I need more control! Which distro should I switch to?

[Johnny K]

When I first installed Ubuntu, one of the most exciting aspects was the control which it allowed me to have over my computer. I could choose different window themes, edit system files, and accomplish some pretty low-level tasks which Windows forbade.

But after using Ubuntu for a year and a half, I am starting to feel held back by the OS. I am afraid to fiddle too much, and feel bound to the (infrequently updated) Ubuntu repositories.

I would like an OS which forces me to have a deeper understanding of the system and more control over it, without expecting me to be a Linux expert. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[exploder]

Johnny K, you have as much control over your system with Ubuntu as you will with any Linux distribution. I get updated packages from getdeb.net when I want newer versions. You can also compile your own applications from source if you want something that you can not find a deb for.

I read a "How To" on compiling and in a short time I was compiling things for myself. There is a wealth of information for doing things like building your own kernel and it really isn't very difficult!

You can have as much control as you choose to have with any distribution and learn anything that interests you. Why not work with something that you are already familiar with?

[melojo]

Try Archlinux, thats what I use on my laptop.
www.archlinux.org

Its a distribution that starts out with the basics and you can deside what to install.

[Kinetic Being]

Gentoo, Slackware, Arch, and even Debian (to a point) will force you to take control of the system, and learn what goes on...

If you want to really go all out, you could try Linux From Scratch (LFS)

[Rokurosv]

Arch, it's a DIY distro that only provides the necesary components, from there you build the system the way you want to. Their documentation is simply awesome, it has one of the best wikis I've ever seen for a distro. Just by reading the beginner's guide you learn a lot about configuring your system.

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Arch_Linux

[Antman]

Slackware, Arch, Gentoo

[Johnny K]

Thanks for all the answers, everybody!

I like Arch. It seems that it would force me to learn alot about the system, and also has bleeding edge repositories.

Has anybody here ever installed Arch? Was it very difficult?

[Sorivenul]

Has anybody here ever installed Arch? Was it very difficult?
Many on these forums are also, if not exclusively, Arch users.
A common reference is the Arch Beginner's Guide (http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Beginners_Guide).

I personally believe that one distribution is just as customizable as another, but some more easily so than others.

Arch is on my list of suggestions here. Other possibilities include:

Debian (lenny, and yes, it's stable)
Slackware (or derivatives, which are also stable, but can require a good deal of manual work)

[foxmulder881]

As exploder said, you have as much control as you want in any linux distro, including Ubuntu.

Johnny K, no offence intended, but the fact that you already don't know this and don't know how to harness the power of Ubuntu/Linux, tells me that you're not yet ready to jump in to the deep end of the linux world of building your own system from scratch with the aforementioned distros.

If Ubuntu doesn't do something you want it to, you can easily force it to. Google works wonders!

[wolfen69]

As exploder said, you have as much control as you want in any linux distro, including Ubuntu.

Johnny K, no offence intended, but the fact that you already don't know this and don't know how to harness the power of Ubuntu/Linux, tells me that you're not yet ready to jump in to the deep end of the linux world of building your own system from scratch with the aforementioned distros.

If Ubuntu doesn't do something you want it to, you can easily force it to. Google works wonders!

i agree. maybe the OP should start with a net-install of debian and go from there.

[Johnny K]

As exploder said, you have as much control as you want in any linux distro, including Ubuntu.

Johnny K, no offence intended, but the fact that you already don't know this and don't know how to harness the power of Ubuntu/Linux, tells me that you're not yet ready to jump in to the deep end of the linux world of building your own system from scratch with the aforementioned distros.

If Ubuntu doesn't do something you want it to, you can easily force it to. Google works wonders!

You're right. I guess my problem with Ubuntu not that it is inflexible, but that I don't understand how flexible it can be - because it does not force me to learn how the system works. For example, I do not like how infrequent the repo updates are, but there's not much else that I am able to do because Ubuntu never forced me to learn how to compile from source.

That's why I was considering something like Arch. If nothing else, it would force me to understand how the system works, so that I could feel more comfortable tweaking it.

[gjoellee]

try archlinux, thats what i use on my laptop.
www.archlinux.org (http://www.archlinux.org)

its a distribution that starts out with the basics and you can deside what to install.

+111111

[C!oud]

My suggestions
1. Gentoo
2. Slackware
3. NetBSD (unless you don't like *BSDs....)
4. Arch

[ffi]

mandriva or opensuse both have excellent tools to configure/tweak your system without having to mess with config files, unless you want to mess with them of course. They also backport newer packages far more frequently than ubuntu

ps: compiling stuff is not educational...it's very boring and any speed gained by optimizing is is lost a multitude by waiting for the program to compile...

[C!oud]

ps: compiling stuff is not educational...it's very boring and any speed gained by optimizing is is lost a multitude by waiting for the program to compile...

Not all packages are available or up to date in most repos so knowing how to compile something is in fact educational. As for the time yes it takes longer than installing a binary package but it isn't like some huge long process that takes days on end. Most packages usually compile fairly quickly unless it's something like gcc :rolleyes: which you just let run in the background while you continue working.

[cardinals_fan]

I'd recommend the following path:

Ubuntu -> Arch -> Slackware -> CRUX

I personally think Arch is rather easy if you follow the documentation.

[fwojciec]

I'd recommend the following path:

Ubuntu -> Arch -> Slackware -> CRUX

I personally think Arch is rather easy if you follow the documentation.
That was kind of my progression, except incomplete:

Ubuntu -> Arch -> Slackware -> CRUX -> Arch

[Noblacktie]

I desperately wanted to move away from Ubuntu because, well, my ego wouldn't let me alone about using a 'n00b' distro.

Even though I am a n00b.

But that's n00bs for ya, I guess.

[sdowney717]

If you want some excitement then try out the alpha version of the next ubuntu release.

[binbash]

That was kind of my progression, except incomplete:

Ubuntu -> Arch -> Slackware -> CRUX -> Arch

Ubuntu -> Slackware -> CRUX -> Arch -> Gentoo

[snowpine]

Hi Johnny K, it helps to understand Ubuntu if you realize that the repositories are updated every 6 months when a new release comes out. Packages are never updated to a major version (just minor upgrades and bug fixes) within a release. It is not a "rolling release" distro like Arch.

It is certainly possible to upgrade to a new package version (OpenOffice 3 is a popular example) using other methods (adding repositories, installing from .debs, etc), but you will never, ever see OO3 in the main Hardy or Intrepid repositories...

Hope that clears it up a little. I don't think of it so much as "less control," more like "frozen at the stable version." :) FYI Debian works the same way but releases even less frequently. Something like Arch is the best choice if you always want the latest and greatest.

[Johnny K]

Thanks everybody for being part of this discussion.

I just thought I'd post my progress. I installed Arch in VirtualBox and I do like it very much. Arch is forcing me to learn more about the system because it provided me with very little software initially, and forced me to build up from there.

Starting with little more than bash, nano, pacman, and other essential software, I was able to get X, a GNOME desktop, GDM, multiple user accounts, a custom sudoers file, and more.

Arch forced me to gain a better understanding of how everything fits together. And the bleeding-edge repository isn't bad either.

I will probably switch to Arch sometime in the future, maybe after doing one more install as practice.

[Frak]

LFS

As much control as you'd ever need.