Arch linux articles through the ages.

[saturnian]

15 hours ago, abarbarian said:

Overcoming Your Terror of Arch Linux

 

I don't think it necessarily has anything to do with "terror", though. (Or was that word tossed in as click-bait?) Plenty of "seasoned" users out there who don't feel attracted to Arch. Someone could say that I need to overcome my terror of Slackware! Lol. I don't know, when I was looking into Slackware, felt like it wasn't something I wanted. But Arch did interest me.

 

Seems to me that there are quite a few experienced users out there who simply prefer something else, like maybe MX or Mint. Folks who don't mind all the default stuff that gets put in. Not everyone who can do it wants to build their own.

[securitybreach]

Yeah, I almost mentioned that this morning but got busy at work and didn't have time. Basically if you can read the wiki and follow directions, you can install Arch Linux.

[abarbarian]

On 6/23/2021 at 10:41 PM, saturnian said:

(Or was that word tossed in as click-bait?)

 

Most definitely  and it worked too 

[saturnian]

Ha-ha, it sure did! But that's okay, good article, and informative. I was glad to see it. It might convince some folks to give Arch a try.

[saturnian]

"What Is Arch Linux and Who Uses It?" - https://www.makeuseof.com/what-is-arch-linux/

 

This one's okay except for the typo (oops: pacman -syu).

[raymac46]

I'm not sure I agree with the advice to beginners - try Arch out in a VM first. I found that a virtual machine install was trickier and harder to maintain than just putting it on the rails on a vintage laptop.

I also got a whiff of elitism in the article which I think is off-putting for potential Arch users. Speaking personally I would never have installed Arch had it not been for the very NON-elitist Arch users in this forum who encourage beginners to try it out.

That said, I think the article outlines the advantages of Arch pretty well.

[securitybreach]

Well this point is both stupid and very incorrect:

 

Quote

Pacman's functionality is as unique as its name. The package manager is versatile enough to support the installation of packages from the Arch repository and binaries compiled from the source using makepkg. Pacman makes Arch a bridge between the distros that let you install packages from their repository and the distros that let you compile binaries from the source. This way, you enjoy the best of both worlds, without having to compromise on flexibility or the ease of access.

 

Um no... Arch uses vanilla upstream sources from the actual developers, not from other distros.

[securitybreach]

Also, incorrect:

 

6. Improve Your Understanding of Linux

Arch provides you with an authentic Linux experience. You get to learn new things about Linux while going about your day-to-day tasks. You should definitely try configuring the network manually using the network manager, as the interface is a great Linux lesson in itself.

 

Another falsehood. You learn about Archlinux, not Linux as a whole. Plus "configuring the network manually using Network Manager"? Like really? You install it, start the service and you are done. There is nothing to configure with NetworkManager.

 

Perhaps the author should install and use Archlinux before making wild accusations that are completely false.

[securitybreach]

What does this even mean???

The most commendable part is that several packages are included in the AUR before they're added to the official Arch repositories. This gives you access to a whole new world of software that would otherwise take time to lead you to your distro conventionally.

[raymac46]

I think he means that Arch kinda gives you the best of both worlds in that you can install packages (like say Debian) and also build stuff as you do with Gentoo. Not the best writing though - maybe it's a second lnguage issue.

[securitybreach]

1 minute ago, raymac46 said:

I think he means that Arch kinda gives you the best of both worlds in that you can install packages (like say Debian) and also build stuff as you do with Gentoo. Not the best writing though - maybe it's a second lnguage issue.

 

Ok, that makes sense. I was very confused and took it wrong.

[securitybreach]

3 minutes ago, raymac46 said:

I think he means that Arch kinda gives you the best of both worlds in that you can install packages (like say Debian) and also build stuff as you do with Gentoo. Not the best writing though - maybe it's a second lnguage issue.

 

Of course, you can do the same on most distros including Debian https://www.linuxfordevices.com/tutorials/debian/build-packages-from-source

[securitybreach]

9 hours ago, saturnian said:

"What Is Arch Linux and Who Uses It?" - https://www.makeuseof.com/what-is-arch-linux/

 

This one's okay except for the typo (oops: pacman -syu).

 

Sorry to crap all over your post. It just aggravates me when I see these articles about Archlinux, written by someone who never even used it, because its the "cool" thing to do nowadays. It really doesn't make any sense as you do not see these types of article written about other distros or perhaps I just do not see it. Who knows?

[raymac46]

Most of the time with Debian you don't need to build much, as if it isn't in the repos you can likely find a .deb package somewhere on the Web. Arch has the AUR which I think is pretty unique, and one of the great things about it.

