23 April 2008

Arch Linux!!

Arch Linux rules! It is not too difficult for beginners to figure out; if you read the Beginner's Guide on the Arch Linux Wiki, you'll be ready to go. If you want to try Arch Linux, there is a new "Arch Live" ISO image coming out very soon (the Release Candidate has already been released). Even though I've had Arch installed on my PC for about 8 months now, I will definitely test out the Live CD once the final ISO is released. Since Arch Linux is a fairly "bleeding-edge" distro, I have become accustomed to receiving regular software updates (sometimes up to 10 updates per day). In other words, when a new version of a software package on my system is released, I expect the Arch Linux development team to send the updates to me. And...they usually do. Recently, I have been a little frustrated (okay, very frustrated) that my printer software package (HPLIP) doesn't get updated in a timely fashion. It's okay though, because now I know how Arch's ABS system works. I am running the latest version HPLIP, compiled using up-to-date configure options and updated dependencies, and now I'm happy. There is currently a Udev problem on my system, but that's okay. It'll be fixed eventually, and running /etc/start_udev is a temporary workaround. Now go install Arch Linux! If you use Windows, Mac OS X, BSD, or a different GNU/Linux distribution and feel adventurous, I would highly recommend trying out Arch Linux using the upcoming Arch Live CD. Make sure you read (or print out) the Beginner's Guide first though. It, along with the Arch Linux Forums, will answer any questions you may have. Have fun!!!! :-)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I may have a solution to your HPLIP problem. Everytime a measurement is wrong or a print job screws up, drink beer with your roommate. That will make everything all better!