Local LUG wants me to do a talk about Archlinux.....Where to begin?

securitybreach · 2009-03-14 02:46:24

FIrst of all I have used Linux for 7 years and Archlinux for about 1.5 years. I know alot about Arch including installation; building the window manager----XFCE4, Gnome, KDE, and Openbox (what I use); yaourt and AUR; /etc/rc.conf; etc. My local LUG. which I have never attended since I just moved here, wants me to do a talk on Archlinux. This is because I have spent the last 2 days helping a couple of people I converted to Arch through the LUG irc channel with various setup issues. Anway, I have never done a public speaking besides a couple of times in college in group projects in front of my class. My question is where should I start? I know the wiki is very extensive and all the knowledge needed is there. Does anyone know how I should go about doing this? I would like to give out enough information to generate interest in Archlinux and to explain how powerful Archlinux really is.

Thanks for any and all suggestions.

Last edited by securitybreach (2009-03-14 03:00:00)

pyther · 2009-03-14 09:14:47

Could you take a look at some write ups and reviews and maybe base use those as a guide line.

You might want to have a powerpoint/impress slideshow highlighting some of the key features of arch...

-Installation - Easy, Quick (~15-25 minutes), Minimal, Build your own System parse (becuase it's minimal)
-Pacman (better than apt + yum )
-How to update
-How to remove a package and it uneeded depends
-ABS/AUR/makepkg
-Show an easy pkgbuild and explain how it works
-Show an harder pkgbuild (such as kernel26) and show that it just mainly some bash scripting and isn't all that hard
-Bleeding Edge
-i686 optimized for those using x86
-X86_64 support

dyscoria · 2009-03-14 09:31:31

You might want to include some of the stuff found in the "What is Arch Linux?", "The Arch Way" and "Arch vs Others" wiki pages.

Oh and I think it would be interesting to include a brief history of the project (e.g. when it was formed; mentioning Judd and Aaron etc.)

Last edited by dyscoria (2009-03-14 09:36:55)

Dieter@be · 2009-03-14 10:11:12

What pyther and dyscoria said.
Before you start explaining specific things etc, I would start of by explaining the core philosophy of Arch Linux, namely that simplicity here has the highest value. features/customizeability/speed etc come second (though usually you can get these things without conflicting with value #1, but not always). I think this is where we differ from pretty much all other distro's out there. And this is where I think Arch hits the sweet spot. Because it pays off in the end, not only for control freaks.

I would also emphasize the importance of the community, because the community really shapes up the whole Arch experience (think of AUR, and the variety of other software that archers are announcing here on the forums)

pyther wrote:

-i686 optimized for those using x86

You intended this well, but people may be confused by reading this:we do not support all x86 variants. only i686 and x86_64. there is an unofficial i586 project in development and if you want to go lower then that, I think you're pretty much on your own.

Last edited by Dieter@be (2009-03-14 10:14:13)

clarence · 2009-03-14 10:30:39

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Arc … er_Distros

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/The_Arch_Way

the bsd style init system. the rolling release system. and the awesomeness that is pacman and PKGBUILDs,

Last edited by clarence (2009-03-14 10:38:05)

Daenyth · 2009-03-14 12:35:42

Definitely worth mentioning that it has the best community of any distro (including ubuntu). IRC, forums, wiki, MLs, all top notch.

Dieter@be · 2009-03-14 13:44:08

Daenyth wrote:

Definitely worth mentioning that it has the best community of any distro (including ubuntu). IRC, forums, wiki, MLs, all top notch.

Formulated like that, it has a bit an arrogant tone imo. Good point, but should be a bit rephrased imo.

securitybreach · 2009-03-14 14:01:41

Thank you everyone for all the great ideals.

Thanks

clarence · 2009-03-15 03:18:14

+1 for the community and the fact that it does not take itself too seriously

securitybreach · 2009-03-15 03:20:33

No doubt, Over the next month I hope to take the ideals mentioned to provide a good review of Archlinux. Thanks again everyone.

Thanks

lilsirecho · 2009-03-15 04:50:39

The best is to demo arch.

Perhaps a "Live" demo with FaunOS as the medium.

Show how easy it is to install and have pacman as well...especially from a USB flash drive source!!

Then point out the factors all the others have posted.

cactus · 2009-03-15 06:30:29

securitybreach wrote:

Thanks for any and all suggestions.

Quite a while ago I wrote a 'review' of arch that some people found interesting, as it covered some of the things that make arch more 'archlike' (as apposed to covering simply installing it).

reference: http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=28490

It might be a bit dated, but feel free to poach any ideas as you see fit.

dhave · 2009-03-15 11:05:59

First, I'd spend a bit of time thinking about the audience, especially what they already know. Their main question will probably be, "How is Arch different from the rest of the Linux distros?" But maybe they'll have some more focused interests. You probably have some ideas.

