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How do you know if someone is a vegan Arch user? Don’t worry, they’ll tell you.
Introduction
So I recently started using Arch Linux on my spare laptop. Yes, I know its a meme, but I like memes.
Installation
So the installation was not super difficult. The hardest part was getting GRUB to work with EFI which took a bit of googling to realize that I had passed in the wrong params into it. I also found the walkthrough videos of The Mental Outlaw and Luke Smith extremely helpful.
The Arch wiki truly has everything you need to get started and configure the system. However it will not be super helpful unless you have some familiarity with linux systems.
After the initial installation it took me about 1hr to get to a point where I could do my daily work off it. I like to use the metric of installation to working setup time to debunk the annoyingly stupid statement from the scammer known as TechLead
Linux is free if your time is worth nothing. - Dumbass
To be detailed my working setup includes the following:
- Slack
- Docker
- VS code
- Internet browser
- nvm
- Datagrip
Well in addition to those things we can include configuring dwm, st amd dmenu. And by configuring I mean just applying some patches. Also wrote a few shell scripts to do basic stuff such as status base, change governors ect. Probably less than 50 lines of bash.
There is still a lot left to do in terms of RICE before its worthy of a r/unixporn post.
What I am loving so far
Having complete customization over every aspect!
Being able to configure all my keybinds has made my workflow a lot faster. My end goal is to be able to to treat my computer as an instrument. Picture playing a chord on a piano but in this case its a complex computer action.
What I am not liking so far
- It can be a time sink in the sense of wanting everything to look r/unixporn worthy.
- Taking screen shots is a PITA, you never appreciate how easy it is in other systems until you have to do it from scratch.
- I haven't gotten over my laziness to fully use vim.
What I have learned so far
- Lots on kernel stuff
- Lots about xorg
- Lots about how to get and set various pieces of system data such as your battery or volume.
- Lots about file systems and the importance of making sure you double check your DD commands!
I guess in addition to those specific things, I've learned more about the inner workings of computers which is never a bad thing since thats kinda what my whole career is based on.