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1 • Wanting-a-different-version (by Andy Prough on 2020-03-23 01:38:29 GMT from United States)
Jesse said: "In cases where you are using a more cutting edge distribution, such as Gentoo or a member of the Arch Linux family, you can install a new version of an application and then "pin" or "lock" it using your package manager. This causes the package to no longer get updated, letting you stick with the version you like for as long as you want."
Tumbleweed allows you to lock packages as well.
This is something I need to try on Artix, as there are a few packages for which a more conservative approach would be nice.
The ability to easily install different versions of packages is something I like about MX. In the MX Package Installer, you've got the conservative stuff from Debian Buster for the most part, but MX also makes the Debian Backports plus MX's own testing repo available with more recent packages.
2 • Anarchy Linus Review (by Vern on 2020-03-23 01:45:02 GMT from United States)
It's been a while since I use Anarchy Linux. I recently forgot all about it. Been using another distro. Thank you for a great review. I think I moved away from Arch type installs because of all the constant updates. Athough I sure one can limit that to a minimum.
3 • Software versions (by DaveW on 2020-03-23 01:54:34 GMT from United States)
I am running Linux Mint 18.3. I have 6 versions of LibreOffice installed in parallel, from 3.3 to 7.0-alpha. They are all usable, and I have applications for each. Just one example of what can be done with Linux.
4 • Anarchy review and related thoughts (by randomly generated entity on 2020-03-23 02:05:15 GMT from United States)
I'm sure Anarchy is a fine way to more easily install Arch, with the assorted gotchas encountered by the reviewer to be expected. Arch is about as bleeding edge as it gets after all, and installing it via any non-"Arch Way" is bound to require a little extra effort/research. Might as well just do it their way in the first place if you ask me...
What I find odd is that Plasma/KDE is not one of the default desktop options. Instead we find three different flavors of Gnome-ishness (Budgie and Cinnamon are both, to my mind, just Gnome made less inherently insane), Openbox(!), and Xfce. Why the heavy lean towards GTK and away from QT, which Arch does just fine with?
I wouldn't mind seeing a more KDE-centric simplified Arch (anyone else remember Bridge?). One that's genuinely up to date (unlike Manjaro) and perhaps offers the user an easier way to strip out some of the less useful bits (all the PIM stuff, Kmail, baloo, etc.). There's so much to the whole KDE experience that it just begs for a way to more specifically fine-tune the install.
5 • A Fair & Balanced Anarchy Linux Review (by David on 2020-03-23 02:26:49 GMT from United States)
Joshua -
Thanks for your insightful review of my favorite Arch installer, which I have used with regularity over the past few years, after having failed to succeed repeatedly by doing it "The Arch Way."
I would hesitate to call it a distro though, since it installs virtually plain vanilla Arch without the bloated proprietary repositories that all of the Arch offspring distros such as Manjaro and Arco include in their ISO files, also including the Zen Installer in that category, which falls just short of Anarchy in that regard.
I'd recommend that anyone interested in using Anarchy do just the base installation first, then add desired packages post-installation. I always use the Packages tool to uninstall any packages that I do not need or want during post-installation as well, with a word of caution to keep an eye on any possible broken dependencies that might crash the system. I've learned which packages I can dump, and those that I must retain via trial and error during my first several installation attempts.
I've never had the requirement to do a server installation, so the issues that you encountered have never had any bearing on my single-user status, but it is a responsible consideration for any potential server user to have a clear perspective on the installation problems that you encountered.
Using Anarchy Linux eliminated the intimidation factor that Arch can impose on some potential users, as it did for me, and I know there are those that will never use it because of SystemD, but for anyone that is interested in learning about and evaluating pure Arch for themselves, Anarchy Linux will provide the fastest and easiest startng point.
JMHO
6 • Anarchy (by Rick on 2020-03-23 12:07:34 GMT from United States)
Thanks for reviewing Anarchy! I eased into using Arch with other Arch based distro (Antergos) to see if it was for me before installing the "Arch way". Anarchy fills the niche left by Antergos by providing a near stock Arch install to get a user started.
I recently tried Anarchy and found it a rather good way to get going with an Arch-based install that has a nearly stock configuration.I found that removing theming gave me a very close to vanilla Arch install.
I did not try the advanced install and revisited it after reading the review. It is a very nice option and also provides a way for KDE lovers to install a plasma desktop,
This is a great way to test the Arch Linux world and see if it is for you! Thanks!
7 • Arch Linux installers (by OstroL on 2020-03-23 13:01:49 GMT from Poland)
It is good that there are developers/users, who care enough to create an installer for Arch Linux, because that way an ordinary user an install Arch Linux. Once, Arch Linux is installed, there's no need to install again, or wait for a periodic release. Simply update your installation once in a while. That's the beauty of Arch Linux.
8 • Anarchy (by Bob on 2020-03-23 13:06:13 GMT from United States)
...meh...I'll stick with current Archman and Manjaro install styles. It isn't that difficult to remove unwanted features and add my preferred applications. Nuff said.
