Anybody using Arch as their daily driver?

cowlick · 2017-02-16 19:45:30

You don't use Arch, you marry it.

avg_joe · 2017-02-17 01:17:47

I use Arch exclusively at work and at home. I do maintain some vm's for special purposes and to try stuff now and then....

FWIW, I work in the network team at a large, well-known enterprise linux/middleware/cloud open source company based in Raleigh NC, and find Arch the perfect platform to do my job. We have a small community of users in said company who help each other out. At home, I've found Arch the most satisfying OS I've ever used - stable, flexible, challenges, best documentation & community anywhere.

Thank you to those who pour their souls into making the total Arch experience so awesome!

jackpot · 2017-02-17 10:44:35

Fully on Arch since ~2.5 years with XFCE, now Budgie.

macstar · 2017-02-17 11:04:25

yes. on my pc since nearly one year (birthday will be end of next week) and on my notebook as soon as i got it (few months back). i am so convinced by now of the full package (the software itself, the wiki and the forum) that if i ever had to buy a new pc or notebook i would chose arch blindly over anything else. (let alone windows haha)

Injall · 2017-02-17 13:03:14

On my desktop for more than 2 years. Since then I can't stand using another OS ><

collector1871 · 2017-02-18 23:30:05

I have been using Linux for years (openSUSE > Debian > Fedora > Ubuntu > Debian > Mint > Puppy Linux [btw. Puppy is interesting distro] > Debian for long time... > and now Arch).

I had problems with Debian testing in desktop (broken software and packages... too many hidden bugs).
After Debian, i googled : Slackware vs Arch vs Gentoo
and Arch was the winner (pro and cons => more points for Arch).

What software is the most important for my daily work in Linux:
1. everything for *.csv files
(scripts, converters, find&replace, grep...)
2. grep for text processing
3. text processing (sed, awk, cat, tac, less, grep, head, tail, cut)
4. managing of hundreds images (jpg, png): XnView, imagemagick
5. ebook management and conversion (calibre, pandoc, PDF scripts)
6. printer and scanner
7. local database (MySQL), generating sql, converting between csv<>sql
8. Eclipse for PHP development
9. atom editor for javascript, css, html (front-end development)
10. ssh, rsync, sshfs, samba
11. Thunderbird for emails

As a professional, I am somewhere between data management (csv, sql, thousands of images), email management, text processing and back-end. Linux/unix is important for me, because I am more productive with unix tools in work.

At this moment it looks that Arch fits my needs (since 3 months) and everything is working. But if Arch will die then I will try Slackware.
In raspberry I am using raspbian and minibian.

In home I have: Android 2x, Linux Arch 2x, raspbian 1x, minibian 3x, Kindle OS 1x, and Windows7 1x ONLY in VirtualBox, Playstation firmware.
(it is funny that minibian is the winner in counts...)

Last edited by collector1871 (2017-02-20 22:53:52)

alaskanarcher · 2017-03-18 22:40:18

Arch has become my preferred operating system for work. I do software and firmware development (mostly in C but I touch many other languages), as well as sysadmin work. I do most of my work in Arch on a cheap Acer Chromebook. I have a macbook pro that I've moved away from but still use for entertainment and for running my VMs (it is a much faster computer). Next time I have freetime I intend to boot dual Arch on my mac and make it my main squeeze.

I use i3-wm and do most of my editing in Vim in Terminator or inside Tmux.

Goldman60 · 2017-03-19 06:44:20

I do, Computer Engineering Undergrad/IT Support Technician

frank604 · 2017-03-20 18:08:12

I use arch exclusively for work and personal. My occupation is all over the place. I own commercial lease properties, accommodations, and I just started to do major investment projects such as a 100MW solar farm in India. For the last year and a half I've been acting as a business consultant for a marijuana health society (dispensary) to help drive their revenue and customer retention/loyalty. What is my OS of choice? Arch hands down. My business associates all "ooooh ahhhh" when they see my screen.

I use mutt, zathura, ranger, ncmpcpp, qutebrowser, vim, libreoffice, masterpdfeditor, sxiv, and veracrypt. With dwm as my wm standalone. This is the winning money-making setup right here boys.

Yes, I do realize I have the most non-tech occupation possible but it shows how diverse the linux world is.

Last edited by frank604 (2017-03-20 18:10:24)

c00ter · 2017-03-20 20:43:47

I used Arch for work and now that I am retired I use it for play and investment tracking.

infinarchy · 2017-03-21 10:35:21

empty

Last edited by infinarchy (2017-11-04 21:37:17)

Baraclese · 2017-03-27 09:21:19

I've been using arch at work (finally) for over a year now and have a windows vm for some windows only programs. A very convenient setup. Also if something goes wrong (for example faulty hardware) linux provides you with much better logging to figure out what is wrong than windows.

