Gentoo Linux is a special flavor of Linux 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.

Thanks to a technology called Portage, Gentoo Linux can become an ideal secure server, development workstation, professional desktop, gaming system, embedded solution or something else -- whatever you need it to be. Portage is the software distribution system for Gentoo Linux. Currently, there are more than 8,000 packages in the Portage application tree, with new ones being added all the time. Portage is also a package building and installation system. When you want to install a package, Portage automatically builds a custom version of the package to your exact specifications, optimizing it for your hardware and ensuring that the optional features in the package that you want are enabled, and those you don't want aren't. Portage also keeps your system up-to-date, and will ensure that all the packages that you want on your system are updated automatically.

Portage keeps your Gentoo Linux system as "up-to-date" as you desire. And because of this, experienced Gentoo users don't pay too much attention to "new versions" of Gentoo Linux -- after all, the latest and greatest version of Gentoo Linux is always available with a simple update. There's no need to wait several months for a "new version" of Gentoo Linux to be released because Gentoo Linux is continually updated and refined and these improvements are immediately made available to you.

• Support for x86, AMD64, PowerPC, UltraSparc processors
• Latest stable KDE and GNOME
• Various optimized Linux kernels
• Very modern GNU development environment
• Excellent filesystem support: ReiserFS, XFS, ext3, EVMS, LVM
• Excellent hardware support: NVIDIA, Creative Labs Live! and Audigy
• Modular OpenGL and compiler sub-system
• Clean, dependency-based system initialization scripts
• New "hardened" Gentoo security initiative
• More than 8,000 packages of the latest and greatest software

• Pentium or AMD processor, 200 MHz or higher
• 64MB of RAM or more
• 640x480 or higher screen resolution

• 2 Gentoo 2004.3 CDs, 2 Paper CD Sleeves
• Quick Start Information Sheet