Funtoo Linux

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Funtoo is a free operating system, based on Gentoo, and initiated in 2008 by Daniel Robbins in a collaborative effort with Gentoo community[1]. Technical and Community initiatives should serve the community in a large sense.

Funtoo
DeveloperDaniel Robbins, Funtoo/Gentoo community, Funtoo Technologies
OS familyGNU variants
Working stateCurrent
Source modelFree Software
Initial release2008
Latest releaseRolling release
Update methodEmerge
Package managerPortage
Supported platformsx86-64, x86, AMD Phenom (II), Intel Core 2, Intel Atom, Opteron, i686, Athlon, Pentium 4
Kernel typeMonolithic (Linux)
UserlandGNU
Default
user interface
various
LicenseGNU General Public License
Official websitehttp://www.funtoo.org/

History

Gentoo founder Daniel Robbins proposes to resolve[2] the Gentoo Foundation problems[3]. But he left the project in 2004, and his offer was refuse[4]. Funtoo project is born as an initiative to implement his vision, with aims to share innovations. By focusing on collaborating with the Gentoo community, Funtoo project can't be seen as a fork[5] of Gentoo.

The Hacker Spirit and the Free Software Philosophy

Funtoo can be defined as a user-focused distribution, with a bazaar-style development model, where each hacker can make a difference. Hackers can have fun too due to the free software nature of the project[6]. The Hacker and Free Software philosophies seem to appear as two facets of the same object.

GNU/Linux

Funtoo is a source based GNU/Linux distribution. As of 2010 Funtoo has expanded since to hundreds of users and a half dozen core developers.

Bazaar-style development

Funtoo's model is quite different from Gentoo's development process; there is no structure to impose rules, just the project leader with strong qualifications, and hackers free to hack on what they like. The source code is available online[7] and development discussed on IRC and dev mailing list[8]. Code goes upstream if it solves problems that matter to hackers.

Changes are sometimes announced in advance, and as they occur via an ATOM feed. This allows for easy tracking of issues, and new core packages. Also, when something big happens, the Funtoo project leader will announce in advance the users for any migration or something that may require a specific procedure.

Core technologies

Funtoo has several critical changes, or major software packages which are unique to it.

Git

Funtoo utilizes Git to store the Portage tree. This method has been described as superior to Gentoo's current system of utilizing CVS.[9]

Metro

Metro[10] is an automatable software package for building stages used in installing Funtoo.

boot-update

boot-update [11] provides a unified mechanism for configuring the GRUB 1.9x (sys-boot/grub) and GRUB 0.97 (sys-boot/grub-legacy) boot loaders.

Core Networking

Funtoo has an added simplified core networking solution to allow users to easily create complex network interfaces based on pre-created profiles.[12]

XZ

Funtoo switched from bz2 to xz compression in July 2010[13]

Linux

Although Funtoo is a source-based distribution, it'll be possible to use a Linux kernel binary version[14]. For now, Daniel Robbins proposes the use of Sabayon Linux Kernel[15].

Anyway, there is a lot of way to install and configure Linux[16].

Community

Notes & References