What is Arch BTW . Is it good ? A lot of Linux users seem to use the BTW version of Archlinux but I couldnt find a BTW version anywhere.
I know the question is partially a meme but since you posted in this comm, I’m gonna answer sincerely.
People like Arch because it comes as stock as possible to function as a computer. It doesn’t come with any/many installed programs, codecs, drivers, etc. All the stuff that other distros and Windows include so that the average user doesn’t wonder why the hell their videos won’t play or they don’t have any image thumbnails.
It gives you near full control over what you put on your system and what you don’t. That’s baked into the ideology of its development. As more services are turned into subscription only garbage and Microsoft has tried to control what people are allowed to do with their devices, that desire becomes stronger.
The other part is because its “anti-bloat” as opposed to stuff like Windows and Ubuntu that come with tons of software and services installed you may not even use. Think “why would I want Candy Crush preinstalled on my phone if I’m never going to play it?” It doesn’t really matter that it only takes a negligible amount of space. You never asked for it.
With the arch install script, its not really hard to get up and running today, so has lost some of its elitist perception. Some people still insist you install it manually, which won’t “teach you about Linux” and is just nerd cope for those who like maximum control.
It’s a good distro and tbh I had fewer issues with it than Fedora Workstation, once I knew what to install to fix my problem. But I don’t really recommend people use it if you’re newly coming from Windows because there are products like Bazzite or even EndeavourOS which is based on Arch but comes with everything else someone would expect as a basic function of their OS.
And with things like Distrobox allowing you to make containers out of any distro that seamlessly integrate with your desktop, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to have something relatively less stable as your base distro.
Edit: it also has something called the Arch User Repository (AUR) that allows you to install almost anything that may not typically be packaged for your distro. But in reality its full of unsupported and buggy packages from random developers and also doesn’t have many advantages over something like Flatpaks or Appimages that are also distro agnostic. But it’s a core piece of why people like the distro, because everything is made by the community, rather than corporations like with Fedora and Ubuntu.
You still didnt answer where I can find the BTW version
It’s just off the beaten path, you could say it’s by the way
Is Ubuntu a corporation? I thought they were a private company that functionally operated like a non-profit? I disagree with a lot of their decisions but haven’t yet seen reason to doubt their intentions.
Debian is owned by a non-profit. Debian created ‘Software in the Public Interest, Inc (SPI)’, registered 501©(3). SPI also gives funding to Arch Linux.
Ubuntu takes Debian’s code and makes it more corporate friendly. Ubuntu is run by a corporation, Canonical, which has a tendency to influence Ubuntu in for-profit ways, such as the time that they integrated Amazon searches into the app search menu of Unity. Canonical also sells software support services to other corporations.
I believe that Debian is the most community oriented distro. Debian was founded on the principles of giving freedom to software users. I always recommend that people use Debian rather than Ubuntu or Mint.
I believe that Debian is the most community oriented distro. Debian was founded on the principles of giving freedom to software users. I always recommend that people use Debian rather than Ubuntu or Mint.
Oh strong agree, for sure. I just think “corporate” typically implies publicly traded (the most explicit bourgeois), but think Canonical (to my memory) was private (petit bourgeois), which isn’t great but miles more tolerable than publicly traded, and capable of ethics that the former is incapable of. Happy to be corrected though if I’m wrong.
You’re correct, that is what Canonical is. The distinction though is just that Canonical, System76, Tuxedo, Red Hat, SUSE, etc have a profit motive for what they do even if they’re only loosely connected to the parent organization like Fedora and OpenSUSE. I don’t think they’re uniquely bad or anything (except I’m a Snap hater), but any distro that is primarily associated with a company doesn’t really fit the Arch ethos of a fully community developed project. So a lot of anti-corp and freedom maxxers use it.
(except I’m a Snap hater)
TBF snap is the fucking worst
but any distro that is primarily associated with a company doesn’t really fit the Arch ethos of a fully community developed project. So a lot of anti-corp and freedom maxxers use it.
That makes sense. In theory Debian is my favorite just because of their form of organization but in practice Ubuntu or Mint are much easier ways to get people out of the Microsoft pipeline because of accessibility and significantly better ethics. Debian and Arch are more practical after some Linux experience is gained.
Does Linux Mint leave your root filesystem more fresh or brisk? I briefly used Fedora, and it forced me to get all my water from a well, actually.
The main difference between Arch and Mint is the software release cycle.
Mint uses a 2-year-freeze release cycle. There is 2 version of Mint: Ubuntu Edition and Debian Edition. Mint Debian uses the Debian software repository and Mint Ubuntu uses the Ubuntu LTS software repository.
The way that the 2-year-freeze works is that every 2 years, the distro developers snapshot all of the software in the software repository. The frozen software repository does not receive feature updates, it only receives security updates. The goal of this software release model is that the software less buggy and less prone to exploits.
Arch Linux is a rolling release software release model. The software repository contains the latest release of the software, including system packages. This release model allows users to experience the latest software features but is more prone to bugs and exploits.
Arch Linux has a repository maintained by verified developers. Arch Linux also has AUR, Arch User Repository, which contains software uploaded by Arch Users. There have been instances where people uploaded malware to AUR.
The software in the Debian/Ubuntu/Mint repository is uploaded by verified developers, which is more secure. You could use flatpak/flathub to install software not in the main repository.
