Sabayon has practically broken Gentoo’s package manager, though, so that is disappointing. I’m guessing there are lots of custom patches in it for the eye candy.
Edited 2007-02-07 21:42
it just works
but… it doesn’t.
3.25a would spend 8 minutes booting then freeze after a whole 3 minutes of doing stuff; 3.26 Mini won’t even boot.
I’ve stopped bothering with Sabayon, because (for me) it’s so much promise followed by so little delivery.
(PS I’m happy for those of you for whom it does work)
Plus, it comes as a jam-packed LiveDVD that includes so much software that it’s absolutely absurd. There’s about 8GB of applications crammed on there (note: compression), representing the majority of the free software universe, all ready to run from the DVD. That’s unprecedented.
I’m sorry to hear they’re having problems shoe-horning Portage into their system. Portage is like a Ferrari, it’s the embodiment of an exotic package manager for uncompromising enthusiasts. Unfortunately you can’t just take it to the local repair shop for a tune-up. I should note that there are several Portage replacements for Gentoo that might be easier to port to Sabayon, most notably Paludis.
Well, if the icon used next to the title is any indication, it isn’t. Or were you just trolling?
sabayon is absolutely brilliant for people who want a distro to just work [TM]
drivers – check
codecs – check
bling – check
it is also a good kde distro which floats my boat.
in short, perfect for the PC in the living room.
it isn’t as well sorted as SUSE (my favourite) so i wouldn’t use it for work, but for general duties i like it a lot.
my ideal distro would be for someone to take SUSE and sabayon’ise it.
easy + bomb-proof + bling = a winning mix.
R3MF
bling – check
Did you have to do “emerge bling”?
http://shots.linuxquestions.org/index.php?os=SabayonLinux
One thing about sabayon that i can’t say about any of the other distro’s i have tried is that it works perfectly with my macbook pro (and i think i have tried a well over a dozen), i mean perfectly, the wireless networking, graphics drivers, xgl, everything just works flawlessly.
i have yet to try another distro that works so perfectly on my macbook pro.
i may also add that i love gentoo and it is nice to have a fully usable installation method that i can customize and optimize at my leisure instead of rendering one of my computers unusable for a day while i compile everything.
Edited 2007-02-07 23:52
Looks very nice; I’ve always been put off by Gentoo, but this makes it enticing. If there was a Gnome version I’d give it a spin for sure.
Sabayon focuses on KDE but they’re one of those kitchen sink distros that throws in everything, including GNOME. No idea if it’s worth using though.
Edited 2007-02-08 05:00
Considering you can recompile it easily due to portage, customizing it to your needs shouldn’t be difficult.
someone above mentioned this is a kitchen sink distro and that couldnt be more true. the problem with that is when you want to remove some of this stuff it gets hectic quick. sure unmerging a few apps is quick and easy but taking care of ALL of the cruft in sabayon and its dependencies proved to be to much for me.
i love portage quite a bit but it seems lacking when it comes to removing apps completely
There are several scripts around to remove cruft in Gentoo. Although I am generally surprised at any cruft.
The idea of a simple pre-compiled pre-configued gentoo, are attractive, but if you want the main benefit of Gentoo…the fact it is a meta-distribution It sort of defeats the point.
no, it all comes preconfigured.
The article mentions the ZeroInstall system in passing, just saying that “it could result in redundant copies of apps, and it could make IT admins mad because of the local install support.” That’s not exactly what I would call testing… Ever since I read the article from the ZeroInstall author, I’ve wanted to hear from people who have used it successfully, now here’s a review of a distro that has it built in but apparently this feature was passed over in the reviewer’s testing in favor of Portage!
I understand that the reviewer has a Gentoo background, but the alternate install system is there specifically to give “the average user” an alternative–so it seems pretty important to cover in the review if you ask me!
Edited 2007-02-08 16:10
Author here again. That quote isn’t from my review. From what I can find I don’t know that ZeroInstall is part of Sabayon Linux. There is no mention of it on any Sabayon site, or on the ZeroInstall site. Thanks for bringing my attention to it, it is something I am unaware of and looks interesting. I am not sure where you got that quote, it isn’t from the review.
thanks,
rich
I liked the review.
I like hearing what different unattached reviews from various folks.This whole 3d desktop rave is not for me,never was.I dont do lots of office work like my wife so maybe she or those that do can use these things.
I like Gentoo but do not use it anymore.
Your overview was detailed enough to get the jist of things.
I also want to say I have mega respect for anyone willing to accept critisim openly and maturely.Also for returning to see how things went with your overview and adding to some questions people had/have.
Kudos to you and keep on writeing/contributing,you will only get better.
Oh,and thanks for the overview of Sabyon and your contributions to OSNews.