With this in mind, I wouldn't spend too much time on the things that are common to all Linux distros. It's a Linux users group, so presumably they have some familiarity with Linux in general. Instead, try to focus on the places where Arch differs from Ubuntu on one end of the spectrum and, say, Slackware or Gentoo on the other.

They probably don't need a complete walk-through of the installation routine, since I bet they've installed a bunch of distros before. Instead, prepare a few screenshots that show how Arch's installation routine is basically non-graphical and that you need to know a thing or two about partitioning, etc.

From there, you may or may not want to mention that there is a wide selection of DEs and WMs. They'll probably be familiar with most. Perhaps show a screenshot of KDE4 or Gnome at one extreme, with one of the light WMs (flux, pekwm, whatever) on the other. This isn't especially Arch-specific,but at least they'll see that they're not bound to one DE as they might be with Kubuntu.

Then I'd dive into package management, with an emphasis on the fact that Arch is a rolling-release distro (most Linux geeks and hobbyists prefer this, I think). Pacman is one of Arch's great distinctives, and it exemplifies the KISS approach. I would do either a live demo or have some detailed screenshots of Pacman at work: pacman -Syu; pacman -S [packagename]; pacman -U [packagename] to revert to an earlier version; pacman -Qi [packagename].

Then wow them with AUR and ABS. You can show them how they can do AUR installs entirely hands-on or how they can use yaourt. Again, detailed screenshot sequences or live demos are worth the trouble here. Wrap this section up by doing a live demo of a customized build from ABS, and at least tell them how simple it is to customize, build and install a kernel.

Now go over the docs, especially the installation guide and the wiki. Screenshots or live demos are nice for this so that you're not just talking.

Conclude with comments about the community: this forum, maybe with some screenshots of some good threads, plus the mailing list and irq. Make sure that noobs know that they won't be blown out of the water, but that there is an expectation that people do a bit of reading and research and not just send off a "Help!" message at the first sign of trouble.

It's interesting and important to include a synopsis of Arch's "biography". You decide where to put it. If your audience is generally up on the evolution of Linux -- if, for example, the name "Crux" means something to them -- they might like to hear about this at the beginning of your presentation. Otherwise, you could cover this at nearly any point. But don't skip this, as Linux devotees like to hear how distros developed, since the story of most distros begins with one or two bright, curious Linux users -- not so unlike themselves -- who tried a lot of distros and then set out to make one that fit him or her the best, and how others joined in -- all very different from the Microsoft story.

One thing that interests a lot of serious users is how "cutting edge" a distro is. Most distros allow for some degree of adventurousness, and Arch is among them, though it's not imposed on the user. At the same time, people who want to get an installation working and then leave it alone probably wouldn't go for Arch.

Depending on how much time you have and how technically oriented your audience is, you could talk about basic config files (there's a nice, succinct list in the installation guide); init scripts; etc. Or you could save this for a second session, when you go more in depth into the coolness of Arch.

You'll have fun, I'm sure. I wish I could be there.

Last edited by dhave (2009-03-15 12:50:27)

securitybreach · 2009-03-15 14:07:25

Thanks

Arch Linux

#1 2009-03-14 02:46:24

Local LUG wants me to do a talk about Archlinux.....Where to begin?

#2 2009-03-14 09:14:47

Re: Local LUG wants me to do a talk about Archlinux.....Where to begin?

#3 2009-03-14 09:31:31

Re: Local LUG wants me to do a talk about Archlinux.....Where to begin?

#4 2009-03-14 10:11:12

Re: Local LUG wants me to do a talk about Archlinux.....Where to begin?

#5 2009-03-14 10:30:39

Re: Local LUG wants me to do a talk about Archlinux.....Where to begin?

#6 2009-03-14 12:35:42

Re: Local LUG wants me to do a talk about Archlinux.....Where to begin?

#7 2009-03-14 13:44:08

Re: Local LUG wants me to do a talk about Archlinux.....Where to begin?

#8 2009-03-14 14:01:41

Re: Local LUG wants me to do a talk about Archlinux.....Where to begin?

#9 2009-03-15 03:18:14

Re: Local LUG wants me to do a talk about Archlinux.....Where to begin?

#10 2009-03-15 03:20:33

Re: Local LUG wants me to do a talk about Archlinux.....Where to begin?

#11 2009-03-15 04:50:39

Re: Local LUG wants me to do a talk about Archlinux.....Where to begin?

#12 2009-03-15 06:30:29

Re: Local LUG wants me to do a talk about Archlinux.....Where to begin?

#13 2009-03-15 11:05:59

Re: Local LUG wants me to do a talk about Archlinux.....Where to begin?

#14 2009-03-15 14:07:25

Re: Local LUG wants me to do a talk about Archlinux.....Where to begin?

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