Consider your needs carefully.
Consider your needs carefully.
Most PPAs that people would want to install work fine. But why would a beginner fool around with the kernel? If you're a power user of Linux and need bleeding edge software, there's few or no better choice than Arch based distros for sure. I've been thinking of moving to an Arch based distro myself. But what if you just want a stable experience that lets you install software without using the terminal? To someone with no Linux experience, `yaourt -S amdgpu-pro-dkms` looks like gibberish. There's no need to jump into the deep end on the first try. It might not seem that deep to you, just like 8 feet doesn't seem that deep to people that know how to swim, but people that don't will be afraid, struggle and end up making it worse than it really is. You've got to get used to things first and then move on when you feel like you need more.
It's not only about the settings, widgets, and programs I rely on. It’s more than just my development setup—it feels well-organized overall. Setting up and getting Manjaro ready would take me a couple of days without much progress. I’ll likely try Manjaro whenever I get a new laptop or desktop. My tools include Qt Creator, Android Studio, PyCharm, Intellij IDEA, VS Code, Git-Cola, and Z Shell for my terminal.
Yeah.. but that's normal.. getting your install just the way you like it :-)
The issue here is: You don't have to take any action. Manjaro, Antergos, and even Charka (which I don't really like) adhere to the KISS Principle. "Keep it simple, stupid." This approach works perfectly since you can just set them up and start using them. I tried Ubuntu yesterday because I thought it would make setting up VDR with DVB-T2 easier, especially since DVB-T2 is available at the 29th in Germany. However, Easy-VDR relies on Ubuntu, so it didn't work. Installing VDR isn't an issue, but the packages are outdated, making DVB-T2 impractical. Compiling them on Ubuntu is a nightmare because you must install each package separately. With Arch, things are different thanks to "package groups." Base-Devel handles everything you need to build packages. If you install Yaourt on Manjaro or Antergos during setup, you don't need to do anything—just type the AUR name. It automatically fetches the latest version and builds it. Of course, its quality depends on the PKGBUILD maintainer, but it's much simpler than with Ubuntu. I recently used a fresh LXDE Antergos install. Now I can enjoy TV in stunning Full-HD over the air ^^ And if you prefer a stable setup that lets you install software without the Terminal? Antergos has Pamac, which I find more user-friendly and visually appealing than Octopi (Octopi looks almost identical to Synaptic). I'm not sure if Octopi can achieve that, but with Pamac you can install anything from the AUR through a graphical interface. For instance, drivers for the Roccat Mouse and Logitech G410 are easy to set up—just type "roccat xtd" for the mouse and "logitech" for the keyboard, then scroll a bit and read the short description below the package name.
It seems like a solid choice. Honestly, the selection isn't that crucial. Just opt for something with a UI you enjoy and adapt to it.