9 • Arch installer - Archlab (by Simon on 2020-03-23 13:35:43 GMT from Switzerland)
I've never used Anarchy Linux and I cannot say how good it is.
But, recently, I've tried Archlab, which uses its own installer to install Arch. It is very good. You end up whit a slick Arch install with very little customization. Archlab works very well on my Asus laptop: the only point which bothers me are the endless Arch updates. But lets see hot it goes.
10 • Doesn't matter which Arch installer (by Lin on 2020-03-23 14:49:38 GMT from United Kingdom)
Doesn't matter which Arch installer, as far as it installs pure Arch Linux. After that, it is just a question of periodical updating of the installed system.
11 • Anarchy lost in the crowd (by Vern on 2020-03-23 15:22:18 GMT from United States)
I'm a bit confused. I used Anarchy in the distant past, and have forgotten about it because its not on the top 100. Once I found it, it appears to show that it first release is Jan 2020. that's not so:
https://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=anarchy
12 • RockSolid Signage (by Alexandru on 2020-03-23 15:26:08 GMT from Austria)
We were already witnesses of Oracle Unbreakable Linux, which silently changed its name into Oracle Linux. Such strong names are an invitation for crachers to test just how unbreakable / rock solid is the distribution.
13 • Anarchy releases (by Jesse on 2020-03-23 15:45:17 GMT from Canada)
@11: The page you linked to isn't indicating Anarchy's first release was in January 2020, only that the first one since DistroWatch started tracking it occurred in January. Release information is not retroactively added once a project gets put in the database.
14 • Anarchy (by Jeffrydada on 2020-03-23 18:45:10 GMT from United States)
@6 If you liked Antergos try RebornOS it is the spiritual successor to Antergos. Find in on the waiting list
15 • EarlyOOM service in Fedora 32 (by vasea on 2020-03-23 22:22:28 GMT from Republic of Moldova)
besides other there should be "I use BSD" option in the poll,
cause BSD has such functionality implemented ages ago.
I always was frustrated by linux running OOM, this was the only one feature in windows i missed.
Until I found BSD systems.
16 • #13 Tracking Anarchy (by Vern on 2020-03-23 23:31:40 GMT from United States)
Jesse, I didn't realize Distrowatch only started tracking Anarchy in 2020. I used it over a year ago. Seems to me there was a name change along the way, as Arch Linux didn't like its first naming.
17 • EarlyOOM (by Hoo Da Hell on 2020-03-24 03:13:42 GMT from Brazil)
In a desktop PC with 16GB RAM, like mine, EarlyOOM serves to nothing.
18 • @16 (by Hoos on 2020-03-24 05:44:20 GMT from Singapore)
'Twas called Arch Anywhere.
I do like its installer, but I can see why Arch objected to its original name, since they disagree that a system installed via any installer tool remains pure Arch. It's their right, as the IP owner of the name.
19 • Early OOM (by hank on 2020-03-24 07:12:06 GMT from Germany)
Early OOM, is this the answer to the Gigabyte Log files System D was writing to my SDD, slowing down my system and finally leaving me with no more space for files.
Thank you Mr Pottering, this issue encouraged me to try a system death free Distro.
I will NEVER install a Distro with that crap again.
20 • If EarlyOOM would stop me from opening one more tab, maybe (by Ole 1-2 GB Laptops on 2020-03-24 09:48:34 GMT from Austria)
I already know opening too many browser tabs is what causes my OOM swapping. So EarlyOOM will kill my browser so I don't have to cycle power...Maybe that's a small improvement, but not much. If it would pop up a "No More Tabs" warning when approaching the limit, that would be helpful.
21 • @4 (by James on 2020-03-24 11:14:16 GMT from United States)
The Anarchy installer offers KDE as an option in the non-customized desktop section. Meaning it installs the vanilla KDE Plasma desktop without any Anarchy customization. You can install every other supported DE in the same way if you don't want the Anarchy customization.
22 • Anarchy (by pavlos on 2020-03-24 17:12:46 GMT from Poland)
@ Joshua Allen Holm
Please be so kind and correct the very first sentence of the article - Anarchy is definitely NOT an Arch-based distribution. This is pure Arch distribution with the Anarchy installer add-on. Which is also bolded out on the Anarchy website.
Anarchy does NOT offer its own repository or any other distribution than Arch's own. During installation pacstrap pulls everything from original Arch repos.
By the way, such installers are against Arch purists. I would rather agree with them - proper manual installation may be tricky, but offers the fastest possible learning curve for newcommers. First, you can practice it as many times as necessary on a VM, then how frequently you need trepeating the process? Maybe if you work at a datacenter... This was also my case - I have tried all Manjaros, Antergoss's, all Architects, Archmans etc in VM... Finally I have finished with pure Arch installation. Knowing and understanding much more...