Last edited by Baraclese (2017-03-28 11:29:07)

fsckd · 2017-03-27 20:38:30

fsckd does not use Arch. Arch uses fsckd.

Texbrew · 2017-03-28 15:07:02

PReP wrote:

Ive been using Arch wherever i am allowed since mebbe 2009... My girlfriend runs arch on her machine aswell now...

You should marry her before someone else pops the question to her, "Will you marry me?"

NuSkool · 2017-04-02 19:27:43

Using Arch and ArchARM on everything it will install on since around 2010. Has worked out well as my daily driver.

Like everything in life, once you get used to it and it becomes routine, anything else used to do the same task seems somewhat more complicated. Although never could have imagined in the beginning, even using systemd has even become routine.

MadMaxStax · 2017-05-01 05:39:36

Been on arch on my garbage $300 laptop for around 4 months. Was using slackware before since around 2009 but pacman is the niceness and nothing beats a rolling release.

Oh software dev by the way so aside from occasional issues with dotnet stuff that were caused by microsoft I haven't had issues that hinder my work for a reasonable amount of time.

Trilby · 2017-05-01 10:37:04

MadMaxStax wrote:

Been on arch on my garbage $300 laptop

I'm often entertained by people's perception of hardware and it's value. I've used many garbage laptops with arch. But I didn't pay anything for them - they litterally came out of the garbage!

My favorite laptop - my main home computer that I'm on now - was purchased on ebay for $50 several years ago. I have two other machines at home running arch that were each $10 each (no not some *pi, full desktop systems).

I couldn't imagine ever paying triple digits for linux hardware.

maddog39 · 2017-05-01 13:59:14

I've been using Arch on and off for years but it's been my daily driver at work for almost a year now - no major complaints so far for production use.

ngoonee · 2017-05-02 01:46:41

Trilby wrote:

MadMaxStax wrote:
Been on arch on my garbage $300 laptop
I'm often entertained by people's perception of hardware and it's value. I've used many garbage laptops with arch. But I didn't pay anything for them - they litterally came out of the garbage!
My favorite laptop - my main home computer that I'm on now - was purchased on ebay for $50 several years ago. I have two other machines at home running arch that were each $10 each (no not some *pi, full desktop systems).
I couldn't imagine ever paying triple digits for linux hardware.

Depends what the machine is for. I can't imagine using any machine without a SSD anymore, and nice high-res screens are essential for my use, so I spent (5 years ago) the equivalent of 800 USD on the laptop I'm still using now.

If it makes my life easier, then the money is worth it, IMO. I could run my computing life off a pi with an external hard disc (would still cost more than 10 USD for that), but why would I want to tolerate the lack of speed and other compromises?

Trilby · 2017-05-02 10:09:16

True. I was a bit overstated. I see nothing wrong with investing in high quality hardware for good cause. I regularly use compute servers that may well cost more than my lifetime income - and these are quite useful.

I should have more clearly presented the context in which I meant my comments which is the context of what is considered "cheap" hardware. I certainly don't think the $300 I quoted is a bad price - quite the opposite in today's marekt, that's a great deal for a laptop. It just struck disacord with my view of cheap (or "garbage") hardware that is perfectly capable of running linux smoothly.

R00KIE · 2017-05-02 12:50:35

Arch is my daily driver, as others have said I get fed up easily when I have to use windows (other linux distro's quirks can also get on my nerves but at least it's linux and the terminal is your friend), but I do have virtual machines with windows and have it installed on other machines I don't use very regularly. I also have an SSD on an external case with windows 10 to use with my current machine in case it is absolutely needed (think firmware updates that only have windows executables).

I've been using arch for a while now, started with an Asus laptop which broken down, hdd was transplanted to a packard bell laptop. Later hdd was updated to ssd and that laptop also broke down(1). Ssd was transplanted to the lenovo laptop I'm using now and I'm sort of expecting this one to break down in 3 or 4 years time like previous laptops, and at that time I'll probably just transplant the ssd to the new machine.

I also have a usb drive with arch and all the stuff I might need, I use it as a recovery/emergency boot drive and for making backups of my main machine.

