Arch Linux

Two weeks ago, I decided to once again install Arch Linux on one of my computers to see if I could use it as my daily driver. I had previously installed Arch Linux through the command line a couple of months after I decided to migrate to Linux last year. I will be the first to admit that it wasn’t the easiest thing to do, but it was definitely a learning experience. I made mistakes, corrected those mistakes and was able to have a successful Arch Linux installation. I used Arch for about a month on my second computer, but I just didn’t feel comfortable using it at that time. I realized that I had a lot more to learn before I would decide to use Arch Linux as my daily driver.

Now that I have been using Linux for over a year, I decided it was once again time to try Arch Linux again. My plan was to install it, play with it, see what I could do with it for about a week, and then reinstall it again and set it up to use as my daily driver. In fact this blog and the program I use to publish it are both a part of my latest Arch Linux install.

One might wonder - if you already have Ubuntu up and running, why would you want to move over to Arch? I am not really changing over from Ubuntu to Arch, I will still have one computer running Ubuntu and the other running Arch. I decided to try Arch again, because I would like to learn more about how Linux software works with my hardware. When it comes to operating a motor vehicle, there are those who just want to be able to get in and drive the car. They are not interested in how or what makes the car operate. Most modern day operating systems are like that, you can use the computer without really knowing what the software is actually doing. Or, as my wife would say, “It just works!”

Using the motor vehicle again as an example, there are those individuals who want to lift up the hood and start tinkering with the engine. When it comes to computers, I am that kind of guy. My wife has always told me that I was a nerd even before that term ‘nerd’ found its way into the dictionary. I see Ubuntu as an operating system that allows one to get in the car and drive it without having to really know what is under the hood. Sure, it helps to know what is under the hood, but it is not necessary. On the other hand, Arch requires that you have to be ready to get your hands a little dirty. Arch assumes that you have a basic understanding of the operating system. The Arch wiki is the manual for Arch and it is written for a tech. You need to speak ‘geek’ to understand the Arch wiki.

Since I switched over to Linux last year, that fire, that passion that I felt when I first started with computers has been rekindled. I am hungry to learn more about Linux and Arch appears to be the road that I must travel.