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> And then I recommend something like Arch Linux whenever you feel like you are ready for something more advanced! What's so great about Arch? Why should I was

> And then I recommend something like Arch Linux whenever you feel like you are ready for something more advanced! What's so great about Arch? Why should I waste my time getting the basic functionality working, like X or audio?

compay 16y ago
I use Arch but I wouldn't necessarily take the author's advice. If you enjoy tinkering and want to learn more about administering a linux machine, Arch is great. But if you want things to "just work" then Ubuntu is also great.
abentspoon 16y ago
Less magic. Ubuntu is a complex system, and hard for a beginner to learn and customize. However, there's no need to switch while you're happy with Ubuntu.
- koenigdavidmj 16y ago
  Agree. I'm a Slackware user because too many times has Ubuntu booted and showed me a dialog box saying "I updated your system and broke everything; have fun fixing it". If I wanted something that constantly breaks things and then try to get off by looking cute, I'd get a puppy. EDIT: s/Slackware/& user/
Sirupsen 16y ago
To learn.
- nearestneighbor 16y ago
  > To learn. Learn what? How to get the basic functionality working? So that when when you are installing Arch, you would know how to do it? Sounds perfectly reasonable, I guess. P.S. I've been using Linux since the '90s. Configured X, etc. a bunch of times. You know what I've learned? That it's stupid when the computer can't do it for you. Not all "learning" is created equal.
  - Sirupsen 16y ago
    Learn how Linux works. Configuring X and audio is a part of that. If one is not interested in doing such things, then Arch or any other similar OS would obviously not be the right choice.
    - nearestneighbor 16y ago
      > Learn how Linux works. If that's your goal, you may be better off learning C or Assembly (since you are coming from PHP)
johkra 16y ago
For me, there are three main reasons: * Customizability. It's very easy to build a system just the way I want it. * Rolling release. There are no releases every six months, but when a new version of a software is released, I get it after a short testing period. * Package availability. Everything I need is either in the repositories or easily buildable from AUR. (Using simple recipes called PKGBUILDs). BUT: This is only great, if you know your way around Linux - I can install and configure Arch in less than 2 hours, but my notebook for instance uses the same install for about 2 years now. The good wiki helps to gain this knowledge, but it's still very unfamiliar for most people.
steveklabnik 16y ago
I enjoy using Arch because it puts me in total control of what's on the system. Also, X and audio really take just a few minutes to set up.

compay 16y ago

I use Arch but I wouldn't necessarily take the author's advice. If you enjoy tinkering and want to learn more about administering a linux machine, Arch is great. But if you want things to "just work" then Ubuntu is also great.

abentspoon 16y ago

Less magic. Ubuntu is a complex system, and hard for a beginner to learn and customize. However, there's no need to switch while you're happy with Ubuntu.

koenigdavidmj 16y ago
Agree. I'm a Slackware user because too many times has Ubuntu booted and showed me a dialog box saying "I updated your system and broke everything; have fun fixing it". If I wanted something that constantly breaks things and then try to get off by looking cute, I'd get a puppy. EDIT: s/Slackware/& user/

Sirupsen 16y ago

To learn.

nearestneighbor 16y ago
> To learn. Learn what? How to get the basic functionality working? So that when when you are installing Arch, you would know how to do it? Sounds perfectly reasonable, I guess. P.S. I've been using Linux since the '90s. Configured X, etc. a bunch of times. You know what I've learned? That it's stupid when the computer can't do it for you. Not all "learning" is created equal.
- Sirupsen 16y ago
  Learn how Linux works. Configuring X and audio is a part of that. If one is not interested in doing such things, then Arch or any other similar OS would obviously not be the right choice.
  - nearestneighbor 16y ago
    > Learn how Linux works. If that's your goal, you may be better off learning C or Assembly (since you are coming from PHP)

johkra 16y ago

For me, there are three main reasons: * Customizability. It's very easy to build a system just the way I want it. * Rolling release. There are no releases every six months, but when a new version of a software is released, I get it after a short testing period. * Package availability. Everything I need is either in the repositories or easily buildable from AUR. (Using simple recipes called PKGBUILDs). BUT: This is only great, if you know your way around Linux - I can install and configure Arch in less than 2 hours, but my notebook for instance uses the same install for about 2 years now. The good wiki helps to gain this knowledge, but it's still very unfamiliar for most people.

steveklabnik 16y ago

I enjoy using Arch because it puts me in total control of what's on the system. Also, X and audio really take just a few minutes to set up.