"The concept of source-based distributions, where all software is compiled from source code locally for maximum control and performance, took off with the introduction of Gentoo Linux and its wonderful package management called Portage. But Gentoo, popular as it may be, is not the only source-based distributions; in fact it is not even the oldest. ROCK Linux existed long before Gentoo and there are other independently developed projects. Andrew Fries has taken to the task of investigating the often overlooked source-based distributions - Sorcerer, Source Mage GNU/Linux, Lunar Linux and Onebase Linux. His conclusion: try Source Mage and be prepared to be pleasantly surprised."