Sabayon Linux - a Gentoo beauty - Overview & Tutorial

[Mrkvonic]

Hello all,

I have written (yet) another step-by-step tutorial to installing a Linux distro - this time Sabayon. Although Gentoo-based, it is very simple to install and use, and it's fun.

I've also covered some of the "spicy" things the distro offers, like 3D support (Compiz) in a live session, out-of-the-box support for wireless, bluetooth, multimedia codecs, and more.

http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/sabayon_1.html

Enjoy. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Mrk

[Longboard]

-{ Quote: "One of the things that interests most people is the issue of package management.
There is a desktop icon for Portato (a geeky abomination of Portage + Potato). This package management system will work OK in most cases, but the terminology used is somewhat confusing. The terms Emerge, Unmerge, Revert, and Ebuild are definitely Gentoo-like and should not feature in GUI-like package managers that are meant to serve both the power users and newbs alike.
But the idea is pretty much the same. After finding the right application, you can install it by clicking on Emerge. The dependencies should be resolved automatically, unless they are missing for a particular reason (masked), in which case you'll hit a solid Gentoo snag.
While these small issues make a perfect sense for the typical Gentoo user, they should be hidden from the eyes of the common user seeking a painless experience.
This could be the downside of the Mini edition. Indeed, it is quite possible that the full version aims at bringing the new users as many programs as possible so that they should never bother with the cumbersome package management.
Still, the package management is probably the weakest side of the otherwise very powerful, sexy and streamlined distribution. " }-
AS ever nice tutorial and info :) :
Gentoo package mgt can be a hideous experience ( well for this newb anyway)
the good news is there is a new version of Sabayon v3.5 available.
tHE graphics and baseline installs of the 'mini' now named "POD" appear to be slightly different. XFCE as desktop manager
Info link
http://www.sabayonlinux.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=14081
Full DVD
http://www.sabayonlinux.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=13917

The blood red theme has been replaced by a more soothing blue base.

The package management is vastly better which is a huge relief :)
http://wiki.sabayonlinux.org/index.php?title=En:Entropy#About_Spritz

As noted a very nicely done OS.
Image is new Live CD desktop wallpaper sample.

I've been watching this distro morph from a somewhat flakey difficult unstable release to this really refined set-up in a very short space of time. Impressive.

[Mrkvonic]

Hello,

I've noticed the version 3.5, but the tutorial was done already :)

Either way, most points are valid. A not-excellent package management is an issue that needs to be addressed, regardless of the version. One of the strong sides of, let's say, Ubuntu, PCLinuxOS or Wolvix, is the super-streamlined package management.

But I'll be keeping an eye.

Cheers.

Mrk

[andb]

thanks once again for a nice article!

imo sabayon is fun for a while and pretty newbfriendly but i think it's way to bloated to find a word suitable.. and pure gentoo is a pain to handle and maintain :/

i have to give an applaud for ubuntu though, i started my linux explorations with that distro and since then made my wife adopt it on her computer. its excellent if you just want to install and then have everything work out-of-the-box.

i myself use archlinux though, and while it can be hard for beginners (just as gentoo) it does a way better job once you got everything set up as you want, it's extreamly easy to maintain, i just write "pacman -Syu" in the console once a week and everything gets updated to the newest. the speed and stability is however what keeps me with arch.

"you know you been using linux to long when you stop writing with capitals" :o)

cheers! /andb

[Longboard]

-{ Quote: "I've noticed the version 3.5, but the tutorial was done already
Either way, most points are valid" }-:thumb:
Even the new Spritz front end is a bit quirky, but it does work.
There's no doubt this is a 'cool' distro, nice features, nice graphics: the Italians are good at design.
Making an easy to access GUI based frontend with features galore from a Gentoo base is no mean feat imo.
Yeah the distro is 'big' when installed: lol; the installer told me that 10G HD space might not be enough for Sabayon :o
The final install of the CD 'POD' was 4.2G

If Sabayon continues to develop this way then it might be a serious contender to some of the big name 'big' distros. they seem to have some very well developed infrastructure support.

Current rating on Distrowatch = 9.

( still cant understand why Wolvix is so low there : maybe v2 will boost it :) )

Dedoimedo on the march: :D :thumb:

[Mrkvonic]

Hello,
Wow ... I got onto Distrowatch ... ?? Nice!
Thanks for sharing ...
Mrk

[Nick Rhodes]

I have had a quick skim - but the main thing I do not like about Gentoo is having to build all the time, seems a global waste of energy.

Once Sabayon is installed do you have to build any updates that are installed, or do they provide a ready built repositary ?

I do not think this is mentioned (page 5) ?

[Longboard]

See here for 3.5 overview
http://planetoss.com/detail.php?id=15
: particularly Entropy/Equo/Spritz
http://wiki.sabayonlinux.org/index.php?title=En:Entropy
I used emerge for update then GUI available for package dl from repo.

?Maybe some tools might need build.
I tested by doing full 'update' install and went well ( took some time is all)