Arch Linux

Shagbag

Member

Registered: 2006-10-25

Posts: 259

Just installed 0.7.2; what to do next?

I've been distro hopping for around 18 months now and I've heard so much good press about Arch that I decided to give it a try.
I installed 0.7.2 last night and I got to the command line.  I had a bit of problem with DHCP but thanks to ralvez's post on this thread I found the culprit.  I needed to set eth0="dhcp".  It seems to be working now.  I've run 'packman -Syu'.  I haven't installed X because I want to max my command line experience first - I'm trying to come off my GUI dependency.

I'd love to optimise Arch for my hardware but I don't know how to.  I know it has something to do with configuring these files:

/etc/rc.conf
/etc/mkinitrd.conf
/etc/modprobe.conf

but I don't know what to look for.  I'm a little scared that if I start tinkering I'll hose my install.

I also found phrakture's linux console colors link and I'm going to test it out just as soon as I get home from work.  It looks like fun.

Has anyone got any good command line suggestions (like phrakture's) for a n00b?

FUBAR

Member

From: Belgium

Registered: 2004-12-08

Posts: 1,029

Website

Re: Just installed 0.7.2; what to do next?

pacman -Sy screen irssi htop mpd ncmpc

Now you can chat online and listen to music! ^_^

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A bus station is where a bus stops.
A train station is where a train stops.
On my desk I have a workstation.

idjut

Member

From: Oslo

Registered: 2006-05-15

Posts: 177

Re: Just installed 0.7.2; what to do next?

Add to that list:

bitlbee to use in irssi for your jabber, yahoo, icq, msn pals
rtorrent
w3m for browsing

Good luck

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Linux user #403491

"Men have called me mad; but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence– whether much that is glorious– whether all that is profound– does not spring from disease of thought– from moods of mind exalted at the expense of the general intellect." - E. A. Poe from Eleonora

thomas23

Member

From: Canada, Montreal

Registered: 2005-06-11

Posts: 40

Re: Just installed 0.7.2; what to do next?

In my opinion, since Arch does not have any graphical configuration tool, besides the ones included with desktops, or some web interface like cups or samba, You are defenitly going to improve your skills at the command line by simply using Arch. So installing your gui will simply add the comvinience to look at a wiki or google in firefox while testing some howtos with the command line right in the next window.

Using Arch as a desktop computer will improve your skills at the command line. But THE thing that makes you really good with it is configuring some kind of server, like a web server, or a database server, or a php website server (apache+mysql... ) or a web application server !!! That's Apache + Java + Tomcat + MySQL :twisted: (depends on the webapp.) and they must all work together !! So extra plugins to configure... All of this at the command-line since it is a server in the wardrobe... So no screen and connected via ssh.

Configuring a router at the command, and IP tables at the command line should be hard enought for a "n00b" (I still consider myself a n00b too, so you never stop to learn)

Vim is the best command-line text editor I know. Vi is a bit less intuitive. Nano have messed up with my config files too much already. Use it carefully.

And here is some reading about command line stuff http://www.linuxcommand.org/

Have fun ! (I do...;))

P.S. : Tomcat does not need Apache to work, but since you want to learn...

briancurtin

Member

From: Chicago, IL

Registered: 2006-02-11

Posts: 132

Website

Re: Just installed 0.7.2; what to do next?

I'd love to optimise Arch for my hardware but I don't know how to.  I know it has something to do with configuring these files:

/etc/mkinitrd.conf

we somewhat recently switched to <a href="http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Mkinitcpio" target="_blank">mkinitcpio</a>, so you'd want to check that out . welcome to arch