25 April 2021
I have been a Windows-only user since the very first time I used a computer back in 2007. For a long time I felt that Windows and Mac os were the only Operating system that everybody used.
Linux, for me, was something used only in supercomputers and huge servers. But that idea started to change as I began studying engineering. I learnt programming and eventually came across open source software and the morale behind it. Youtube content creators like DistroTube finally convinced me to give Linux a try.
I have been using Manjaro Xfce for 14 days now and in this post, I plan to share my thoughts.
The first thing I liked about linux was the concept of managing software using a package manager. In windows, I had to download and install software from a website and then manually update it for the most part. But with pacman( package manager for Arch-based distros) I can install almost any of my favourite software and update the entire system the terminal itself.
Since Manjaro is based on Arch linux, I also get access to the vast AUR(Arch User Repository). I installed an AUR helper yay to easily install packages from the AUR.
In linux, the terminal just feels natural to use with all the GNU utils.
The terminal is infinitely customizable and I used starship to customize the prompt. With the terminal and the Shell commands at my hands, I feel like I am at the driving seat of my computer.
Linux is all about freedom and choice. Right from the start, there is a choice of distribution with different release models like static release(Debian, Ubuntu, etc), strictly rolling release(Arch, Endeavouros, etc) and a slighly delayed rolling release(Manjaro, etc). Then comes the choice of DE like GNOME, KDE, Xfce, etc or even WM like i3, awesome, etc.
With a huge number of open source developers, there’s a plethora of software choices. The freedom of choices linux offers is unparalleled. Something exciting is always happening in the FOSS community.
Let me begin by saying that the ArchWiki rules! It is very useful to look up queries for arch-based distros.
askubuntu is also helpful. Moreover, the Manjaro forum is also very helpful especially regrading updates. However, I think that the Manjaro wiki needs a bit of a work and is not very rich (especially compared to the behemoth that is ArchWiki).
Linux is helping me develop the habit of reading manual pages and documentation. The man pages helped me a lot about understanding what a particular command does.
I would advise new linux users to get in the habit of reading man pages, documentation and also scouring the forums and wiki.
One thing I noticed immediately after installing Manjaro is that my laptop became faster and much smoother. On a cold boot, htop shows that I am using only about 600-700 MB of RAM (This figure might differ depending on the DE or WM). Programs like Firefox start up faster and compilation speed of programs is also much better.
Honestly, I have faced nothing that counts as a negative. Before installing, I was browsing through the internet reading through the problems many users faced with their hardware after installing a linux distro. But fortunately,I have not had any problem, everything works fine on my laptop.
These last few days have been an absolute joy. I feel like I truly own my device and I can use it to it’s full potential.
I plan on trying out the i3 window manager next, continue learning bash scripting and taking a deep dive into how the linux kernel works and maybe even write system software. Possibilities seem to be endless now!