Do you have a brain? You'd better use it - doesn't pain, and brings a lot of fun,,, :)
23 • @21, @22 (by randomly generated entity on 2020-03-24 17:57:31 GMT from United States)
Yes, I gathered that KDE was an option if one were to go the "Anarchy-Advanced" route. I mean... that's fine, but if you're gonna do that, is an "Arch Way" install really that much more difficult? Furthermore, I wonder what the "customized" actually entails with the less advanced desktop options. If, as @22 claims, Anarchy is "a pure Arch distribution", why/how would anything be changed from what Arch provides?
Look, I'm well aware of the "btw, I use Arch" thing and how elitist it appears, but it seriously ain't all that hard to do a real Arch install, especially now that wifi-menu has been added. I can remember beating my head against the old fashioned way of getting wifi working from the install iso (before I became a chroot aficionado) and that was really the only sticking point. It's worth the minimal extra effort to gain a bit more understanding of what makes Arch's implementation of Linux tick.
24 • Anarchy status (by Jesse on 2020-03-24 20:19:58 GMT from Canada)
@22: "Please be so kind and correct the very first sentence of the article - Anarchy is definitely NOT an Arch-based distribution. This is pure Arch distribution with the Anarchy installer add-on. Which is also bolded out on the Anarchy website."
Anarchy Linux meets all the qualifications of a distribution. The developers may not see it that way, but they meet all our criteria of a distro, based on Arch. Holm's observation is accurate.
25 • EarlyOOM and Anarchy (by Bill on 2020-03-24 20:26:59 GMT from Australia)
Doesn't the kernal already do what EarlyOOM does?
I would be interested to try it on one of my lower power laptops anyway.
Arch is pretty easy to run and rarely breaks these days, while I wouldn't recommend it to a newcomer, anyone who has been using Linux for a few months should be able to manage it and there is no reason not to have a simple installer in 2020. Thanks Anarchy for saving me precious time.
26 • Arch Installer (by Justin on 2020-03-24 21:08:45 GMT from United States)
Having an Arch installer is the same reason to have automated build scripts for LFS... to save time for those who have done it several times before (but don't have it memorized) and want to stand up another machine efficiently (i.e., do other work while waiting for the install).
I agree with the reasoning that the manual install scares away newbies that will be over their head, and going through the process manually does teach you a lot. At the same time, I understand the process, I understand what the choices mean, I just want to set and forget an install, not babysit it for 15-20 minutes (and forget to install the bootloader and so have to do it all again). Having DE options is a nice perk so that, again, I avoid stupid mistakes like forgetting to install xorg-xinit because I'm in a hurry.
27 • Arch way no way. (by Vern on 2020-03-24 23:14:57 GMT from United States)
I've installed Arch, the Arch Way several. Never again. I would now prefer a distro like Anarchy to do the mundane tasks so I don't skip a step.
On the same note, I have in the past compiled my kernels. It takes a lot of time, and in the end, for me, not worth it. It was a learning experience while I was doing it.
28 • Anarchy status (by pavlos on 2020-03-25 00:36:55 GMT from Poland)
@24: I wouldn't agree that Anarchy meets all qualifications to be a separate distribution.
After the DW glossary: "A project which ships an operating system that includes the Linux kernel is said to be a Linux distribution.". This project does NOT ship any other operating system and any other Linux kernel than Arch's own.
Archman ISO is just the installer, doesn't ship anything important to your finally installed system. As I said, during the install all OS core contents is pulled directly from Arch repo, especially the kernel. You simply can't install it without the Internet - can you?
@26: I can fully understand that such an installer may facilitate a lot and our life becomes much easier... This is nothing wrong about the installer in itself... Yes, I have made my own notes to not to forget about xorg-xinit during installing a desktop environment...
And some of us have also tried gentoo, a hardcore DIY distro... Linux From Scratch?... No, I didn't, didn't have to. Life is too short to spend hours/days/weeks on recompiling every piece of code with each update... On the other hand, it really may be so interesting to know "how the hell it works" :-)
29 • Anarchy (by Jesse on 2020-03-25 00:53:04 GMT from Canada)
@28: "This project does NOT ship any other operating system and any other Linux kernel than Arch's own."
This isn't entirely true. As pointed out in the review, Anarchy customizes their supported desktop environments. You don't end up with pure Arch if you use the anarchy installer. Also, if you claim Anarchy isn't a distribution then Antergos, EndeavourOS, and Reborn aren't distributions either. Basically almost no Arch-based projects could be considered distributions.
Anarchy provides an operating system, Linux kernel, customized packages, an installer and independent ISO. It has its own website, dev team and support resources. That makes it a separate distro by my standards.
30 • The 'Feynman Disease'. (by R. Cain on 2020-03-25 02:49:54 GMT from United States)
@27--
"...On the same note, I have in the past compiled my kernels. It takes a lot of time, and in the end, for me, not worth it. It was a learning experience while I was doing it. "
***************************************************************************************
"You know how, after doing something, the Universe says to you, 'Don't do that again'? That's called a 'learning experience'."--Douglas Adams
31 • Anarchy installation: true distro? (by Hoos on 2020-03-25 04:51:54 GMT from Singapore)
It's been a while since I tested an anarchy install (VM), but I seem to recall that the installer gave the user the option to only have the Arch repos, or to also include their customised DE. The latter would include their choice of gtk theme and icons, and also their wallpapers. Certainly the wallpapers don't come from pure Arch repos.
