EndeavourOS
Arch Linux is beginning to rival Ubuntu as the starting point for modern distros. Neil Bothwick looks at one such distro.
Arch Linux is beginning to rival Ubuntu as the starting point for modern distros. Neil Bothwick looks at one such distro.
Time was that when you installed a Linux distro, you got to choose what was installed. Distros like Ubuntu changed that so the current approach for most distros is to install a standard desktop and set of packages and let you change things later. This is faster but less flexible and has led to the existence of separate versions of distros for different desktops, such as Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Lubuntu and so on. EndeavourOS gives the best of both worlds by giving you a choice of online or offline installations.
The latter will install the OS from the ISO image, complete with the XFCE desktop and associated software. Or you can select the online option where you are given a choice of eight desktops: Xfce, KDE, Gnome, i3 (a tiling window manager), MATE, Cinnamon, Budgie and LXQT. This installs the desktop you choose by downloading it during the installation process. It results in a longer time for installation, but you don’t need to be there for that and it means you spend less time sorting out software options post-installation. You can also choose to install no desktop at all, useful for a server.
EndeavourOS is based on Arch Linux and uses its Calamares graphical installer, which is clear and quick in use. A nice touch the first time you boot the new system is the Welcome app, a window with a set of buttons to do the things you often want or need to do after installing, such as applying any updates, changing the display or wallpaper and installing certain common extra software. It also has links to tutorials and helpful web pages.
We tried both the offline install of Xfce and an online install of the Budgie desktop. The Xfce desktop has been well covered: it is a lightweight and capable, if somewhat old-fashioned looking, desktop. However, EndeavourOS has managed to make it more attractive with some judicious theming. The Budgie desktop is a good compromise between appearance and performance. It is attractive and easy to use, without the resource usage of the likes of a full Gnome desktop, even though it actually uses Gnome components behind the scenes.
We tested the latest release at only a day old, but Arch is a rolling release distro, so release versions are less important. They only really determine your starting point; everything can be upgraded to the latest version from the Arch repositories with no need to reinstall when a new release appears, as it is just an ISO that installs what you already have. It’s a matter of personal preference, but I like rolling release distros as you get updates when they happen, not when their release schedules dictate.
EndeavourOS uses Arch’s pacman package manager. Unfortunately, there is no graphical interface installed by default, so new users will be left looking up pacman command line options in order to install software. This really is a glaring omission on an otherwise well thought-out distro.
The EndeavourOS Wiki contains a wealth of articles on using and setting it up. For those that would rather watch than read, there are also a number of video tutorials on there. In the unlikely event that you can’t find what you need on their own wiki, you can always turn to the Arch wiki, which is one of the best such resources available for any distro.
All in all, this is a good distro; Arch is a solid base to build on and the choice of desktops is handled well. The documentation is good – it’s just a pity that the ease of initial installation is not carried through to installing other software.