(1) I got it repaired and guess what, I had to install arch on it

qinohe · 2017-05-02 17:53:59

ngoonee wrote:

Trilby wrote:
MadMaxStax wrote:
Been on arch on my garbage $300 laptop
I'm often entertained by people's perception of hardware and it's value. I've used many garbage laptops with arch. But I didn't pay anything for them - they litterally came out of the garbage!
My favorite laptop - my main home computer that I'm on now - was purchased on ebay for $50 several years ago. I have two other machines at home running arch that were each $10 each (no not some *pi, full desktop systems).
I couldn't imagine ever paying triple digits for linux hardware.
Depends what the machine is for. I can't imagine using any machine without a SSD anymore, and nice high-res screens are essential for my use, so I spent (5 years ago) the equivalent of 800 USD on the laptop I'm still using now.
If it makes my life easier, then the money is worth it, IMO. I could run my computing life off a pi with an external hard disc (would still cost more than 10 USD for that), but why would I want to tolerate the lack of speed and other compromises?

In fact I have run the PI setup you mention as my daily driver(wm=i3) after my laptop died for over a year and changed to an Upboard ( z8350 wm=i3wm) with SSD on USB3 for this purpose since september. It is really doable to run your daily tasks on a PI if your demands are low, but I do enjoy the boost of the upboard and won't change back any time soon.

Trilby is probably the smartest using thrown away shit, pollishing it for his own shining purposes

chaonaut · 2017-05-03 12:36:29

Arch is my secondary daily driver (the primary is Ubuntu for various reasons), either for my job (system administrator) and my hobby (audio production).

i have Arch instalations on both my laptops and on live USB drive (two of these are dual-boot with ubuntu, one of laptops is triple boot with ubuntu and windows, which i keep on 20 GiB partition for testing some windoze-specific audio production software).

Ubuntu installations are considered more stable, and arch installations are primarily for experimenting with new cool stuff.

Texbrew · 2017-05-03 17:04:13

Trilby wrote:

My favorite laptop - my main home computer that I'm on now - was purchased on ebay for $50 several years ago. I have two other machines at home running arch that were each $10 each (no not some *pi, full desktop systems).
I couldn't imagine ever paying triple digits for linux hardware.

You hit one of my hot buttons - that is, something I don't often get to talk about. I think it was about a year and a half ago I read something about linux-friendly laptops, where it was said the Thinkpad T61 was very easy to install linux on. Next stop, ebay. I allowed myself to get sucked into auction madness. In the space of one week, I bought four laptops. Crazy! A counter offer on the outright purchase of a T61 for $50 succeeded. When it arrived, it turned out to be an R61 (I decided to keep it). I think I won an auction on a T61 for $60. The other two laptops were T420's, $100 and $125.

That experience revealed a chink in my "no impulse buying" armor. I will say I have no regrets for that moment of madness. My tinkering hobby has plenty of toys to play with, and SWMBO actually encouraged the purchases. I now stay out of ebay auctions. I don't even visit the site unless I need something which I can't find at a reasonable price elsewhere.

Two of the Thinkpads are happily running Arch. The other two are running an Arch spinoff.

I guess I'm a little late to respond to the last few posts. I think the gist of the last few is regarding "garbage" hardware. I think MadMaxStax may simply mean inexpensive new laptops.

All of my computer gear is obsolete to some degree. Personally, I can't imagine buying a new machine unless the unthinkable happens, or I want to get a "Pi".

Cheers! (coffee for now)

Trilby · 2017-05-03 17:45:13

Texbrew wrote:

All of my computer gear is obsolete to some degree.

According to the kid in the office next door, I'm also obselete to some degree.

Arch Linux

#26 2017-02-16 19:45:30

Re: Anybody using Arch as their daily driver?

#27 2017-02-17 01:17:47

Re: Anybody using Arch as their daily driver?

#28 2017-02-17 10:44:35

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#29 2017-02-17 11:04:25

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#30 2017-02-17 13:03:14

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#31 2017-02-18 23:30:05

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#32 2017-03-18 22:40:18

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#33 2017-03-19 06:44:20

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#34 2017-03-20 18:08:12

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#35 2017-03-20 20:43:47

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#36 2017-03-21 10:35:21

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#37 2017-03-27 09:21:19

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#38 2017-03-27 20:38:30

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#39 2017-03-28 15:07:02

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#40 2017-04-02 19:27:43

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#41 2017-05-01 05:39:36

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#42 2017-05-01 10:37:04

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#43 2017-05-01 13:59:14

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#44 2017-05-02 01:46:41

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#45 2017-05-02 10:09:16

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#46 2017-05-02 12:50:35

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#47 2017-05-02 17:53:59

Re: Anybody using Arch as their daily driver?

#48 2017-05-03 12:36:29

Re: Anybody using Arch as their daily driver?

#49 2017-05-03 17:04:13

Re: Anybody using Arch as their daily driver?

#50 2017-05-03 17:45:13

Re: Anybody using Arch as their daily driver?

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