Installed Manjaro Again

[mhbell]

Well I decided to give Manjaro another try. I installed the latest version with Cinnamon DE and have to say the install went without a hitch. I installed it on my second SSD and am using it's grub to multi boot all of my 6 SSD's. The thing I kike about its grub, is the fact that it will boot the last OS that was used. A nice feature for me. I will also install Endeavour again although I don't believe that it is as polished as Manjaro. I have managed to configure it the way I want it Just like in Mint. I even imported all of my doc's and other apps without a problem. Did not lose any settings Such as My mail (thunderbird), (Variety), and (pysolfc) I've been using the CLI with pacman and YAY. Managed to istall google chrome. So far so good.

Mel

 

[xrobwx71]

I used Manjaro for a few months and I have to say, I like it. It is very polished and a beautiful desktop.

[raymac46]

I've used Manjaro as a Linux guest in VirtualBox on Windows and it works pretty well. It is stable enough, the Guest Additions are pre-configured, and the Xfce desktop is pretty nice. Have not installed it on the bare metal, however.

[securitybreach]

4 hours ago, mhbell said:

I will also install Endeavour again although I don't believe that it is as polished as Manjaro.

 

That is because Endeavour is mostly just an installer that leaves things 90% vanilla Archlinux without any customizations besides the desktop theme and grub theme. Unlike Manjaro, Endeavour uses the vanilla Archlinux packages and one repo for their themes.

 

Manjaro, on the other hand, is a full on derivative and completely different from Archlinux in every way but the package manager.

[crp]

So Manjaro is no longer an ArchLinux "clone"?  

I was wary of it in the past , as it claimed to be 'simple' yet seemed to have plenty of complicated parts to setting up.

 

 

[abarbarian]

17 hours ago, crp said:

So Manjaro is no longer an ArchLinux "clone"?  

 

Manjaro has always had their own developed or doctored programs and their own repo's.  They just traded on the Arch name to gain traction and media coverage.

[securitybreach]

44 minutes ago, abarbarian said:

 

Manjaro has always had their own developed or doctored programs and their own repo's.  They just traded on the Arch name to gain traction and media coverage.

 

Exactly. At one time, they were threatened by legal action as their slogan was "Archlinux but easier" or something like that. The only thing that they share with Arch is that they both use pacman (different repos) and can install AUR packages. That is literally it.

[abarbarian]

The Manjaro folk who run the os are a bunch of low lifes and make some truly horrible untrue claims. This extract from their wiki is an example.

 

"Key points to know:

• Pacman is already installed in Manjaro Linux by default
• Pacman is mainly developed/maintained by Arch Linux developers
• Pacman can only be used from the command line, if you would prefer a graphical package manager please see Pamac or Octopi
• Pacman can only use the official Manjaro repository. There are separate articles available for accessing the Arch User Repository(AUR), using flatpaks and using snaps"

https://wiki.manjaro.org/index.php/Pacman_Overview

 

Point number 2 is untrue. Pacman is fully developed by Arch devs.

 

Quote

pacman is Copyright © 2006-2021 Pacman Development Team <pacman-dev@archlinux.org> and Copyright © 2002-2006 Judd Vinet <jvinet@zeroflux.org> and is licensed through the GNU General Public License, version 2 or later.

 

https://archlinux.org/pacman/

 

Point number four is also a blatant lie.

 

Pacman was and is developed for the purpose of downloading and installing packages for the official Arch os. It has never been intended to or ever will only be used for downloading or installing from the Manjaro repository.

 

I say again the Manjaro creators are a bunch of liars and carpetbaggers, True scum of the earth.

 

 

 

[Hedon James]

2 hours ago, abarbarian said:

The Manjaro folk who run the os are a bunch of low lifes and make some truly horrible untrue claims. This extract from their wiki is an example.

 

"Key points to know:

• Pacman is already installed in Manjaro Linux by default
• Pacman is mainly developed/maintained by Arch Linux developers
• Pacman can only be used from the command line, if you would prefer a graphical package manager please see Pamac or Octopi
• Pacman can only use the official Manjaro repository. There are separate articles available for accessing the Arch User Repository(AUR), using flatpaks and using snaps"

https://wiki.manjaro.org/index.php/Pacman_Overview

 

Point number 2 is untrue. Pacman is fully developed by Arch devs.

 

 

https://archlinux.org/pacman/

 

Point number four is also a blatant lie.

 

Pacman was and is developed for the purpose of downloading and installing packages for the official Arch os. It has never been intended to or ever will only be used for downloading or installing from the Manjaro repository.