Looks like you have a choice; in fact, there were lots of options in the installer for your setup, as I recall. That's distro-ish enough to me. Nothing wrong with that, IMO.
32 • What is best? (by One year-old newbie on 2020-03-25 09:45:24 GMT from United States)
@3 "Just one example of what can be done with Linux"
Compaq Armada 110 that come with Millennium, today runs XP 32bit OS with Office XP, Office 2007 & Office 2010 (no internet of course, because of the browsers not the OS)
As W7 refugee newbie I tried Antix, MX, Netrunner & after PCLinuxOS bricked a 32GB USB stick, I moved to Arch-based, since SistemD-free distros don't like to run on my old machines.
Arch-way was to much, so I installed Anarchy, thanks to its installer. After a short while with Manjaro, I moved to Arco, installed on a 64GB USB stick. (even if installed on its own HDD, runs way slower than W7, freezes and "gives" me a myriad of updates, so I don't like it too much, either.)
33 • EarlyOOM (by Ankleface Wroughlandmire on 2020-03-25 13:14:23 GMT from Ecuador)
I use EarlyOOM on my openSUSE laptop with 8GB of RAM to keep me out of trouble when I have to run Windows 10 in a VM. Frankly, I hate the idea of a user-space process being in charge of such a fundamental function as memory management, but it is unfortunately necessary. In my experience, the Linux kernel has laughably poor memory management for desktop usage patterns. It doesn't manage swap space well, leaving junk in the swap space even after manually closing processes to free up plenty of RAM. And even if there is no swap space configured, it still thrashes the disk, I don't remember the exact technical explanation of what it's exactly doing, but it brings the system to its knees. And that's the problem, in my opinion, the kernel should never *ever* allow a user-space process to bring down the system. Sure, the kernel and the daemons are technically still running, but anything that requires user interactivity with the mouse is rendered useless, and everything goes into a death spiral unless you SysRq out of it to manually invoke the OOM killer. Hence the necessity of EarlyOOM.
34 • @33 (by Justin on 2020-03-25 15:50:33 GMT from United States)
I ran into the disk thrashing with kwapd0 eating up 100% CPU on an old netbook with no swap configured. The problem is that the file cache is being purged to free up memory for programs. The kernel uses your excess RAM to cache files from disk to speed up performance. This is why when you open Firefox the first time it is one speed and closing and reopening is much faster. All the files to load from disk are already in memory.
What bugs me is that this thrashing can happen even with a fair amount of free memory. I was experimenting with KDE Neon so that I had a modern KDE experience (supposedly the latest KDE has lower memory requirements, and Trinity is just so old, a bit slow, and I question the security). With 1.1GB/1.7GB used, the browser thrashes like crazy if I open more than 2 or 3 tabs. Apparently so much memory is needed for KDE and the browser that the kernel loads one file, does its thing, then unloads it to load another file, run a little more code, then go back to the first... you can see where this is going.
Incidentally, I like how KDE Neon looks, but KDE on this netbook runs like Windows 7 (looks as good if not better, but all the lag is there unfortunately). I wish there were more nice looking desktops like KDE that were lighter (not just memory but CPU; I could buy more memory if I really cared). I'd love to show off this KDE setup, but it lags too much. Showing off JWM+ROX just doesn't do it for anyone any more. I wish there were a foundation, distro, or someone that we could donate to so that they could hire some artists to update icons, do more HiDPI, etc., that would benefit the entire Linux ecosystem / desktop selection.
35 • Arch/Anarchy (by Otis on 2020-03-25 18:16:41 GMT from United States)
Is Anarchy a distro? Not according to the Anarchy home website:
Anarchy Linux
A simple and intuitive Arch Linux installer
In nice bold font.
But, as pointed out by the DW site operator/maintainer, Anarchy fits his standards/definition of a distro in and of itself.
So, we have to agree to disagree.
36 • To Be a Distro or Not Be a Distro (by David on 2020-03-25 20:22:34 GMT from United States)
I think the point is a valid one that the only true "pure" Arch distro is that which is constructed manually - "The Arch Way."
While I am guilty of having characterized Anarchy as installing pure Arch, I usually describe it as being 99.99% pure Arch, which I feel is generally accurate. I must confess that I now regard Anarchy Linux as fitting the description of a distro.
I do, however, differentiate Anarchy, and find it unique and separate from the rest of the Arch-based distros, in the fact that the installation process draws directly from the default Arch repositories. It installs ZERO proprietary repositories, as virtually all of the Arch re-spins do. If you want all the packages in those proprietary repos, then that is your option. If you want reduce system bloat, and get access to ONLY the Arch default repos, then Anarchy is the installation option that you should consider. In my work, I require a relatively small number of packages, and I've never installed any packages from the AUR, which are not always properly vetted. The only serious breakage I've ever had running Arch was caused by a defective LightDM update that crashed one of my systems sometime last year. Otherwise, Arch has run virtually error-free for me for several years.
