If you are a person who have tried many linux distros and couldn’t find the one you needed , then your search has come to an end . ArchLinux would be the answer to your searches . Arch Linux is a highly customizable linux which comes around at 360 mb .iso file , which includes all files needed for a harddisk install . If you are opting for net install or ftp install , then there are ways of doing it too . Arch Linux by default doesnot have a graphical interface . You can choose the graphical interface according to your wish , whether it be gnome , kde, fluxbox , xfce , enlightment and lot more . You can find a nice step by step tutorial which shows you how to install archlinux and customize the archlinux the way that suits it .As you know your desktop manager uses a large portion of your system resources . So choice of desktop environment is of great importance as one can make a linux distro which may be slow and flashy or fast and ugly .

Arch Linux offers support for almost all file systems like ext4 , ext3 , ext2, xfs, jfs , and much more . ArchLinux is great as it takes you out of the hassels of dependencies and libraries . ArchLinux by default , comes with a nice package manager called pacman , which is capable of updating and installing all softwares and applications . Compared to other linux distros , rather than compiling from source packages , archlinux installs from pre-made binaries .ArchLinux offers extreme customization and you can modify it to suit your daily needs . There are a lot of distros based on archlinux . Here is a page that lists out them . Archlinux is perfect for everyone with “do it ourselves” character.  ArchLinux is one of the  fastest linux distros , especially when run in console . Updating of software packages is done perfectly in archlinux servers too , which provides users with uptodate softwares and applications . Download links and guide to installation can be found in arch official website .

Believe me archlinux is simply a magnificent distro and it is worth a try . I assure you that you will definitely fall in love with archlinux . Feel the joy of tweaking your machine and modifying it the way you need  . Happy tweaking …..

In the Linux world with Ubuntu dominating the market to discuss about the comparison of Desktop Managers available for Linux is of good importance . By default Ubuntu comes with gnome desktop environment and Kubuntu comes with kde as the desktop manager . Considering the case of someone who is interested in trying out something different xfce might be fun . Xfce is a new desktop environment aimed at unix like operating system , providing nice features at smaller size and resources . Xfce can be installed in many platforms like freebsd , linux , solaris , cygwin and even macos . Xfce is definitely worth a look for users , who is interested in nice look and feel without sacrificing system resources . xfce is based on gtk 2 + just like gnome . It uses xfwm window manager . As it is always better to show something than to describe it , here I present you with some screenshots .

Also have a look at how xfce performs with compiz in Ubuntu 9.10 distribution .

The latest available version of XFCE is XFCE 4.6 . Visit xfce website for more details .

Applications like Mousepad text editor, Xfmedia audio player, Orage Calendar and Terminal are available by default for xfce environment . Printing tasks in xfce are managed by Xfprint . Xfburn is the cd/dvd burner program available for xfce . The default media player is Xfmedia player derived from Xine movie player . Thunar is the file manager for xfce .Xfce has almost everything needed by a normal user . Xfce but doesnot offer the flashy and eye-candy appearance of kde or large amount of applications like gnome .

Considering the progress xfce made in the following years , one day xfce may replace kde and gnome from our distros .Also connsider reading the comparison of kde vs gnome .

You might be using ubuntu and dissatisfied by your cd burner program . Then , you have landed on the right page . Here i will show you how install k3b in your computer whether it be ubuntu 9.10 ,ubuntu 9.04 or something else . K3B is a really nice cd/dvd burner for linux distributions . K3B is available for default in kde and offers many features like .iso image burning and really cool and easy to use interface . K3B is one of the advanced cd/dvd burning solutions available in linux . Here are a few screenshots of  k3b  interface .

k3b can be installed easily in ubuntu by using terminal . While in terminal issue the following command .

$ sudo apt-get update

$ apt-get install k3b

k3b is now installed in your ubuntu machine .

For installation details of k3b in other linux distros like archlinux , fedora ,suse, slackware etc read this page .