[securitybreach]

Yeah, AUR is nice but I think it is overused and people do not realize that they are not official packages and are not supported officially by Archlinux. I use more than I should but the packages are not available in the normal repos:

 

Cerberus :: ~ » pacman -Qm  
ix 1.0-1
nzbget-systemd 0.1-3
oh-my-zsh-git r5972.f21e646ce-1
pcloud-drive 1.9.6-1
polybar 3.5.6-1
urlview-git r19.08767aa-2
yay 10.3.1-2

 

[abarbarian]

7 hours ago, securitybreach said:

Well this point is both stupid and very incorrect:

 

 

Um no... Arch uses vanilla upstream sources from the actual developers, not from other distros.

 

I think she means that with pacman you can install official packages but you also get the ability to use the AUR system to make up any package that is not in the official repositories.

 

7 hours ago, securitybreach said:

What does this even mean???

 

 

 

I think she means that if an AUR package is popular enough and proves worthwhile the devs will add it to the official repositories.

 

 

Quote

Arch provides you with an authentic Linux experience. You get to learn new things about Linux while going about your day-to-day tasks.

 

Quote

You won't find any significant distribution-specific changes in Arch, making the transition seamless from any other Linux distro.

 

Hmm that is definitely not correct. All distros give you an authentic linux experience, Using Arch will broaden your understanding of linux  and a lot of what you learn will carry over to other distros but Arch does quite a few things differently to other distros which can be quite confusing at times when you are new to the penguin world.

 

The comments regarding Manjaro are way of base too.

 

Looks to me like the author does not have a great deal of experience with or understanding of Arch. All in all in my humble opinion not the best article on Arch by some way.

Points for trying but a little more research on the subject matter would have generated a much more true picture of Arch.

 

 

Edited September 16, 2021 by abarbarian

[abarbarian]

7 hours ago, securitybreach said:

Yeah, AUR is nice but I think it is overused and people do not realize that they are not official packages and are not supported officially by Archlinux. I use more than I should but the packages are not available in the normal repos:

 

Cerberus :: ~ » pacman -Qm  
ix 1.0-1
nzbget-systemd 0.1-3
oh-my-zsh-git r5972.f21e646ce-1
pcloud-drive 1.9.6-1
polybar 3.5.6-1
urlview-git r19.08767aa-2
yay 10.3.1-2

 

 

He he I definitely overuse the AUR.

 

Put brain in gear befor pressing enter20:31:26-->Thu Sep 16-->~
-->sudo pacman -Qm
alsamixer.app 1:0.1-1
arabica 20200401-1
auracle-git r366.8739929-1
auto-cpufreq-git 1.6.4.r224.c0f2022-1
brother-hl1200 3.0.1-1
brother-hl1210w 3.0.1-2
cpu-x 4.2.0-1
cpufetch-git 1.00.r1.gdd32453-1
cpufreqctl 8-1
droidcam 1:1.8.0-1
dxvk-bin 1.9.1-1
eliot 2.2-1
gabtag 2.1-2
inxi 3.3.06.1-1
libcpuid 0.5.1-1
libdockapp 0.7.3-1
libopenaptx 0.2.0-1
losslesscut-bin 3.39.0-1
mp3tag 3.08-1
nextinspace 2.0.3-1
openvpn-update-resolv-conf-git r44.0288491-1
pacaur 4.8.6-1
pogo 1.0.1-1
protontricks 1.6.0-1
python-pylyrics 1.1.0-2
python-vdf 3.4-1
scrabble3d 3.1.4_1-2
scrcpy 1.19-1
sndcpy-bin 1.0-1
steam-fonts 1.0.0-6
surfshark-vpn 1.1.0-1
teams 1.4.00.13653-1
tkdiff 5.2-1
ttf-ms-fonts 2.0-12
tuner 1.3.1-2
usbimager-x11-bin 1.0.7-2
v4l2loopback-dc-dkms 1:1.8.0-1
weatherspect-git 2.0.r3.g0f85875-1

 

[saturnian]

Wow! Yeah, I like to try to keep AUR packages to a minimum. In one of my Arch installations, I do have a few Openbox-related packages from AUR (five of the ones listed below are obmenu and packages needed for obmenu or the menu itself):

 

$ pacman -Qm
deadbeef-static 1.8.8-1
inxi 3.3.06.1-1
libglade 2.6.4-8
obmenu 1.0-12
openbox-menu 0.8.0-1
pygtk 2.24.0-12
python2-gobject2 2.28.7-6
yay 10.3.1-2

 

(deadbeef-static isn't from AUR -- I downloaded the pkg.tar.xz file from here, under "Linux distribution packages", and installed using pacman -U)

Edited September 16, 2021 by saturnian

[saturnian]

1 hour ago, abarbarian said:

Looks to me like the author does not have a great deal of experience with or understanding of Arch.