@23
From one "elitist" to another, I'm just a guy that prefers Arch to whatever distro(s) you like, which I've probably already tested and moved on from. After a couple of years with Mint/Cinnamon, I started distro-hopping like a psychotic bunny rabbit on steroids. I tried Slackware, Gentoo and many of their offspring, like Calculate. Debian, Ubuntu, OpenSuse, PCLOS, you name it, I tried it, motivated by pure curiosity. I wasn't until I finally and painfully was able to successfully install Antergos, that I gained my positive perspective on Arch. After having run virtually every Arch offspring distro on the DW/HPD list with varying success, I ran across Anarchy, and it's "as close to pure Arch as you can get" installer. It lead me to the distro that fulfills and optimizes my work flow. While I'm still reviewing the only viable non-SystemD Arch alternative, Artix Linux, in both Runit & OpenRC flavors, I've still found "plain vanilla" Arch to be the most stable & powerful distro I've every rolled with.
So, yes, I am an Arch user. If that makes me an elitist, then so be it.
I've also have been to "reverse-engineer" my Arch knowledge by reviewing some of the many Arco Linux YouTube tutorial videos produced by the Arco lead developer Erik DuBois, so any potential Anarchy users should check those out to get up to speed with Arch in a hurry.
JMHO
37 • @36 and Arch "elitism" (by randomly generated entity on 2020-03-25 21:50:54 GMT from United States)
@36 - My experience is similar to yours in many ways. Like you, I've tried just about any distro you could name - I have most of the major ones installed as a matter of fact, and wander from one to another as I get bored or my mood changes. I'm a curious guy, and I like keeping up to date on the current state of the distro world.
My first Arch-ish distro was probably Chakra, though Archbang is another possibility. But once I figured out how to do the "Arch Way" install, I found no reason to bother anymore with the various "make Arch easier" distros. I guess if I had to constantly deploy Arch on multiple machines, maybe I'd go another way, but I only have two machines, so that number of installs was trivial. Rolling release means no reinstalls and all that...
The "elitist" thing is really only important when it comes to support (if needed), because as we all know Arch's forum folks can be rather unforgiving in general, downright ornery if one hasn't installed Arch as opposed to one of their offspring distros. And they have every right to be! Unless you go through the install guide step by step and do your research and all that, why should they be expected to handhold anyone through the same issues over and over again? Is this elitism? Maybe. I call it protecting the brand and ethos of what has grown to be one of the most important distros in existence.
Arch and Arch-based distros are leaps and bounds more popular now than they were even a few years ago, which is a good thing if you ask me. I just hope that all the "I made an installer!" distros - and there are more of these every day it seems - are prepared to do user support, because it isn't Arch's problem if you don't follow their rules.
38 • Doing It The Arch Way (by David on 2020-03-25 22:40:33 GMT from United States)
@37
In between my last Arch offspring distro test - EndeavourOS - which I like very much because of it's XFCE4 ISO exclusivity (my favorite DE), and reduced system bloat, I was determined to install Arch manually, which I was able to accomplish exactly once, after about my fourth try. It was painful & time-consuming. The primary conclusion that I carried forward from that learning experience was that I'll never do another manual install.
I run as many as six PC's on my home network, and after I discovered the Anarchy installer, Arch became the standardized computing platform on all of my production PC's.
I'd still like to effectively ditch SystemD at some point, which is why I'm running two Artix init versions on my test boxes right now.
I've never encountered an Arch breakage that I couldn't fix myself by finding a solution in either reading the Arch Wiki, or by watching an Arco/Arch system recovery tutorial video on YouTube. I'm aware of the attitude of some of the Arch forum members, which as you say is probably justified. I have never asked a question of any of them, nor do I intend to start now.
Maybe I am an elitist, because I have no requirement for the forum member's back and forth advice or disdain.
JMHO
39 • @38 Further curiosity (by randomly generated entity on 2020-03-26 01:57:55 GMT from United States)
Wow, it sounds like you'd be someone ideally suited to being able to do an Arch Way install easily! I've probably done it 7-8 times over the years and, while I've certainly had to follow the instructions closely each time, it's never gotten me too frustrated - aside from back before wfi-menu removed that particular obstacle. Granted, things do get a little fuzzy between getting the base system installed and getting a DE/X up and running. They sure could make that more clear by putting it all in fewer jumps to other parts of the wiki, but I've never ended up with anything less than success. I don't think I ever even had to use my now-favorite trick of chroot-ing into installs to do fixes/updates/maintenance.
Can you recall at which point it caused issues for you? I'm not pointing fingers or anything, just genuinely curious. I mean, if you were able to get Gentoo (my current distro of choice with a lean and mean plasma) up and running, Arch should be much much easier. I've had some definite moments of confusion with Gentoo! Mainly due to having an older nvidia graphics card requiring the 340 series driver, but not always. For a while I was having trouble even getting a bootable kernel from genkernel!
