14 DAY TRIAL // Sabayon Linux 14.05, an operating system designed for Linux enthusiasts who want the latest packages and the best performance but don't want to spend days getting things working properly, is now available for download.
Unlike most of the operating systems out there that use other more famous bases, Sabayon 14.05 is based on Gentoo and follows a rolling release model, which means that most of the updates are provided along the way.
Normally, developers launch a new major version from time to time, but with a rolling release model they don’t have to. This means that they are not bound to regular major builds and are free to integrate new features and packages as they become available from upstream.
“Sabayon developers have the funny habit of packaging all the latest stuff that is in the Gentoo repositories and make it available as soon as possible to our users. If you are looking for the latest KDE, GNOME or LibreOffice, the chance that "it's all in the repos already" are very high. We keep rolling 24/7, 365 days a year, because old software get us instantly bored.”
“We offer both 64bit and 32bit images but, these days, unless you're very masochist you should really avoid 32bit and go straight to the future, 64bit that is. Besides this little piece of advice, you are free to choose between the wonderful minimalism of GNOME, the eyecandy of KDE or the old fart called Xfce. If you are the kind of person who just needs Fluxbox/Openbox/whatever else, just get the Minimal image and you won't be hit by the ‘OMG candies’ bloat that is in the other images,” notes the developer in the announcement.
One of the main features of Sabayon Linux 14.05 is the fact that gamers will find it very easy to use because it comes with Steam for Linux preinstalled. Also, a new boot and install mode called “Steam Big Picture” has been implemented, which allows users to turn their operating system into a virtual Linux gaming console.
Sabayon Linux 14.05 also comes with native NVIDIA and AMD GPU support, which means that all the flavors feature the proprietary drives right from the start. Users have access to two Linux Kernels, 3.10 and 3.12, both of which are long-term support versions.
The developers of Sabayon Linux are offering a large number of flavors for their distribution, including GNOME, KDE, and Xfce. They also provide ISO for 32-bit and 64-bit architectures.
More details about the features and improvements of this operating system can be found in the official announcement.