If you are like me an want to try ArchLinux, but were discouraged by its awkward installation program and the complex task to convert the base system into a usable desktop, here is a new option for you: Arch Linux Office Install CD: “This CD installs a complete setup of Arch Linux distribution. No ‘configure’ is needed except to prepare hard disk, set mount points, and install the LILO boot loader. Also no post configure. Once installed, you can start working with popular Linux programs for office, Internet, and web development. If you are new to Linux, this installer is a good starting place to begin.” It comes with Linux 2.6.18.3, X.Org 7.0, KDE 3.5.5, and the usual open source software applications.
It should be noted that this is a third party contribution and not official part of Arch Linux, neither the successor of the default installer.
Using the default installer, you don’t have many tasks to do. A typical install needs 30 minutes, with all the user input. On the other hand, after the installation, you are on yourself creating xorg.conf and alikes.
This is a worthfull contribution, but it doesn’t conform to Arch’s “KISS” philosophy. It would be nice to have it as a package or alternative installation path in Arch.
If you are new to Linux, this installer is a good starting place to begin.
If you are new to Linux, you had better stay away from Arch! 🙂
I am a satisfied Arch user, but if you don’t have time/know/like tinkering your system, you won’t like Arch. Better use Ubuntu. For an old computer, Slackware or a derived distro will do fine.
The rest of you, use Arch! 🙂
“If you are new to Linux, this installer is a good starting place to begin.
If you are new to Linux, you had better stay away from Arch! 🙂
I am a satisfied Arch user, but if you don’t have time/know/like tinkering your system, you won’t like Arch. Better use Ubuntu. For an old computer, Slackware or a derived distro will do fine.
The rest of you, use Arch! :-)”
Yeah I have to agree here:)
I’ve tried Arch for a while, and it was not realy what i consider a begginer-friendly distro…
But I guess that depends on what type of beginner you are though, if you are willing and have to learn, Arch is a good disto, because it allows(more or less makes you:)) to do things by your self, but if you are a beginner that just want to try something different and have it work right away, better try one of the ubuntus, SuSE, Fedora etc…
(edit: spelling)
Edited 2006-12-18 19:55
Well, arch is considerably easy to learn, because it’s simple. People who know stuff about computers but not linux can have a good start with it, even if they are “new to linux”.
John Doe not.
The only thing you basically have to do (with all the udev stuff today) is edit your rc.conf, add your user to audio, optical etc. groups and create Xorg.conf. It seems this CD does the difficult stuff for you.
Having a working setup and editing here and there is much easier than having to write it all yourself.
If you are new to Linux, you had better stay away from Arch! 🙂
I’d say ‘new to computers’. It’s not as difficult as some users would like to make out. The learning curve of a computer itself is steeper than Windows > Arch or similar.
I know the archlinux installer is text mode but really, it’s not that hard.
Arch is a nice distro, it follows the KISS principle and doesn’t need an easy(?) installer, because it got one already. People who can’t cope with it should stay with one of the xxxx other distros. Don’t know why to spend any menpower to such a project. But hey – it’s open source, do what you want :o) OMG 😉
I looked at the screenshots and it is really no better than the official installer. This one actually looks harder! I like to choose what packages I want and have total control. The whole point of this is to force you to use their slow, bloated form of arch.
Edited 2006-12-18 20:49
What innovations are found in Archlinux that are not available in other distributions?
What is its raison d’être?
I am a known tinkerer, but there are distributions that do not seem worth the pain that they put you through. All the “easy” distributions also allow you to boot into init 3 and do all the hard things and to keep it as simple as you wish. I won’t name any, unless asked in a follow-up post, because there are a large number of user-friendly (and administrators are users too) distributions that do a very good job at providing a good operating system.
What’s more many of the other distributions have larger communities behind them, more packages, books that you can purchase on Amazon to further your knowledge, in summary, a complete ecosystem that makes your time investment worthwhile.
Of course, Arch Linux exists because its developers enjoy putting together a distribution enough that they are willing to do it, but I am wondering what brings users to the smaller distributions.
Edited 2006-12-18 21:53
>>>What is its raison d’être?
-Pacman, its package manager. It is the best package manager around.
-The fact that you can easily run only what you want to run on the system. Arch only installs what you tell it to.
-It is fast as hell.
-ABS (Arch Build System) makes it somewhat trivial to build your own packages from source or add your own customizations to existing packages.
I have used many, many distros. Arch is the best.
It’s said about a dozen time by now. KISS. Show me any desktop linux, with the same elegant infrastructure as Arch linux. It’s not that kind of outer beauty you get in ubuntu / suse / whatever, but arch is beautiful from the inside as well. _everything_ is made to serve you with the least effort possible, yet bringing you as much power and flexibility you can squeeze without making it complicated. Like gentoo you say? No! Gentoo is about giving users complete control. Arch is about giving users as much control you can, again, without making it comlicated. You’ll have to try it yourself. I can not give you one example because you discover something really “neat” every day.
What is my favourite you ask? ABS. It makes packaging a freakin breeze. So much more fun than the rest. Oh, and did i mention it’s drop dead easy too.?
Does this Office Install CD supports USB optical drive?.. What about the new 0.8 Voodoo Alpha ISO?
To install Arch on the Sony Vaio UX, compilation of a kernel with additional USB option is necessary. Booting from existing partition is also possible but is slightly messy for a small 32GB flash hard drive. Inconvenience gets out of hand in this situation.
The code naming scheme should get on track at least for the 1.0 release and Debian is #1 until the USB installation bug is resolved.
Note: such ‘all-in-one’ Office CD doesn’t fit the Arch spirit very well.
If I can do it, anyone can. If you have a newer nvidia card, you don’t even have to make an xorg.conf file. you just install the nvidia drivers and type nvidia-xconfig. Someone correct me if I’m wrong.
Tim Holwerdi
Hi, My name is Tim Holwerdi.
I am gonna tell you my last dream…
I am an Aszzhole in search of Notoriety…
I work in a Website that offers news of IT and Open Source.
I pretend that I do it for the sake of love for IT, but the fact is that, I am expecting good revenues for the
future…
If not, why should I loose my time looking for IT news in other IT Web Sites that offer what I am not able to
offer… for the sake of these IT weirdos geeks and Open source-free computing fanboys…? c’mon…
I think I know more than the rest, of course… and I am always right!
Yes, I know more than anyone of you about Computers, and about anything else you can imagine! even If many people prove me the contrary, I am still right…
Me and my Mac go together everywhere, I even sleep with it, which is somehow problematic, cause as you can imagine, is not easy to have sexual relations tru an USB port, or a FireWire one… but I am in love anyway!…
Anything that is not Mac or commercial, is just wacko rubbish!
And, of course, is not going to offer me anything, because all these Open Source weirdos have no future, and are not gonna advertise in my site, or pay me money… I dont even talk about the FSF retarded hippies!
At best the big companies that now move to Linux, and pretend to be Open Source, worth a little bit, and may be a source of revenues in the future if the have some sucess…
Cheers…
P.S. Apple Rocks… Linux sucks… (MS is very good also, cause they have plenty of money, and are the pattern of our great western Businnes Economic and social system…)