Anyway, thanks for the back and forth, and happy distro-ing. I hope you find your perfect fit soon.
40 • @34 lxqt DE, or Knoppix KDE Plasma (by Elcaset on 2020-03-26 02:27:58 GMT from United States)
I prefer KDE Plasma, but you might enjoy the lxqt DE. It's fast on netbooks. Knoppix is also fast on netbooks, even when running KDE Plasma. I don't know how Klaus makes that happen!
41 • Transparency & Full Disclosure (by David on 2020-03-26 02:38:12 GMT from United States)
@39
In the interest of transparency and full disclosure, I mentioned Calculate because I used it as an introductory on-ramp to the Gentoo branch, which proved to be too much of a culture shock, and too much work to get up & running fast and efficiently. My interest in the Gentoo branch evaporated rapidly. The Calculate ISO also irretrievably corrupted the thumb drive upon which the image was burned, so buh-bye to Gentoo and its offspring.
I think @26 and @27 and @28 said it best -
"And some of us have also tried gentoo, a hardcore DIY distro... Linux From Scratch?... No, I didn't, didn't have to. Life is too short to spend hours/days/weeks on recompiling every piece of code with each update... On the other hand, it really may be so interesting to know "how the hell it works" :-) "
I don't recall where I went wrong with my manual Arch install attempts, I'm sure the bootloader omission crashed me at least once.
The point is Anarchy just works - for me, the installer is bulletproof, and has never failed me as a user. Non-SystemD Artix is promising, but I'm not ready to fully commit to it yet.
Over and out...
JMHO
42 • OOM/BSD (by Otis on 2020-03-26 16:05:21 GMT from United States)
@15 I don't know about the OOM thing.. yet, but I can tell you that GhostsBSD is one cracking operating system. 20.02 has no hitches or glitches that I can detect at this point (second day of use).
BSD in general could be the way to go for much of the expressed anxieties about the direction Linux distros have been heading.
43 • oom-killer and EarlyOOM (by CS on 2020-03-27 14:15:22 GMT from United States)
Sorry BSD fans, oom-killer is not new to Linux. oom-killer has been around since, I don't know a long time ago and in my experience works well on server workloads where usually just 1 process goes out of control.
I agree with what Ankleface says that if you ever hit oom-killer in a desktop environment your system will never behave quite right again till you reboot it.
https://github.com/rfjakob/earlyoom is a userspace implementation, the author went this route because you can make it behave however you want, e.g. to kill things earlier before all swap is gone. Maybe that will be better.
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Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!
Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.
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| Archives |
| • Issue 1104 (2025-01-13): DAT Linux 2.0, Silly things to do with a minimal computer, Budgie prepares Wayland only releases, SteamOS coming to third-party devices, Murena upgrades its base |
| • Issue 1103 (2025-01-06): elementary OS 8.0, filtering ads with Pi-hole, Debian testing its installer, Pop!_OS faces delays, Ubuntu Studio upgrades not working, Absolute discontinued |
| • Issue 1102 (2024-12-23): Best distros of 2024, changing a process name, Fedora to expand Btrfs support and releases Asahi Remix 41, openSUSE patches out security sandbox and donations from Bottles while ending support for Leap 15.5 |
| • Issue 1101 (2024-12-16): GhostBSD 24.10.1, sending attachments from the command line, openSUSE shows off GPU assignment tool, UBports publishes security update, Murena launches its first tablet, Xfce 4.20 released |
| • Issue 1100 (2024-12-09): Oreon 9.3, differences in speed, IPFire's new appliance, Fedora Asahi Remix gets new video drivers, openSUSE Leap Micro updated, Redox OS running Redox OS |
| • Issue 1099 (2024-12-02): AnduinOS 1.0.1, measuring RAM usage, SUSE continues rebranding efforts, UBports prepares for next major version, Murena offering non-NFC phone |
| • Issue 1098 (2024-11-25): Linux Lite 7.2, backing up specific folders, Murena and Fairphone partner in fair trade deal, Arch installer gets new text interface, Ubuntu security tool patched |
| • Issue 1097 (2024-11-18): Chimera Linux vs Chimera OS, choosing between AlmaLinux and Debian, Fedora elevates KDE spin to an edition, Fedora previews new installer, KDE testing its own distro, Qubes-style isolation coming to FreeBSD |
| • Issue 1096 (2024-11-11): Bazzite 40, Playtron OS Alpha 1, Tucana Linux 3.1, detecting Screen sessions, Redox imports COSMIC software centre, FreeBSD booting on the PinePhone Pro, LXQt supports Wayland window managers |
| • Issue 1095 (2024-11-04): Fedora 41 Kinoite, transferring applications between computers, openSUSE Tumbleweed receives multiple upgrades, Ubuntu testing compiler optimizations, Mint partners with Framework |
