Yet Another Why I Like Arch

ljshap · 2008-05-22 15:07:27

Although I first started "messing" around with linux around 1995, it is only the past year where it is my primary OS. Arch has been my distribution of choice for the past seven months and has been a total joy to use. As much as I liked it before, I have gained an even deeper appreciation of Arch after being afflicted with distro curiosity (not hopping) disease. There is nothing new here, but I would like to list the reasons why I feel Arch is such a great distribution.

Great Text Installer
============

The installer not only looks good, but has a logical layout out and is easy to understand.
A GUI installer does not add any functionality to the installation process but creates the potential for Xorg problems.
The main menu approach allows the user to see all the installation steps on one screen as well as making it easy to go back if you made a mistake in partitioning or mounting. This approach also made it easier to re-install grub when my mbr backup file and grub-install did not work. The installer makes it easy to either select which packages you want or just install everything.

rc.conf and other configuration files
=======================

The default rc.conf and other configuration files make setting up the system much easier. There were 'dummy entries' letting the user know what information was needed as well as useful comments further assisting the user in the configuration process.

It Just Works
========

The system is ready.to.go after the base install and some basic configuration. This sounds like a no brainer, but unfortunately this is not the case with some other distributions. Setting up a wireless card in Arch (and Slackware) is as simple as make, make install and modprobe. Some distributions don't seem to install the kernel source and headers as part of the basic install or it gets broken after an upgrade. Based on my limited knowledge, the installer should provide all networking tools and all files and programs needed to compile programs or modules unless the user is given a chance to opt out. I just felt like I was in a catch-22 situation in a couple of distributions. Its frustrating when you have a working Internet connection during the install but do not have the necessary tools after a reboot. Upgrades to a newer kernel have not caused any problems for me. If Arch was a car, people would talk about its great fit and finish.

System defaults to console login.
====================
This is a personal preference, but the inittab file makes it very easy to switch to Run Level 5 if desired. The inittab and xinit files are not nearly as clear in some distributions.

PACMAN
======

Fast, reliable and stable with a good repository. I'm curious if pacman just means package manager or if its a unix pun referring to the game as well.

Fast, Responsive and Reliable System with a quick boot.
===================================

System Hiccups seem to be pretty rare. Arch provides a fast system without the
hassle.

Great Web Page and Wiki's with a good community.
===============================

The web page, like the installer is very well laid out. Finding what you want is easy and only requires a click or two. The page is pleasant to look at without any of that "eye-candy" krap slowing it down or masking what you really want. Obviously there is a trend in my comments concerning substance over form.

The Bad and not so Pretty
================

The default xorg and desktop manager settings makes it hard to read without some tweaking and font selections. This is not a big deal, but other distributions provide a better out of the box 'X' desktop. Its possible this problem is specific to my machine (or me).

If I were 35 years younger and my IQ was 35 points higher, Arch would be the distribution I would like to create. This would not be a compliment if so many people did not feel the same way. If I was distro hopping, my search would have been over a long time ago, unfortunately my distro curiosity will continue to find more reasons why Arch is so good.

--------------------------------------------------------

PS: I hesitated posting the above comments since it did not add anything new, but after seeing some of the threads, especially the newbie friendly vs. the user friendly, I had to cast my vote for what makes Arch so great. Arch is not that hard to use for anyone willing to take a few minutes to learn "The Arch Way". Arch has already done the hard work by creating great wiki's and helpful configuration files.
One of the help files even gave the reasons why things were done. Learning steps is OK, but understanding whats being done is important and fun.
People coming to Arch should not expect it to be Ubuntu. Ubuntu is great, but it already exists! As a newbie, I really resent SOME newbies wanting Arch to be more like Ubuntu. I even saw a post on an Ubuntu forum suggesting that they change directory names to things like "program files". I could go on, but I would just be ranting (raving). Long live the text installer and base install only!

Keep up the Great Work!

Larry

Please forgive my not so good English, Brueklineese is my native tongue.

