December 09, 2010, 7:26 AM — Most users like their operating system to be like their cars. They stick in the key, turn on the ignition, and off they go. For these users, I recommend Ubuntu. But, if you're the kind of person who likes a car with manual transmission and getting your hands dirty under the hood, then Arch Linux deserves your consideration.
[ See the Arch Linux image gallery ]
You can, of course, just build Linux from source code, or use a distribution such as Gentoo or Linux from Scratch (LFS) that relies heavily on Linux source code. Those distributions though are best left to developers and other people who know their way around programming. Arch Linux, on the other hand, is suitable for Linux power users who still prefer the command line interface (CLI) to GNOME or KDE.
Believe it or not, there are still people who find the CLI to be the most comfortable way to get the most out of Unix or Linux. I should know. I'm one of them. It's not that Arch doesn't let you use a GUI; it's just optional.
I strongly suspect that's why Arch is as popular as it is. Arch Linux is currently, as of early December 2010, number eight on DistroWatch's Linux distribution page hit list.
You see, Arch Linux, without requiring you to master kernel compiling 101 gives you an enormous amount of control over how Linux will run for you. That starts from the get-go.
When you download an Arch Linux CD image (.iso) or USB stick image (.img), you get only a minimal set of core programs. You can also download an even smaller image and rely on ftp to download the most recently available files for a fresh installation. I only recommend this course though if you have a very fast (10Mbps or faster) Internet connection.
Once you have the image, reboot your system with it and start the install process. Let me warn you right now that the interface is pure NCURSE character-based GUI. That means, among other things, you'll be using your arrow keys, not your mouse, to navigate through it. I also recommend that even if you are a Linux power user that you have a window on another PC open to the Official Arch Linux Install Guide and the Arch Beginner's Guide. You'll need them.
The latest version of Arch Linux is 2010.05, but don't fret over not having the newest bit. Unlike many popular Linux distributions like Ubuntu or Fedora, Arch uses a rolling release system. That means that the latest "stable" version and all the rest of the distribution's programs are constantly being refreshed with the latest software releases as fast as they arrive and are tested out.
This is done with Arch's own homebrew software package manager, Pacman. Don't let the name fool you. The Pacman package manager has no relationship to the poplar openSUSE Packman software repository.
Installing Arch, if you don't remember how you used to do it back in the early 2000s and late 1990s, isn't going to come easily. I didn't have any trouble installing it on my workhouse Dell Inspiron 530S PC. This older computer is powered by a 2.2-GHz Intel Pentium E2200 dual-core processor with an 800-MHz front-side bus. This box has 4GBs of RAM, a 500GB SATA (Serial ATA) drive, and an Integrated Intel 3100 GMA (Graphics Media Accelerator) chip set.