 

I say again the Manjaro creators are a bunch of liars and carpetbaggers, True scum of the earth.

 

 

 

 

I know neither you nor SB are fans of Manjaro.  Whatever your reasons for not liking it are legit, as they violate something you consider important.

 

But in all fairness to Manjaro, you have made some assumptions to determine that points 2 and 4 are lies.  With respect to point #2, your citation is from the Archlinux website, which I accept as 100% true.  But while Arch is famous for "vanilla" packages, Manjaro is known to modify Arch packages to "make it easier".  Is it POSSIBLE that Manjaro has modified ANYTHING in the pacman package?  Even the slightest tweak to pacman would make #2 true.  And with respect to #4, if you're using pacman in Manjaro, of course it can only use the Manjaro repository?!  In Arch, can pacman use any repository other than Arch's?  I read point #4 and I see that statement as an attempted pre-emptive answer to the FAQ "can Manjaro use Arch repository packages?"  Of course, that answer is no.  But, using other tools (presumably YAY and their like), you can install Arch packages from AUR, and flatpacks and snaps (and i presume appimages).

 

From YOUR perspective as an Arch user, you see that as a false statement, because pacman CAN and in fact DOES use the Arch repo.  But from the perspective of a Manjaro user, it's a true statement, because pacman cannot access Arch repos, only Manjaro repos.  And maybe that's enough of a modification to make point #2 a CYA truth.

 

It looks to me that Manjaro is going to extra lengths to ensure their Manjaro users are aware that Manjaro is NOT Arch.  Of course, this is the result of their riding Arch's coattails in the first place, which shouldn't have been done.  But everything I see with Manjaro now appears to distinguish that they are "like Arch, but NOT Arch."  I can't comment on the Manjaro creators, as I've not had any interactions with any of them, nor am I aware of any improprieties....other than the ill-advised marketing of "Arch made easier".  That's also probably a true statement, but even I can see how that would attract wannabe users of Arch, and the resulting confusion and chaos of "what do you mean it isn't Arch?  You said Arch made easier!"

 

For all of Manjaro's faults, real or perceived, they're just doing to Arch as Ubuntu did to Debian; as Mint did to Ubuntu.  Etc....  JMO.

[raymac46]

I am also a huge Arch fan and have installed it the Arch way, although I've also used Endeavour and the Archfi scripts to do so. Endeavour isn't true Arch either but it's pretty close.

That said I think Manjaro does a few things right. They have a beautiful Xfce desktop and they allow you to use pacman - arguably the best package manager there is. I agree with both Josh and HJ that Manjaro is to Arch as Ubuntu is to Debian, and as long as you keep that in mind you can choose whatever you want.

My gripe with Manjaro is with its forum - there are some truly brilliant and helpful people there but also a lot of jerks - who in most cases are also Moderators. We don't have a true Manjaro expert here so if Mel decides to use it and become one, more power to him. He at least is a nice guy.

[securitybreach]

There are lots of unofficial user repos that can be added to pacman.conf for various things:

 

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Unofficial_user_repositories

 

So while you can add custom repos to pacman, they are not officially supported.

[securitybreach]

Also another huge problem is the amount of people who come to archlinux support area looking for assistance when in all actuality they are using of of the various archlinux derivatives.

[Hedon James]

19 hours ago, securitybreach said:

Also another huge problem is the amount of people who come to archlinux support area looking for assistance when in all actuality they are using of of the various archlinux derivatives.

that's a fair gripe!  I can imagine the response of an Ubuntu user looking for assistance on the Debian forum because "Ubuntu is basically just Debian, with some minor changes".  Heck, Debian forums don't even like it when a Debian user is looking for assistance for ANYTHING other than a "pure" Debian installation.  If you've added Debian repos, prepare for the flagellation, as it's been made VERY clear on the Debian forums that Debian repos are NOT Debian, otherwise Debian would've included a package for that.

[abarbarian]

On 5/3/2022 at 12:58 PM, Hedon James said:

I know neither you nor SB are fans of Manjaro.

 

I am not against Manjaro itself. Everyone is free to base a os on their chosen parent and fiddle around with it etc etc. In some ways Manjaro is not too bad a os.

Also in some ways they are generating some current news for the penguin world and they are promoting linux with some pretty good hardware partners.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manjaro

 

Quote

Although Manjaro can be installed on most systems, some vendors sell computers with Manjaro pre-installed on them. Suppliers of computers pre-installed with Manjaro include StarLabs Systems, Tuxedo Computers, manjarocomputer.eu^[71] and Pine64.

