this post was submitted on 07 Oct 2023
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Arch Linux
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I feel like Linux would be more acceptable to people looking for alternative to windows if a bit more care was spent on the image of the software from a customer facing perspective.
I went to the Archlinux website to check out what it was a was met with a wall of text and techno babble with complicated sounding package names and stuff that a layman would never be able to parse.
All this from the distro that on their home page claims to "keep it simple".
Can I ask, are you in the linux community and just commenting on Arch's choices, or was this your first look at this sort of thing and are noting your observations? No judgment either way, just curious.
To your point, the definition arch is using is computationally simple, as in fewer 'moving parts'. In that vein, I think the aesthetic of some HTML on an information dense page makes sense. But I can see why it doesn't fit with what most would consider simple design with their computers.
I was curious about your experience with it, because starting using linux with arch a bit on the deep end, and other distros have more inviting set ups (and web pages). In fact I would say almost every single one is more welcoming in the sense you're describing than arch. To the counter point though, at a certain point the fluff of a lot of web pages end up as bothersome distraction, and arch caters to avoiding that sort of design.
I have dabbled in Linux a bit in the past. Around 2005-ish I was messing around with Debian, Ubuntu and one other I can't remember the name of at the moment. It was more of a hobby and messing around with spare hardware I had sitting around.
Life happened and I ended up with only one available computer and just stuck with windows for convenience sake. Queue a decade and a bit later and the writing on the wall is that FOSS is going to be the only way to go so I am once again starting to dabble into the world of Linux.
Rad! Yeah Arch is definitely has the mentality of, "Why would I need all that swooping pictures stuff when this HTML file works just fine?"
I currently use EndeavourOS, basically arch with an installer, and it's been great for me because, with all it's 'simplicity' and conciseness, the arch community is really great for documentation. And the Arch User Repository is an amazing tool.