danielph

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This is more of a few comments then a review and what my experiences of Archlinux have been over the last 6 months. The title of 0.8 Voodoo does not mean as much as it could with other Linux distributions as Archlinux works with a rolling release, so it really is just the latest installer. Of course the latest packages are included. I am not a developer just a Linux user with a couple of years experience running various distributions.

Installer
Improvements have been made with the installer over 0.7.2 which you can read about here. The installer is simple and works well and gets your system up and running quickly, but it does not hold your hand. Configuration for most aspects of the system is done by editing text files and you are giving the option of doing so on installing. If you are new to Linux there maybe better systems to wet your feet with, if you want to dive in, then you have to be prepared to do some learning.
Pros: Simple, fast, choice to install as you want
Cons: Time and knowledge needed to setup to individual tastes

Package Management
This is all taken care of with pacman and configured through pacman.conf. You can choose to include current, extra, unstable , community or custom. Also available are packages from ArchLinux User-community Repository (AUR). This gives a huge selection of up to date packages and a simple installation.
Pros: Simple, up to date, effective and huge list of packages
Cons: I have found searches can be slow with pacman

Using the system
I often was frustrated with some "easier" distribution's when they went wrong and there was no GUI to fix it and then having to understand what goes on underneath was a nightmare. The simple structure here makes things a lot easier to work with. Of course with this you need some knowledge, but a lot of systems are over complicated in order to try and make it easier for us. Over the last six months most of the problems I have encountered have been from my own mistakes. A couple have been from bugs that have got through and this is one problem with cutting edge. One was a kernel bug that got through. I don't think this was a common problem, but effected my laptop and I lost use of the CDROM for a week. An update came through and fixed this.
Pros: Cutting edge
Cons: possible sacrifice of stability

Conclusions
I think Archlinux is best if you immerse yourself in it. Keep an eye on updates and bulletins, become part of community, learn how it works. It is a great distribution and to play with and learn about the system. It is certainly one of the "best" I have used for this. After being burned the only question I would have would be stability, but similar things have happened with Ubuntu Edgy and others. I am currently looking to "settle down" with a Linux distribution after numerous affairs. Part of me is going towards the stability of Debian and part of me loves the nature of Archlinux. I have yet to decide, but it is always good to know that Archlinux is an option.

nDray

Simply amazing. Totally agree with danielph, specially about the "Using the System" point.

Undoubtable (does that exist? I'm portuguese) 11 out of 10.

shinedownload

wow!great!

Gaston

I've been a distro-hopper for a long time, usually retrenching to Slackware. I haven't been looking at the new ones much since I installed Arch. I'm running the 64-bit, and have the 32-bit on another partition since Adobe and Sun-Java aren't up to date on 64-bit yet. Soon, though ... soon.

It's hard to really appreciate it without learning to use ABS (Arch Build System) and the AUR (Arch User Repository), and yaourt which makes package installs and subsequent updates easier. The Wiki is a little eccentric (the section headings are also links to more info) but very good, and the user forums are outstanding. The forums are the most current resource.

The current .ISO as I write this is called Don't Panic. It doesn't really matter, as Arch is a rolling release. Instead of downloading a release and then having the first update replace a big chunk (or most) of it, an Arch download is fairly small and the first update brings in the latest version of files. Doesn't matter if you start with an older boot ISO, you're going to end up with the latest revisions. Arch defaults to compiled packages, but you can also download the source for any or all and compile yourself a la Gentoo.

Fonts have been nicely rendered, they're a little large by default with Gnome. KDE was well done, as was Arch's special KDEmod version. I ended up with wmii-3.6, a tiling manager (new concept for me) and I'm loving it. Play with wmii for a day or two, and you might get a pleasant surprise. It's a somewhat spartan window manager that actually manages your windows, instead of slapping them up for you to manage. It's different, but I'm liking it.

Some tips: (1) Print the Beginners Guide and Install Guide first
(2) When Arch says it created 4 files, you should review them ... do it!
(3) It comes with the elinks text-based browser, use the Wiki if you're stuck and didn't print the guides before starting.

Good luck, and have fun!

neothephoenix

After my FC6 box crashed, I was looking for a new distro to try out. Consulting the LQ reviews, I chose Archlinux. I'm glad I did; it has lived up to its reputation of being a KISS prototype (Keep It Short & Simple).
Excellent product; for newbies and pros alike.

shivcharan

I try to install Arch linux, but fail.

mathewhadley

Arch Linux is an i686-optimized linux distribution that was originally based on ideas from CRUX. Arch is fast, lightweight, flexible and simple. Those aren`t very fancy buzzwords but theyre all true.
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mathew hadley
www.drivenwide.com