Thinking about switching to arch

llawwehttam · 2010-01-20 19:15:50

I really like the look of openbox but I don't know much about it. Is it as easy to use and configure as GNOME for example. I don't really want to install gnome just to get some more features for it so I'm wondering how good it is on its own.

I've had a look at the openbox wiki and It seems very helpful. Just wondering if anyone's has any opinions on how easy it is to set up for example the desktop wallpaper and a nice theme. I don't really want to be spending more then a day setting up a desktop environment.

I really like the look of it but if its too complicated I might be better of using XFCE or IceWM for example.

Thanks
Matt

drcouzelis · 2010-01-20 19:45:56

I'm a first time Openbox user. Setup is easy using the "obconf" program. Setting the wallpaper is easy using "feh". Setting up a panel was easy with "pypanel". There is another program for setting GTK settings. Even though it was "easy", I'm not sure I would say it took "less than a day", and I still don't have it setup exactly like I want it. Judging from the language in your post, I'm not sure if Openbox is what you want.

What "look" do you like about it?

llawwehttam · 2010-01-20 19:48:06

drcouzelis wrote:

What "look" do you like about it?

I like the way that it looks like a blank canvas that I can do anything with. I really want this to be a very custom system that I can use for a good long while.

I have a spare motherboard/processor/ram bundle so i just ordered a case and PSU for it and when I have the money I will get a hard drive and dvd drive then I can test various setups before I decide what I want. I would do it virtually but I prefer to set it up on an actual machine.

Thanks for all the help and advice.

Last edited by llawwehttam (2010-01-20 19:54:32)

Ronin15 · 2010-01-20 22:05:46

Arch is great!:D

Last edited by Ronin15 (2010-01-20 22:06:13)

panuh · 2010-01-20 22:43:58

drcouzelis wrote:

...is the Beginner's Guide also included on the install disc somewhere? It kind of makes sense to include it, but since it is a wiki and gets updated so often, I suppose it doesn't make THAT much sense.

I think it's a nice idea. I remember when I very first installed Arch, I had to write down all the manual wireless connection stuff on toilet paper (since I didn't find proper paper ). Ended up in reading bottom up.

And if such essential things should change, and with them the wiki page, it wouldn't really be an issue, since the image remains in the state for which the guide was written

bork · 2010-01-20 22:45:01

2 cents:
I think your making too much of it.
Arch is easy to install.
Arch is different, but not difficult.
Just go to the beginners guide and print the instructions so you'll have a reference to look at.
I flubbed my first install but that was just because I was feeling my way around the installer which after you get used to it you'll love it. You have complete control of the whole process (very similar to Slackware).
The total time it took me to bork my first install was maybe 20 minutes. That was time well spent because now I can almost do it in my sleep.
I would agree with a previous poster that suggested the use of VirtualBox for your first install. That way you can be on the beginners page while your installing Arch.

banditman · 2010-01-20 23:41:56

The one thing I really like about Arch is the amount of excellent wiki pages that cover just about everything! the begginers guide is absolutely top notch and if you follow it to the tee you wont have any problems with the install.

I have used both Arch and sidux for quite some time and have finally decided to stick with Arch as my rolling release distro. It was a very close decision though believe me as both are really excellent distros. I use Debian Squeeze for my main install as a stable fall back system and Arch on a separate partition so far no problems with either of them. However breakage can occur with Arch if an upgrade doesnt go to plan, so watch the forum and check for problems before doing a pacman -Syu

Enjoy

willxtreme · 2010-01-20 23:54:46

And to get you started with arch specially if you want OpenBox my mini-guide might be handy but it won't replace Arch's beginner's guide

Cows · 2010-01-21 08:08:36

I'm very new to Arch, I tried it back in 07 when I first started playing with Linux and I didn't really like or understand it (If I remember correctly). Now I came back to Arch like last week, and started messing around with it again. I almost quit a few times but for some reason I continued to try and build it. The main problem was setting up the X server. I learned that Xorg and Hal are now intertwined and are required. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing I don't know (Ubuntu is removing hal so they can make it boot faster, can we do this in Arch as well?). So as a new user to Arch, and I'm not really advanced in Linux, I'm pretty newb to Linux if anything, I would say that Arch is very easy to set up if you read the Beginners Guide and just use the power of the Forums and Google.

llawwehttam · 2010-01-21 09:49:41

willxtreme wrote:

And to get you started with arch specially if you want OpenBox my mini-guide might be handy but it won't replace Arch's beginner's guide

That guide looks great!! thanks.

Arch Linux

#26 2010-01-20 19:15:50

Re: Thinking about switching to arch

#27 2010-01-20 19:45:56

Re: Thinking about switching to arch

#28 2010-01-20 19:48:06

Re: Thinking about switching to arch

#29 2010-01-20 22:05:46

Re: Thinking about switching to arch

#30 2010-01-20 22:43:58

Re: Thinking about switching to arch

#31 2010-01-20 22:45:01

Re: Thinking about switching to arch

#32 2010-01-20 23:41:56

Re: Thinking about switching to arch

#33 2010-01-20 23:54:46

Re: Thinking about switching to arch

#34 2010-01-21 08:08:36

Re: Thinking about switching to arch

#35 2010-01-21 09:49:41

Re: Thinking about switching to arch

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