Arch Linux

Thursday’s talk will be on installing Arch Linux, performed by our longtime sysadmin William Osler. I also want to finalize a schedule for at least the next couple weeks after gauging interest at last week’s meeting.

Many distributions like Ubuntu or Fedora are configured and set up with out-of-the box programs and features. While this is very convenient, digging deeper and setting up a system yourself will allow you to understand your system and better customize it to your needs. Arch Linux is a distribution that makes it easy to build your system up from a lightweight and simple base into an operating system tailored to you. I’ll be covering everything from how to install Arch using the Arch live image (there’s no installer, but I promise it’s not scary!), to configuring your base system, working with packages, and eventually building your way up to a desktop interface.