Distro Wars: Gentoo Linux

• "version-less meta-distribution"
• packages compiled from source
• extremely customisable
• runs on either Linux or FreeBSD

• a mostly manual process
• bootstrap from minimal system
• set-up and configure the system by hand
  • ie. partitioning, filesystems, kernel, networking, environment, etc.

• similar to the BSD ports system
• packages managed using the emerge tool
  • emerge --sync
    
  • emerge <package>
• ebuild files define how packages are installed
• USE flags are used to customise the packages

• excellent documentation
• great for learning the innards of GNU/Linux
• has some really nice management tools
• etc-update, eselect
• "rolling release" / bleeding edge
• personally found that the system was less buggy (when working)

• updates can take a very long time
• important stuff breaks occasionally
• ZOMG! OPTIMISED!^{[citation needed]}

http://funroll-loops.info/