New kid on embedded Linux block -- Gentoo
A project to create embedded versions of Gentoo Linux has achieved preliminary releases on x86, MIPS, PPC, and ARM. The releases include native core system binaries, cross-platform toolchains, and, for x86, an optional hardened toolchain. The year-old project needs developers to help add cross-compile awareness to source packages.
Gentoo is a popular desktop and server Linux distribution, in which core system components are distributed as architecture-specific, native binaries, while all non-essential software packages are compiled from source, using a "portage" system similar to the "ports" system in FreeBSD. (Most Linux distributions install both core and non-essential software from pre-built packages of binaries, using convenient tools such as dpkg, rpm, yum, and others. Gentoo partisans say compiling is better, since compiler flags can be set to optimize builds for specific hardware.)