Mr.Elendig · 2008-05-22 15:52:09

http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=12926

INCSlayer · 2008-05-22 15:56:45

Please forgive my not so good English, Brueklineese is my native tongue.

i dont forgive you since i have seen WAAY WAAY worse your english is actually pretty good

Stythys · 2008-05-22 19:35:27

wait...english is not your first language?

never would have guessed xD

I've seen native speakers write worse, hehe

Last edited by Stythys (2008-05-22 19:36:14)

bji · 2008-05-22 20:16:57

Stythys wrote:

wait...english is not your first language?
never would have guessed xD
I've seen native speakers write worse, hehe

Brueklineese -> Brooklynese -> Native English

It was just a joke about how the author is from Brooklyn so he doesn't expect everyone to be able to understand him

By the way, I agree with the original poster about just about everything. I'm a Linux veteran having used it as my primary OS since Yggdrasil in 1994. And Arch suits my tastes very, very well.

phrakture · 2008-05-22 20:43:52

bji wrote:

Stythys wrote:
wait...english is not your first language?
never would have guessed xD
I've seen native speakers write worse, hehe
Brueklineese -> Brooklynese -> Native English
It was just a joke about how the author is from Brooklyn so he doesn't expect everyone to be able to understand him
By the way, I agree with the original poster about just about everything. I'm a Linux veteran having used it as my primary OS since Yggdrasil in 1994. And Arch suits my tastes very, very well.

Yeah, I was gonna say - I think the language joke there might just confuse people 8)

I'm a natuve Chih-caw-go-ese speakur myself..

Ink-Jet · 2008-05-22 21:36:27

I was actually about to ask what country Brueklineese was from.

ljshap · 2008-05-22 23:21:18

bji wrote:

Stythys wrote:
wait...english is not your first language?
never would have guessed xD
I've seen native speakers write worse, hehe
Brueklineese -> Brooklynese -> Native English
It was just a joke about how the author is from Brooklyn so he doesn't expect everyone to be able to understand him
By the way, I agree with the original poster about just about everything. I'm a Linux veteran having used it as my primary OS since Yggdrasil in 1994. And Arch suits my tastes very, very well.

OK youse guys, you caught me. I apologize for making such a bad New York centric joke, especially considering how many of this great community do not come from the Untied States, including Judd Vinet and many other current and former developers. Although I strive for a "KISS" style of writing, I find that I'm much too wordy and clunky, which is why I threw that in at the end. The Brueklineese part was a reference to the old Dutch spelling of what was latter to become Brooklyn New York.

I actually wrote the post 3 weeks ago, but never sent it because it was too wordy and did bring anything new to the Arch threads. After seeing some of the posts over the past month I felt compelled to cast "my vote" for why I like Arch so much and what makes it so special and unique. Hopefully Arch continues to stay true to its heritage and core principles. .

Hopefully a diversion is good once in a while.

Larry

phrakture · 2008-05-23 01:52:30

Psst. Judd is one of our northern neighbors. From the land of moose and hockey

sajro · 2008-05-26 14:52:21

Glad to your experiences with Arch have been simple and without many issues!

ljshap wrote:

Please forgive my not so good English, Brueklineese is my native tongue.

Oh, we do. Most of us here are ESL. I, myself, speak Tennessesian natively. But y'all couldn't tell it.

lucke · 2008-05-26 15:46:45

I caught that joke :-( Is it good or bad?

I think I can say I sometimes speak Poglish. That's common in IT, I guess, where all the world revolves around English terminology.

And we all know that Arch is the best.

litemotiv · 2008-08-02 22:06:36

ljshap wrote:

The Brueklineese part was a reference to the old Dutch spelling of what was latter to become Brooklyn New York.

Actually that should be Breucklineese then, after Breuckelen (later named and still called Breukelen).

ljshap · 2008-08-03 16:28:43

litemotiv wrote:

ljshap wrote:
The Brueklineese part was a reference to the old Dutch spelling of what was latter to become Brooklyn New York.
Actually that should be Breucklineese then, after Breuckelen (later named and still called Breukelen).

Thanks for the correction. Must have been a typo (yea right).
At least I can spell New Amsterdam.

Arch Linux

#1 2008-05-22 15:07:27

Yet Another Why I Like Arch

#2 2008-05-22 15:52:09

Re: Yet Another Why I Like Arch

#3 2008-05-22 15:56:45

Re: Yet Another Why I Like Arch

#4 2008-05-22 19:35:27

Re: Yet Another Why I Like Arch

#5 2008-05-22 20:16:57

Re: Yet Another Why I Like Arch

#6 2008-05-22 20:43:52

Re: Yet Another Why I Like Arch

#7 2008-05-22 21:36:27

Re: Yet Another Why I Like Arch

#8 2008-05-22 23:21:18

Re: Yet Another Why I Like Arch

#9 2008-05-23 01:52:30

Re: Yet Another Why I Like Arch

#10 2008-05-26 14:52:21

Re: Yet Another Why I Like Arch

#11 2008-05-26 15:46:45

Re: Yet Another Why I Like Arch

#12 2008-08-02 22:06:36

Re: Yet Another Why I Like Arch

#13 2008-08-03 16:28:43

Re: Yet Another Why I Like Arch

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