Can we please, PLEASE for gods sake just all agree that arch is not and will never be a good beginner distro no matter how many times you fork it?
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I was not technically a newbie since I had previously used ubuntu in the distant past, and probably a few others I can't remember, but I came back with EndeavourOS and I'm having a great time. I did have a few challenges though I am fairly tech savvy and I knew what I was getting into so I was definitely not a regular novice.
After a single big oopsie I've been running a very stable system and I've kept with it with practically no issues, at least none I wasn't willing and able to solve. I troubleshot an issue I was having with a package installation the other day without finding any help online and that made me proud of myself.
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I've heard about that, but I haven't tried it myself.
Thanks for mentioning it.
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But we're not talking about rolling or cutting edge distros. MX is based on Debian Stable. Also last time I checked (about a month ago) MX Linux does support Flatpak. Also also, you can enable systemd if you want, but seeing as we're talking about a distro for complete beginners, I don't think they're going to notice, know, or care. Also also also, I really don't care enough about this to drag it out into some protracted argument.
Download ventoy, slap a few distros on a usb stick, try them, use what you like.
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"Conveniently?" I'm not making a case against Arch.
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Nah, maybe 10 years ago or so. Now you install it with a script and it just works.
Installing packages on Arch is way, way easier than doing it on Ubuntu, the OS that for some reason people keep recommending for newcommers.
And since installing packages is about the only thing that you do with your OS as a beginner, that's a big deal -
Thanks! Found Garuda is from this thread! You're a real one!
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What do you mean by "become bullshit"?
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Im like 2 grub breaks away from going back lol
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They still do. But projects like bluefin are striving to get rid of it entirely. Flatpak installation is not package management, they are containerized applications.
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Petulant counterpoint: SteamOS 3.0 is based on Arch and is a good newbie distro
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I'd just like to vent that these kind of discussions are one of the big turnoffs of the Linux community in general. People speak "in absolutes".
You either do it this way or you're a dumbass. You either use the distribution I like or you're doing it WRONG. You shouldn't use Arch because you're not experienced enough, you should use Mint for an arbitrary amount of time before you graduate to the good stuff.
You friends get way too worked up over other people's personal preferences and push your biased and subject views as facts. Is Arch Linux the right fit for a newbie to Linux? The right answer is "it depends", not "never".
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one of the main points of arch is for people wanting to learn these details. its not for everyone.
if you want a distro to just work, i second the suggestion from the other dude. get a debian based one.
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I just don't understand how someone can claim that Arch is a "distro template".
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There’s a good reason why there is no GUI installer in arch (aside from being able to load it into ram).
This is the dumbest conceit of the arch community. I learned Linux using Fedora back when regular usage required more know how than installing arch does and it was enormously helpful to have something you could click and install and THEN learn in a functional environment. Also following the guide isn't THAT hard its just a waste of effort for a million people to do so.
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Bit of a different beast. Not something I would daily drive though. Slackware perhaps. But gentoo other then the docs being top notch and the learning experience being fairly streamlined. It is also a good distro for daily use.
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Cause there's like six other distros based on it. The point is that a package manager especially is a huge part of what differentiates the general experience of using a distro.
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And no, it doesn't run worse
Flatpaks that aren't official products of the source project sometimes have interesting issues pertaining to their permissions, are harder to set as the handler for files, harder to enable usage of system tools, don't follow system themes, are harder to start or use from the command line, and yes start slower than native apps.
I like the idea that even stable distros can have latest stuff easily or distros which don't package a given project. I use a few myself. It is certainly annoying that it ends up teaching people about what dirs they need to share with flatseal, flatseal, desktop files, and the command line for something which is supposed to simplify things.
Kinda feels like less work to use rolling release with a more comprehensive set of packages.
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That depends on what the beginner's goal is. Arch could very well be a nice beginner distro, as could Gentoo or Slackware or any other "hard" distro if you're determined to learn. My baptism of fire was on Slackware in the 90s (which I'm still on), long before "beginner distros". Trying and failing was a big part of the fun. If you're determined to learn, I don't see any issue with starting with a distro that doesn't hold your hand.
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That was in 2004. So yeah, it went well, as I'm still running Gentoo.
The installation went ok, but it took ages. I had Compaq Armada E500: Single core 900MHz Pentium III and 256MB of RAM.
I had help from my friend who explained in detail what we were doing and why during the installation process.Next time I needed to install Gentoo I did it by my self. I had the Gentoo Handbook open on other machine and I followed it carefully. I was surprised by how smoothly the install went.
Few weeks ago I once again installed Gentoo onto a new machine. 36-cores (two Xeons) and 256GB of RAM. It's always funny to compare how much more powerful my newest machine is compared to my first Gentoo machine.
Oh and welcome to Gentoo.
If you need any help the forums are a great place to ask. -
IMO learning the basics of computing, go for as early as possible. Especially with this new generation of kids.
2 months ago she didn't even know how to use a mouse properly, and now she's a whiz. The funniest is when you try to show her something on the screen and she tries to click it like it's a touch-screen and I have to be like "no, use the mouse!"
It's a struggle to get started, but once they have that foundational knowledge they pick things up so quickly.