| • Issue 1094 (2024-10-28): DebLight OS 1, backing up crontab, AlmaLinux introduces Litten branch, openSUSE unveils refreshed look, Ubuntu turns 20
| | • Issue 1093 (2024-10-21): Kubuntu 24.10, atomic vs immutable distributions, Debian upgrading Perl packages, UBports adding VoLTE support, Android to gain native GNU/Linux application support |
| • Issue 1092 (2024-10-14): FunOS 24.04.1, a home directory inside a file, work starts of openSUSE Leap 16.0, improvements in Haiku, KDE neon upgrades its base |
| • Issue 1091 (2024-10-07): Redox OS 0.9.0, Unified package management vs universal package formats, Redox begins RISC-V port, Mint polishes interface, Qubes certifies new laptop |
| • Issue 1090 (2024-09-30): Rhino Linux 2024.2, commercial distros with alternative desktops, Valve seeks to improve Wayland performance, HardenedBSD parterns with Protectli, Tails merges with Tor Project, Quantum Leap partners with the FreeBSD Foundation |
| • Issue 1089 (2024-09-23): Expirion 6.0, openKylin 2.0, managing configuration files, the future of Linux development, fixing bugs in Haiku, Slackware packages dracut |
| • Issue 1088 (2024-09-16): PorteuX 1.6, migrating from Windows 10 to which Linux distro, making NetBSD immutable, AlmaLinux offers hardware certification, Mint updates old APT tools |
| • Issue 1087 (2024-09-09): COSMIC desktop, running cron jobs at variable times, UBports highlights new apps, HardenedBSD offers work around for FreeBSD change, Debian considers how to cull old packages, systemd ported to musl |
| • Issue 1086 (2024-09-02): Vanilla OS 2, command line tips for simple tasks, FreeBSD receives investment from STF, openSUSE Tumbleweed update can break network connections, Debian refreshes media |
| • Issue 1085 (2024-08-26): Nobara 40, OpenMandriva 24.07 "ROME", distros which include source code, FreeBSD publishes quarterly report, Microsoft updates breaks Linux in dual-boot environments |
| • Issue 1084 (2024-08-19): Liya 2.0, dual boot with encryption, Haiku introduces performance improvements, Gentoo dropping IA-64, Redcore merges major upgrade |
| • Issue 1083 (2024-08-12): TrueNAS 24.04.2 "SCALE", Linux distros for smartphones, Redox OS introduces web server, PipeWire exposes battery drain on Linux, Canonical updates kernel version policy |
| • Issue 1082 (2024-08-05): Linux Mint 22, taking snapshots of UFS on FreeBSD, openSUSE updates Tumbleweed and Aeon, Debian creates Tiny QA Tasks, Manjaro testing immutable images |
| • Issue 1081 (2024-07-29): SysLinuxOS 12.4, OpenBSD gain hardware acceleration, Slackware changes kernel naming, Mint publishes upgrade instructions |
| • Issue 1080 (2024-07-22): Running GNU/Linux on Android with Andronix, protecting network services, Solus dropping AppArmor and Snap, openSUSE Aeon Desktop gaining full disk encryption, SUSE asks openSUSE to change its branding |
| • Issue 1079 (2024-07-15): Ubuntu Core 24, hiding files on Linux, Fedora dropping X11 packages on Workstation, Red Hat phasing out GRUB, new OpenSSH vulnerability, FreeBSD speeds up release cycle, UBports testing new first-run wizard |
| • Issue 1078 (2024-07-08): Changing init software, server machines running desktop environments, OpenSSH vulnerability patched, Peppermint launches new edition, HardenedBSD updates ports |
| • Issue 1077 (2024-07-01): The Unity and Lomiri interfaces, different distros for different tasks, Ubuntu plans to run Wayland on NVIDIA cards, openSUSE updates Leap Micro, Debian releases refreshed media, UBports gaining contact synchronisation, FreeDOS celebrates its 30th anniversary |
| • Issue 1076 (2024-06-24): openSUSE 15.6, what makes Linux unique, SUSE Liberty Linux to support CentOS Linux 7, SLE receives 19 years of support, openSUSE testing Leap Micro edition |
| • Issue 1075 (2024-06-17): Redox OS, X11 and Wayland on the BSDs, AlmaLinux releases Pi build, Canonical announces RISC-V laptop with Ubuntu, key changes in systemd |
| • Issue 1074 (2024-06-10): Endless OS 6.0.0, distros with init diversity, Mint to filter unverified Flatpaks, Debian adds systemd-boot options, Redox adopts COSMIC desktop, OpenSSH gains new security features |
| • Issue 1073 (2024-06-03): LXQt 2.0.0, an overview of Linux desktop environments, Canonical partners with Milk-V, openSUSE introduces new features in Aeon Desktop, Fedora mirrors see rise in traffic, Wayland adds OpenBSD support |
| • Issue 1072 (2024-05-27): Manjaro 24.0, comparing init software, OpenBSD ports Plasma 6, Arch community debates mirror requirements, ThinOS to upgrade its FreeBSD core |
| • Issue 1071 (2024-05-20): Archcraft 2024.04.06, common command line mistakes, ReactOS imports WINE improvements, Haiku makes adjusting themes easier, NetBSD takes a stand against code generated by chatbots |
| • Issue 1070 (2024-05-13): Damn Small Linux 2024, hiding kernel messages during boot, Red Hat offers AI edition, new web browser for UBports, Fedora Asahi Remix 40 released, Qubes extends support for version 4.1 |
