3 ms·
Disclaimer: I've been an incredibly happy Arch user for two years now (have it on all my home systems) which may indicate my bias. Whether I'm an "outcast" or
by tammer 15y ago
Disclaimer: I've been an incredibly happy Arch user for two years now (have it on all my home systems) which may indicate my bias.
Whether I'm an "outcast" or a "neckbeard" is entirely for others to decide. What I can tell you is that based on your comment, you simply have never experienced the joy of building something from scratch.
Rather than defend Arch explicitly, I'd like to use an example.
I like bicycles. I cycle 20 miles daily on my work commute and use my bike as my only form of transportation for running errands and getting around town.
The most "usable" route of transitioning to a car-free lifestyle would have to be going to a bike shop and buying one that fits. Now of course there's nothing wrong with this approach.
However, using this approach, when something goes wrong (as inevitably will happen with all machines, mechanical or digital) my reaction would most likely be be to look down at the problem, scratch my head, then walk my ass to the bike shop.
The approach I prefer is to build my bike from scratch. Acquire the perfect frame, the ideal wheelset, a rack that saves me some extra grams over what comes default on most transpo bikes.
Then all the tools.
When something goes wrong with my bike, I know exactly what's wrong. I know what shortcuts I took, what configuration I chose, and most importantly, I've got all the tools necessary to fix the problem.
Further, I know my bike is as fast and efficient as possible (given all necessary trade offs) because I was able to choose the ideal components.
tl;dr: I use Arch because time spent tinkering is time spent learning and optimizing. For more info I suggest anyone interested read The Arch Way: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/The_Arch_Way https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/The_Arch_Way
- sivers 15y agoThanks for this comparison. I hadn't noticed the similarities, but I'm the same way. VERY happy Arch user for 2 years now. And also planning on building my own bicycle from scratch for the same reasons you named. I wonder if this is one of those spectrums like Introvert ←→ Extrovert. People who study the roots ←→ People who just pick the fruit.
- anigbrowl 15y agoHowever, using this approach, when something goes wrong (as inevitably will happen with all machines, mechanical or digital) my reaction would most likely be be to look down at the problem, scratch my head, then walk my ass to the bike shop. You could just learn to maintain/repair the store bike, which has after all been designed to work by someone, and probably does most of the time. I've ridden bikes for years and only replaced things as they wear. Not that there's anything wrong with building your bike from scratch, but it's not an automatic guarantee of superiority.
- tammer 15y agoYou're entirely correct, and I regret that the negativity in the above comment brought that statement from me. In actuality, there's no superior way of learning, and no superior way of getting into cycling! Take the tone of my comment as a reaction.
- haha_rioja__ 15y agoYou could just learn to maintain/repair the store bike Personally, I find Ubuntu like a store-bought bike that uses a bunch of non-standard parts. You may have a complete tool kit, but you don't have the right tool for this bike. Or: when I troubleshoot Ubuntu, I learn Ubuntu. When I troubleshoot Arch, I learn Linux.
- colbyolson 15y agoI don't mean to hijack OPs response, but it reminded me of Robert M. Pirsig's book, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values. From Wikipedia: "In the book, the Narrator describes the "Romantic" approach to life of his friend John Sutherland, who chooses not to learn how to maintain his expensive new motorcycle. John simply hopes for the best with his bike, and when problems do occur he often becomes frustrated, and is forced to rely on professional mechanics to repair it. In contrast, the "classical" Narrator has an older motorcycle which he is usually able to diagnose and repair himself through the use of rational problem solving skills." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_and_the_Art_of_Motorcycle_Maintenance http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_and_the_Art_of_Motorcycle_M...