 

That lower-case "s" bugs me. I understand that typos happen, but pacman -Syu is kinda important...

[securitybreach]

16 minutes ago, saturnian said:

 

That lower-case "s" bugs me. I understand that typos happen, but pacman -Syu is kinda important...

 

Very much so

[abarbarian]

10 hours ago, saturnian said:

 

That lower-case "s" bugs me. I understand that typos happen, but pacman -Syu is kinda important...

 

I missed that one well spotted

[abarbarian]

Improved Arch Linux Installer Experience Being Readied With Archinstall 2.4-RC1

 

Quote

Archinstall lowers the barrier for installing Arch Linux itself and not using one of the Arch Linux downstreams like EndeavourOS or Manjaro Linux. Archinstall's text user interface is very easy to use, provides some levels of defaults for Arch Linux, and gets an Arch Linux install in a matter of minutes whether you are after a full-blown desktop installation or one of the smaller minimal/server-oriented setups.
 

 

The nitty gritty fine detail at github

 

Apparently it does not allow you to install rEFind with it so may not be useful for me. I may give it a go but am very busy at the moment with trying to resuscitate the Royal.

 

 

[securitybreach]

I prefer the manual install but its kind of neat. I just hope it continues to be menu driven and not turn into a full gui.

[abarbarian]

On 3/29/2022 at 11:57 PM, securitybreach said:

I prefer the manual install but its kind of neat. I just hope it continues to be menu driven and not turn into a full gui.

 

Manual, Archinstall or gui, all three would be nice. I have not yet found any way alternative to install that will do everything I require with no extra stuff. So I am happy to do a manual install. I shave some time of the install every time I do one.

At the moment I am down to a couple of months down form a couple of years.

[securitybreach]

3 hours ago, abarbarian said:

 

Manual, Archinstall or gui, all three would be nice. I have not yet found any way alternative to install that will do everything I require with no extra stuff. So I am happy to do a manual install. I shave some time of the install every time I do one.

At the moment I am down to a couple of months down form a couple of years.

 

Well the problem with doing so on Archlinux is that you see a huge amount of users who do not want to learn anything, just want to say that they run Archlinux.

 

I see various support area filled with users who think it should just work and not realizing that it is a DYI project. These are same people who claim that they are running arch but they installed Manjaro, Arcolinux, Parabola, ReBornOS, Endeavor (closest to vanilla arch), etc.

 

The problem isn't the method that they installed it, derivatives are literally different distros altogether. While they share the same package manager, they are mostly very far from a normal Archlinux install. It's like saying that you installed Debian via Ubuntu, its just not the same thing.

 

Anyway, sorry for the rant very early morning rant but you see the point. Making Archlinux easier to install can have its downsides as people expect the distro to 'just work' like the installer does. That and one of the major benefits of Archlinux is building your own custom system from the ground up.

[abarbarian]

On 3/31/2022 at 11:45 AM, securitybreach said:

Manjaro, Arcolinux, Parabola, ReBornOS, Endeavor

 

If those folk posted on their own forums life would be a lot better.

 

Having a rant every now and again does you the world of good.

Edited April 1, 2022 by abarbarian

[securitybreach]

5 minutes ago, abarbarian said:

 

If those folk posted on their own forums life would be a lot better.

 

Exactly, 100%  !!!!!!!!!!

[Guest Mauser]

On 3/31/2022 at 10:45 AM, securitybreach said:

 

Well the problem with doing so on Archlinux is that you see a huge amount of users who do not want to learn anything, just want to say that they run Archlinux.

 

While that maybe sometimes the case, it's mostly because the average person is not computer savvy and even more so have not been able to learn the command line. Not everyone is capable of learning the command line where they have mastered it. When you have a distro like Manjaro that comes broken, sucking people in by making false claims of being new user friendly while at least 99% of it's community are obnoxious liars it gives the false impression that Arch and all Arch distros are like that. I know this from my own personal experience with Manjaro and I can understand why the pure Arch community don't want to have anything to do with them. While Arch Linux is not for me because I was never able to understand the command line, I do like that the Arch Linux community is honest, Arch has the latest software, you install what you want during the installation process, and they have the best documentation.

[securitybreach]

Agreed @Mauser

[securitybreach]

Some people do like Manjaro even with its issues