| • Issue 1069 (2024-05-06): Ubuntu 24.04, installing packages in alternative locations, systemd creates sudo alternative, Mint encourages XApps collaboration, FreeBSD publishes quarterly update |
| • Issue 1068 (2024-04-29): Fedora 40, transforming one distro into another, Debian elects new Project Leader, Red Hat extends support cycle, Emmabuntus adds accessibility features, Canonical's new security features |
| • Issue 1067 (2024-04-22): LocalSend for transferring files, detecting supported CPU architecure levels, new visual design for APT, Fedora and openSUSE working on reproducible builds, LXQt released, AlmaLinux re-adds hardware support |
| • Issue 1066 (2024-04-15): Fun projects to do with the Raspberry Pi and PinePhone, installing new software on fixed-release distributions, improving GNOME Terminal performance, Mint testing new repository mirrors, Gentoo becomes a Software In the Public Interest project |
| • Issue 1065 (2024-04-08): Dr.Parted Live 24.03, answering questions about the xz exploit, Linux Mint to ship HWE kernel, AlmaLinux patches flaw ahead of upstream Red Hat, Calculate changes release model |
| • Issue 1064 (2024-04-01): NixOS 23.11, the status of Hurd, liblzma compromised upstream, FreeBSD Foundation focuses on improving wireless networking, Ubuntu Pro offers 12 years of support |
| • Issue 1063 (2024-03-25): Redcore Linux 2401, how slowly can a rolling release update, Debian starts new Project Leader election, Red Hat creating new NVIDIA driver, Snap store hit with more malware |
| • Issue 1062 (2024-03-18): KDE neon 20240304, changing file permissions, Canonical turns 20, Pop!_OS creates new software centre, openSUSE packages Plasma 6 |
| • Issue 1061 (2024-03-11): Using a PinePhone as a workstation, restarting background services on a schedule, NixBSD ports Nix to FreeBSD, Fedora packaging COSMIC, postmarketOS to adopt systemd, Linux Mint replacing HexChat |
| • Issue 1060 (2024-03-04): AV Linux MX-23.1, bootstrapping a network connection, key OpenBSD features, Qubes certifies new hardware, LXQt and Plasma migrate to Qt 6 |
| • Issue 1059 (2024-02-26): Warp Terminal, navigating manual pages, malware found in the Snap store, Red Hat considering CPU requirement update, UBports organizes ongoing work |
| • Issue 1058 (2024-02-19): Drauger OS 7.6, how much disk space to allocate, System76 prepares to launch COSMIC desktop, UBports changes its version scheme, TrueNAS to offer faster deduplication |
| • Issue 1057 (2024-02-12): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta, rolling release vs fixed for a smoother experience, Debian working on 2038 bug, elementary OS to split applications from base system updates, Fedora announces Atomic Desktops |
| • Issue 1056 (2024-02-05): wattOS R13, the various write speeds of ISO writing tools, DSL returns, Mint faces Wayland challenges, HardenedBSD blocks foreign USB devices, Gentoo publishes new repository, Linux distros patch glibc flaw |
| • Issue 1055 (2024-01-29): CNIX OS 231204, distributions patching packages the most, Gentoo team presents ongoing work, UBports introduces connectivity and battery improvements, interview with Haiku developer |
| • Issue 1054 (2024-01-22): Solus 4.5, comparing dd and cp when writing ISO files, openSUSE plans new major Leap version, XeroLinux shutting down, HardenedBSD changes its build schedule |
| • Issue 1053 (2024-01-15): Linux AI voice assistants, some distributions running hotter than others, UBports talks about coming changes, Qubes certifies StarBook laptops, Asahi Linux improves energy savings |
| • Issue 1052 (2024-01-08): OpenMandriva Lx 5.0, keeping shell commands running when theterminal closes, Mint upgrades Edge kernel, Vanilla OS plans big changes, Canonical working to make Snap more cross-platform |
| • Full list of all issues |
| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
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| Random Distribution | 
StartCom Linux
StartCom Enterprise Linux, which was based on the Red Hat AS source code, was the ultimate solution for middle-size servers to large data centres. The current version supports the largest commodity-architecture servers with up to 16 CPUs and 64GB (on x86 systems) of main memory, Global File System - for highly scalable, high performance data sharing in multi-system configurations. Included in this distribution was a comprehensive collection of open source server applications like mail, file (SMB/NFS), DNS, web, FTP, and a complete desktop environment.
Status: Discontinued
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| TUXEDO |
TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!
Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.
|
| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
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