Bit of Dessert: Sabayon Linux 4.1 KDE

The new version 4.1 of the Sabayon Gentoo derivative is based on the lightweight Sabayon Linux 4 LiteMCE and comes with Kernel 2.6.29.1 and the complete KDE 4.2.2 desktop.

A key part of the release is that ext4 is the standard filesystem and OpenOffice 3.0.1 is included. With X.org supporting the newest proprietary AMD and Nvidia graphics drivers, Compiz and Compiz Fusion 0.8.2 provide an animated user interface. The Entropy Package Manager included was updated to 0.52.8 and NetworkManager to 0.7 since Sabayon 4.0 came out in December. Sabayon considers the reworked desktop design "the Sexiest Skin ever!"

Compared to the previous version the ISO images take up half the footprint and require only 2 GBytes. The system should also start faster and the installer detects other Linux distros. PolicyKit and ConsoleKit handle any security issues.

But like its predecessor, Sabayon Linux 4.1 provides a special Internet media center platform based on XBMC 8.10 (formerly Xbox Media Center). The distro also adds a few more multimedia audio and video applications.

Sabayon Linux promises that it takes only five minutes to transform your system into a fully functioning Gentoo environment. The current version is dedicated to victims of the earthquake in Abruzzo.

The software has system requirements of an i686-compatible processor and 512 MBytes RAM, optimally a dual core processor and 1 GByte RAM. After a visual tour of booting the Sabayon Linux KDE mini DVD, download the DVD from one of the many available mirrors.