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Why I Fell in Love with Arch Linux (2015)

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Re: Why I Fell in Love with Arch Linux (2015)

#21

Post by fareesh »

bananicorn wrote: post #13
mariusmg wrote: post #3

So why exactly is Arch a better Linux distro compared with the rest ? There's no "sellingpoint" in the article except this "dig" at the other distros : "apt-get dist-upgrade or something similar every 6 months or so (and risk breaking everything)"

It's something you kinda have to try to actually feel the difference. I can tell you a few things I noticed after a few months of use: -Pacman (their package manager) is amazing - and if you want to install community packages from the AUR[0], you can use yaourt (if they've got dependencies on other AUR packages), or just git clone the package and run makepkg -si I've never had any problems with it, and I've messed ar…

Feels like it's great for hobbyists and enthusiasts. I use Ubuntu LTS as my primary desktop OS for work. It sounds like my work would slow down a lot if I had to worry about this other stuff all the time. Maybe I'll install it on an extra drive at some point and tinker with it.

Re: Why I Fell in Love with Arch Linux (2015)

#22

Post by pnutjam »

zdkl wrote: post #15
mariusmg wrote: post #3

So why exactly is Arch a better Linux distro compared with the rest ? There's no "sellingpoint" in the article except this "dig" at the other distros : "apt-get dist-upgrade or something similar every 6 months or so (and risk breaking everything)"

In my opinion, the selling point is that arch requires you to take interest into how it works and some level of understanding of the major parts. To get a working arch install you'll be taken through The Install Guide that summarises the steps necessary to have a base install with links to relevant specialised articles. Once you have a bootable system, they provide links for further customisation if your system. The…

OpenSUSE has the option for slim installs, has a rolling release version and a LTS kernel version. I'm a big fan.

I have CentOS at work, with a couple Arch boxes that predate me. I do not agree with is statement, "updates never break anything". Ours have a history of breaking, which is why I assume they were abandoned, but we do run custom software.

Re: Why I Fell in Love with Arch Linux (2015)

#23

Post by erikbye »

CJefferson wrote: post #2

I like arch Linux, I just wish they had a simple installer -- these days I tend to have lots of vms hanging around, and I haven't found a super simple way of making a quick arch VM. There doesn't seem to be any official vagrant boxes for example. I can believe the lack of a simple installer is what has kept the quality up -- it is a way of signalling users should be prepared to use the terminal.

Arch Anywhere. https://arch-anywhere.org/

Re: Why I Fell in Love with Arch Linux (2015)

#24

Post by towb »

I was using Arch with bspwm for a few years, until ~a month ago when I wanted a clean system. But this time I wasn't up for the whole installation process. I know what I need, I know how to do it, and I can do it pretty fast. But it is still a lot, so this time I went with Antergos. I had this idea that using Arch with a minimal window manager and nothing more would keep me off distractions from annoying UI features, but it was a lot of work for very little reward. It is easier to just ignore what you dislike in gnome, I don't even think that I dislike anything about it anymore (compared to when I was new and came straight from OS X). Learnt a lot on the way though, totally worth it!

Re: Why I Fell in Love with Arch Linux (2015)

#25

Post by whoopdedo »

mac01021 wrote: post #8

>I’ve configured the compiler once to work in an optimized way for my specific CPU, then compiled all the LXDE packages from ABS and installed them. I noticed they were running a little bit faster after that. I would love to hear about what configuring the compiler to work in an optimized way for your specific CPU entails.

export CC=gcc -march=native

Re: Why I Fell in Love with Arch Linux (2015)

#26

Post by erikbye »

I've been a Linux user since early Slackware. Arch is the only distro I will recommend, and, contrary to its image as a tinkerer's distro, it's the only Linux install I've had that "just works" and works. Install once, and never again. Minimal, stable. Packages are updated promptly, and I never had a problem using user repo packages.

Re: Why I Fell in Love with Arch Linux (2015)

#27

Post by Latty »

erikbye wrote: post #26

I've been a Linux user since early Slackware. Arch is the only distro I will recommend, and, contrary to its image as a tinkerer's distro, it's the only Linux install I've had that "just works" and works. Install once, and never again. Minimal, stable. Packages are updated promptly, and I never had a problem using user repo packages.

The biggest "just works" thing for me with Arch is that, because you configure everything yourself and set it up, you know what is in your system and how it's slotted together.

Less magic, when something goes wrong, you have an idea where to look.

It's obviously not going to be true for some, but for power users, it's surprisingly great. I've been on Arch for many years myself with the same story.

Re: Why I Fell in Love with Arch Linux (2015)

#28

Post by erikbye »

towb wrote: post #24

I was using Arch with bspwm for a few years, until ~a month ago when I wanted a clean system. But this time I wasn't up for the whole installation process. I know what I need, I know how to do it, and I can do it pretty fast. But it is still a lot, so this time I went with Antergos. I had this idea that using Arch with a minimal window manager and nothing more would keep me off distractions from annoying UI features,…

Why didn't you just use Arch-Anywhere? https://arch-anywhere.org/

Besides, the manual installation process of Arch does not consist of that many steps; it takes but a few minutes (perhaps not the first time). To shorten it further you can write your own installation script or use extant ones, of which there are many (Arch-Anywhere being one).

I harp on Arch-Anywhere because Antergos != Arch and Arch > Antergos and other derivations.

Re: Why I Fell in Love with Arch Linux (2015)

#29

Post by jrimbault »

zdkl wrote: post #15
mariusmg wrote: post #3

So why exactly is Arch a better Linux distro compared with the rest ? There's no "sellingpoint" in the article except this "dig" at the other distros : "apt-get dist-upgrade or something similar every 6 months or so (and risk breaking everything)"

In my opinion, the selling point is that arch requires you to take interest into how it works and some level of understanding of the major parts. To get a working arch install you'll be taken through The Install Guide that summarises the steps necessary to have a base install with links to relevant specialised articles. Once you have a bootable system, they provide links for further customisation if your system. The…

You should quickly edit your comment s/yaourt/pacaur/g.

No one has recommended yaourt for years, but thanks to SEO I guess it still comes up https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/AUR_helpers#Comparison_...

Re: Why I Fell in Love with Arch Linux (2015)

#30

Post by [deleted] »

mac01021 wrote: post #8

>I’ve configured the compiler once to work in an optimized way for my specific CPU, then compiled all the LXDE packages from ABS and installed them. I noticed they were running a little bit faster after that. I would love to hear about what configuring the compiler to work in an optimized way for your specific CPU entails.

[deleted]
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