KDE desktop manager is a simply an eye-candy . Make your KDE desktop , more sweet ,with these widescreen kde wallpapers . You are free to choose the resolution of your screen as all resolutions are available . Have fun …

Linux is an operating system which is usually available for free with the full source code ,  so that you can modify it to suite your needs .Due to this reason , these days there are more than 300 Linux distros . I Will make Linux comparisons for the most popular Linux distributions . Here I present you with the pros and cons of each Linux distribution.

ArchLinux :

ArchLinux enjoys , user customization to a large extent . ArchLinux is meant for customization  . ArchLinux can have any desktop environment like gnome , kde or anything else like fluxbox, ratpoison etc . ArchLinux is available for free and supports X86 processors both 32 and 64 bit. ArchLinux , has a package manager named pacman , which has the default package .tar.gz . Pacman does not offer any graphical installation procedure. ArchLinux offers bydefault has no graphical interface and won’t work well on a Live CD/DVD. ArchLinux offers support for ext4 filesystem now.

Centos :

Centos is a highly stable Linux distributions aimed at workstations and servers . Centos , by default has gnome desktop environment . Processor architectures like x86 and IA-64 are supported ..rpm is the default package available for this Linux distro and package manager is named  yum/up2date and RPM. Centos supports live cd environment . Centos is not meant for beginners .

Debian :

One of the most popular Linux distributions . Debian stands for stability and is used in servers , workstations and even for general use .Debian has a large number of followers , mainly the most popular distro Ubuntu Linux is based on unstable version of Debian .Debian supports a large number of desktop environments like kde , fluxbox ,gnome ,xfce etc . Desktop managers are usually based on the installation in case of Debian . Debian supports ext4 filesystem and other older stuff like ext3,ext2,jfs and much more.Debian supports almost all processor architectures .

Gentoo :

Highly customizable Linux distro not meant for beginners . It is for everyday use and updates are available almost every week . Gentoo Linux does not possess a default filesystem . Gentoo has one of the largest support for processor architectures , nearly supporting almost all processors .  Default package manager in Gentoo Linux is known as portage and default package format is ebuild . Gentoo possess graphical installation facility also.

I will be extending this list with much more linux distros like fedora , ubuntu and much more .. feel free to post your comments .

Most of the linux users use either KDE or Gnome desktop environments. Apart from those two,there are many desktop environments available for your linux. LXDE is a definitely one to mention here. The “Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment” claims to be an extremely fast-performing and energy-saving desktop environment.It comes with an eye candy interface , keyboard shortcuts support and additional features like tabbed file browsing.It curbs very little of your CPU and RAM.It can be very effective when your system resources are limited especially in case of cloud computing.It can be easily installed and configured  in Ubuntu. If you are using Ubuntu 9.04 or above then you have LXDE repositories by default.

Installation

If you are using Ubuntu 9.04 or above then take the command line and type in

sudo aptitude install lxde

Screenshots

Reclaim your life with the new ubuntu 9.10 .What it has given you is a Smooth Shuffle to your computer and your life.Your old Windows XP would be with you running inside your new linux .Don’t believe it? .Here i am ,to tell you how it happens .You download an Ubuntu 9.10 cd burn it run it.Ok ,i know you all need to change to linux not because you love linux it is because you need to get rid of that ugly trojans ,junk files,viruses, bugs, security flaws,non responsive applications and what else you need to change.But you are not doing it because you dont want to loose your faavourite files with which you have fallen in love years ago.Ok do the impossible.

Reboot your computer with the disk and a USB drive .Now go and get yourself a cup of coffee.You have done a lot ,you deserve one.Oh! what is this ,something is happening to my computer ,dont care it will be allright.Go for a walk when you return you can see your computer running xp as an application in it with the new os ubuntu just waiting for you.

How does it happen.Ubuntu converts your windows XP to a virtual partition and copies it all files and settings and make it run as a virtual machine in your computer.Does it sound great .Yes the Era of free software is not far away…. Ubuntu 9.10 launches on 28th october ,beta version is available here.

Also take a look at five linux tricks you should know ,kde vs gnome and top 7 linux distributions .

About me : I am just a fan of Linux