[SOLVED] Ex-Ubuntu user, new to Arch!

falconindy · 2009-10-22 21:32:19

Hola!

I've been using Ubuntu for the past few months as my first Linux distro. I played around extensively (as is my nature), learning how to do as much as I can without the aid of a GUI: learning about how Linux operates on a low a level, bash/dash shell scripting, customizing kernels, compiling software from source, etc. Recently, I've found myself feeling like Ubuntu was Linux with training wheels (with and without the benefits). I'm not convinced I'm ready to take my training wheels off just yet, but nonetheless, I started looking around at other distros. Long story short, here I am!

I was somewhat of a frequenter to the Ubuntu Forums, and I noticed that many people had made the move to Arch, so I'm sure some of them are here as well! I'm curious to hear about the experiences of others who previously used Ubuntu. What were your reasons for moving to Arch? What, if anything, do you miss from Ubuntu? Given time with Arch, what do you feel Arch does better than Ubuntu?

I'm looking forward to getting involved and hopefully (eventually) contributing.

Last edited by falconindy (2009-10-23 04:44:17)

Peasantoid · 2009-10-22 21:36:11

I left Ubuntu for Arch because of exactly what you described: the training wheels. It's fine for people who want stuff to Just Work™, but the moment you try to do anything remotely complex, it all comes crashing down. Example: I tried to compile my own kernel and it failed inexplicably. (Though that was my first try, so perhaps I did something wrong.)

If you want some actual control over what happens in your system, give Arch a try.

RetroX · 2009-10-22 22:12:36

I hope you enjoy Arch.
It's the best distribution so far, in my opinion. I was originally looking into getting slackware and LFS working, when I found Arch and realized that it could do essentially the same thing that I wanted, only in a much easier and simpler fashion.

xoey7 · 2009-10-23 01:33:55

Welcome. I'm also a convert. All that was holding me back was the font configuration. I got that sorted out (I think) and I'm here to stay

Main reason I switched was for rolling-release, and speed.

eldragon · 2009-10-23 02:42:10

xoey7 wrote:

Welcome. I'm also a convert. All that was holding me back was the font configuration. I got that sorted out (I think) and I'm here to stay
Main reason I switched was for rolling-release, and speed.

yes, rolling release was my selling point... i found myself backporting a lot of stuff @ubuntu. (or building from source, and defeating the purpose of a package manager).

xoey7 · 2009-10-23 03:18:50

Backporting was awesome when I was at Ubuntu. But AUR is my new favorite toy

Last edited by xoey7 (2009-10-23 03:19:26)

falconindy · 2009-10-23 04:01:46

So, the install went quite well save for a couple of hiccups. I'm up and running on GNOME with Compiz and I'm slowly but surely reclaiming all my old applications. The amount of in-depth documentation available for Arch is fairly staggering, and so very delicious.

Going to take me a little while to get back to where I was with Ubuntu, but it should definitely be worth it.

A few things are puzzling me, if anyone might care to fill me in:
- I haven't seen an equivalent to 'apt-get remove --purge' in pacman. Does it exist? Do I not need to worry about it?
- Along similar lines, is there a package available similar to deborphan? That is, find dependencies that aren't being used.
- Why didn't I do this sooner?

Last edited by falconindy (2009-10-23 04:06:47)

Isengrin · 2009-10-23 04:30:25

falconindy wrote:

A few things are puzzling me, if anyone might care to fill me in:
- I haven't seen an equivalent to 'apt-get remove --purge' in pacman. Does it exist? Do I not need to worry about it?
- Along similar lines, is there a package available similar to deborphan? That is, find dependencies that aren't being used.
- Why didn't I do this sooner?

Hey.

Welcome to Arch. Now... trying to answer.

-I don't know what exacty does the --purge thing do, but I guess pacman -Rns may be. Look at the pacman man page. =)
-Try

pacman -Rs $(pacman -Qtdq)

Again, I remit you to the man page. (The Qtdp finds non-used deps and the Rs removes them).
-It's never too late.

fsckd · 2009-10-23 04:33:38

falconindy wrote:

A few things are puzzling me, if anyone might care to fill me in:

I'll try my best.

- I haven't seen an equivalent to 'apt-get remove --purge' in pacman. Does it exist? Do I not need to worry about it?

IIRC, --purge is to get rid of config files. According to the wiki, the option for pacman is -n.

- Along similar lines, is there a package available similar to deborphan? That is, find dependencies that aren't being used.

I don't know. I haven't had a need for this as pacman removes all unused dependencies for me (for the correct options, see the wiki page linked above). Yes, I've double checked that it does.

- Why didn't I do this sooner?

Ubuntu mind control waves? I wouldn't know, I never got onto the Ubuntu boat.

Going to take me a little while to get back to where I was with Ubuntu, but it should definitely be worth it.

To paraphrase Apple's help line, the wiki has a wealth of information. Here's one more wiki page I think newcomers should look at. Enjoy!

falconindy · 2009-10-23 04:43:11

fsckd wrote:

To paraphrase Apple's help line, the wiki has a wealth of information. Here's one more wiki page I think newcomers should look at. Enjoy!

Whoa. I may as well make that into my desktop background for a week.

Very cool. Thanks for your help fsckd and Isengrin.

silvernode · 2009-10-23 08:00:58

falconindy wrote:

Hola!
I've been using Ubuntu for the past few months as my first Linux distro. I played around extensively (as is my nature), learning how to do as much as I can without the aid of a GUI: learning about how Linux operates on a low a level, bash/dash shell scripting, customizing kernels, compiling software from source, etc. Recently, I've found myself feeling like Ubuntu was Linux with training wheels (with and without the benefits). I'm not convinced I'm ready to take my training wheels off just yet, but nonetheless, I started looking around at other distros. Long story short, here I am!
I was somewhat of a frequenter to the Ubuntu Forums, and I noticed that many people had made the move to Arch, so I'm sure some of them are here as well! I'm curious to hear about the experiences of others who previously used Ubuntu. What were your reasons for moving to Arch? What, if anything, do you miss from Ubuntu? Given time with Arch, what do you feel Arch does better than Ubuntu?
I'm looking forward to getting involved and hopefully (eventually) contributing.

I have been using Arch Linux for a couple of years now so if you need direct help add me to aim or whatever you use. I will be happy to help and/or show you neat things. Let me know so I can PM you the correct address to reach me.

Arch Linux

#1 2009-10-22 21:32:19

[SOLVED] Ex-Ubuntu user, new to Arch!

#2 2009-10-22 21:36:11

Re: [SOLVED] Ex-Ubuntu user, new to Arch!

#3 2009-10-22 22:12:36

Re: [SOLVED] Ex-Ubuntu user, new to Arch!

#4 2009-10-23 01:33:55

Re: [SOLVED] Ex-Ubuntu user, new to Arch!

#5 2009-10-23 02:42:10

Re: [SOLVED] Ex-Ubuntu user, new to Arch!

#6 2009-10-23 03:18:50

Re: [SOLVED] Ex-Ubuntu user, new to Arch!

#7 2009-10-23 04:01:46

Re: [SOLVED] Ex-Ubuntu user, new to Arch!

#8 2009-10-23 04:30:25

Re: [SOLVED] Ex-Ubuntu user, new to Arch!

#9 2009-10-23 04:33:38

Re: [SOLVED] Ex-Ubuntu user, new to Arch!

#10 2009-10-23 04:43:11

Re: [SOLVED] Ex-Ubuntu user, new to Arch!

#11 2009-10-23 08:00:58

Re: [SOLVED] Ex-Ubuntu user, new to Arch!

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