Manjaro with Plasma Mobile desktop environment is the default operating system on PinePhone, an ARM-based smartphone released by Pine64.

 

However their attitude sucks big time as a look at their wiki especially the sections and sub sections regarding Mirrors shows. Compare their offerings with the official Arch wiki offerings and you will see exactly what I mean. I will leave you to investigate further if so inclined.

 

https://wiki.manjaro.org/index.php/Manjaro_Mirrors

 

Utter rubbish they have obviously never heard of the Arch package "reflector" that even has its own wiki page.

 

Quote

This is a remarkably streamlined system compared to the ways that it has been in the past for the pacman rolling release system to manage its mirrors, let alone to rank their speed.

 

They are also entering the commercial world, nothing wrong with that as every one needs to eat.

 

Quote

In September 2019, the Manjaro GmbH & Co. KG company was founded. It's FOSS website stated the company was formed '... to effectively engage in commercial agreements, form partnerships, and offer professional services'.

 

If they were to offer 1% of any revenue raised to the Arch project that would be great. However I recon that the figure offered would be more like 0.00001% that is if they offer anything at all.

 

As I said at the beginning it is their attitude. The subtle way they put down Arch , the way they falsely claim that Arch is pretty unstable and hard to maintain , the way they tried to piggy back of the Arch reputation , the confusion they create by taking a Arch program like "pacman-mirrorlist" and after a few tweaks call their version "pacman-mirrors" (why on earth did they not call it "manjaro-mirrors"). I could give more examples but can not really be bothered and this is my last word on the subject as I have limited time left on the planet and wish to spend my time on more pleasurable things.

[securitybreach]

5 hours ago, abarbarian said:

 

As I said at the beginning it is their attitude. The subtle way they put down Arch , the way they falsely claim that Arch is pretty unstable and hard to maintain , the way they tried to piggy back of the Arch reputation , the confusion they create by taking a Arch program like "pacman-mirrorlist" and after a few tweaks call their version "pacman-mirrors" (why on earth did they not call it "manjaro-mirrors"). I could give more examples but can not really be bothered and this is my last word on the subject as I have limited time left on the planet and wish to spend my time on more pleasurable things.

 

100% agreed

[Hedon James]

On 5/9/2022 at 6:33 AM, abarbarian said:

 

I am not against Manjaro itself. Everyone is free to base a os on their chosen parent and fiddle around with it etc etc. In some ways Manjaro is not too bad a os.

Also in some ways they are generating some current news for the penguin world and they are promoting linux with some pretty good hardware partners.

 

As I said at the beginning it is their attitude. The subtle way they put down Arch , the way they falsely claim that Arch is pretty unstable and hard to maintain , the way they tried to piggy back of the Arch reputation , the confusion they create by taking a Arch program like "pacman-mirrorlist" and after a few tweaks call their version "pacman-mirrors" (why on earth did they not call it "manjaro-mirrors"). I could give more examples but can not really be bothered and this is my last word on the subject as I have limited time left on the planet and wish to spend my time on more pleasurable things.

I can respect that.  Whatever your reasons are....they're legit to you, and who am I to say you're wrong.

 

I like Arch, but I also like Manjaro; and I can certainly see how their early marketing of "Arch made easy" was a monumentally stupid thing to do, and now they're having to pay a price by distinguishing themselves as "not Arch".  So they've wasted a lot of effort rowing in a circle, IMO.  OTOH....Linux distros are notoriously horrible at marketing and community relations.  So much so, that we're usually REALLY surprised when someone gets it right!  LOL!

[raymac46]

Manjaro has been around long enough now that it can stand on its own and omit any references to Arch - aside from its use of the Arch packaging system. After all people use Ubuntu or Linux Mint without worrying that they came from Debian originally. In my view there is too much navel gazing going on about a distro's lineage, and not enough about how it looks and feels. Nobody needs "Arch made easy" as frankly it isn't all that difficult to just install and use it if you want.

[mhbell]

I have to agree with you on that. Manjaro has worked flawlessly for me using the cinnamon DE. I've been able to configure it the way I want without a problem. I've not used their forums as I've no need to so far. Mint is still my primary OS. Endeavor has to many problems for me and is not stable on my computer. it is no where as polished as Manjaro especially the cinnamon DE. I just might make Manjaro my secondary OS replacing Siduction, as Siduction is no longer being supported with the cinnamon DE.

Mel