Welcome to another Arch Linux newsletter. There have been many updates
in the past weeks, but one package that may have caught your attention,
especially if you are using testing, is the 2.6.24 Linux Kernel, customized with the new Arch Linux logo. In my opinion, it adds to the boot sequence that refreshing new look we have been
experiencing in the Arch Linux main site and forums. Hopefully, soon after
this kernel version leaves testing, new installer images will be released.
Now, some sad news, Jason Chu is not able to write Devland anymore, because of time constraints. He has been struggling with time since the beginning, but always kept on writing
Devland for your reading pleasure. Jason, the best for you, the doors are open when you have time again.
- Eduardo "kensai" Romero
Abandoned! Advertise here! :P
"Arch Linux, which was inspired by the CRUX is an i686 optimized lightweight distribution with a great package management tool. Arch releases usually contain a core cd image (~160 MB) that has a core system without any graphical servers and an FTP install image (~30 MB) with which you can install the entire OS from an FTP server."
"Arch Linux is one of the few distributions to be optimized for an i686 processor- in other words, it's really fast without having to compile anything. It uses a custom package manager called Pacman (which, surprisingly enough, doesn't seem to spark any legal controversy), which works similarly to Apt in that it has dependency tracking and relies on repositories. Arch's philosophy is to start with a base system and install all the graphical components manually via Pacman."
"Back in November we started sharing some of the exciting features planned for the GNOME 2.22 and 2.24 releases, and now that the first GNOME 2.22.0 Beta release is planned for later this week, we have taken another look at the packages set for inclusion and the changes that have actually been made. While nothing groundbreaking will be introduced in GNOME 2.22 (compared to KDE 4.0 at least), this desktop environment does have some moderate changes worth noting."
"The following patches have been in the -mm tree for a while, and I plan to push them to Linus when the 2.6.25 merge window opens. With this patch series, it is expected that ext4 format should be settling down. We still have delayed allocation and online defrag which aren't quite ready to merge, but those shouldn't affect the on-disk format."
Not directly related to Linux, but an interesting read: "Could Microsoft now attempt to exert the same sort of inappropriate and illegal influence over the Internet that it did with the PC? While the Internet rewards competitive innovation, Microsoft has frequently sought to establish proprietary monopolies -- and then leverage its dominance into new, adjacent markets."
Eliott, Arch Linux developer who works on the backend infrastructure. He is considered by most to be an even-tempered man, some of us go as far as to say, he is one of the most even-tempered persons we've met. Can this temperment be unbalanced? Well, try and take a taco out of his hand, I think he will react as aggressively as he can be. Well, enough talking, straight to the interview.
[1]: http://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0020/
"My first brush with mouse gestures on the Opera browser was an accident, but the ability to quickly move backward or forward in the browser history,
open new windows, close tabs, and more without using the menus or moving the mouse toward the navigation toolbar won me over immediately. Nowadays,
this feature is available in Firefox and Konqueror too, and you can even configure mouse gestures for GNOME and KDE desktop environments."
"Mouse gestures, in essence, are similar to keyboard shortcuts. With mouse gestures, you can assign regular tasks to drawn mouse patterns.
For example, clicking and dragging the mouse to the left can move you to the page you were previously browsing."
"Use e2fsck command. The -D option causes e2fsck to try to optimize all directories, either by reindexing them if the filesystem supports directory indexing, or by sorting and compressing directories for smaller directories, or for filesystems using traditional linear directories. It improves performance by using hashed binary trees."
This time featuring a wiki section, the Hardware Compatibility List. This wiki section is meant to be used by the Arch Linux community to record the compatibility of various hardware and full systems with Arch Linux. Here, you can share your experience concerning any hardware you have used with Arch Linux, especially if you have had issues at first but overcame them in the long run. This allows other Arch Linux users to take benefit from the information. Just take some time and add to the corresponding section for all the hardware you use with Arch Linux. You can simply write a brief description on how they work or how you made it work.
Have you said yes enough already? Well, then "yes" might be for you:
# yes | pacman -Syu
# yes | pacman -S packagename
# yes | pacman -Scc
Disclaimer: I'm not responsible if any Tips and Tricks ever published in the Arch Linux Newsletter destroys your house or family, eats your pet or does any other unintended nasty thing.
Proofreader's response: What about the intended nasty things?
CF: !quote userek phrik: CF: 'userek' i've heard microsoft is going to aquire ubuntu and remane it to windows homeless edition
bruenig: pacman has devs? cactus: yes. but you have to install them first bruenig: hmm bruenig: what the hell is cactus talking about cactus: even i have no idea cactus: <.< cactus: >.>
Navi: Humor is nonexistent in ArchLinux louipc: the internet is serious business
We have come to the end, but just for this week, I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading the newsletter. I sincerely enjoyed making it for your reading pleasure.
Please, feel free to contact me, and let me know of any opinions and/or suggestions for improvement.
The best for all of you, from the Arch Linux Team