hibby
If you can manage a Linux server, you likely have no use for Unraid. If you want to put together a Synology type appliance out of PC hardware to run Docker containers and uses ZFS for backups, Unraid is a fairly user friendly option.
Slackware may not be huge, but it is the base distro for Unraid.
Hey there. It's-a me, Mario. I just want to thank you for sharing.
It's an immutable filesystem fork of Arch, not vanilla Arch. It's as stable as any operating system is, doesn't update in the same way Arch does, and doesn't even allow the user sudo privilege. Also, you don't even need to interface with Linux. The front end is extremely intuitive, but you also have the option of a pretty great KDE Plasma desktop mode if you switch over. Fortunately, it has no Candy Crush, Teams, or Cortana in the Start Menu.
They switched from a Debian based OS to an Arch based immutable fork for the Deck. There are folks who have built a close version to SteamOS 3, but there would be no need if Valve would just release the official OS. I can't imagine why they haven't. It would only make it cheaper for other hardware manufacturers to release a product. I don't know how much of the Ally's price is just covering the Windows license, but it has to be a substantial percentage of the overall retail price.
While not the official Steam OS, which Valve still hasn't released officially, people have thrown Arch on one to do benchmarking comparisons and there are tutorials for getting Linux on it.
Choice in this market is good for end users, as is competition. Both of the machines are a compromise in one way or another and different in substantial ways, so it's really just down to personal preference. I can't wait to see how this market grows over the next few years.
I just can't believe that they expect people who bought the Ally to interface with the regular ass Win11 desktop without touchpads. Sure, horsepower and a better display is cool, but not at the expense of battery life and heat. I hope it's successful so we get revisions and incentive for others to get in the game, but it it's not quite there for me.
While Arch does allow a user to do a lot, including breaking their system, I would note that it's not a herculean task to build and run a stable machine. I broke my Arch system a few times by going against best-practices and it did teach me about some risks, but I knew exactly what I did and why it broke every time. It taught me how to quickly recover, which is good to know for any OS.
I'd call myself an intermediate enthusiast and I don't have a career that uses Linux, but I have never found Arch "hard". It just takes some reading and a little patience. The Arch Wiki has a majority of the answers, but if you have tried and failed to find the answer you need, the community is extremely savvy and are there to help you. They just prefer you to dig into the wiki and try for yourself before asking for help.
For desktop Linux, I use Arch. It's a community driven base distribution, so the needs of the community are what drives development and there are no financial decisions of a company that get priority, which is refreshing. It also has access to the latest and greatest that Linux has to offer.
They have a philosophy of expecting basic effort from users and to have a tinkering mindset. Historically, Arch devs and users have a reputation of being grumpy greybeards, but many of the rough edges have been rounded off in the last few years. If you are willing to do a bit of reading or watching some YouTube videos, it's not really that hard.
You can really build a lean and powerful machine that has just the software you want on the system with Arch. All it takes is a little effort and willingness to ask for help from the community after you have tried and failed to solve problems yourself. It's really not the badge of elitism to use Arch in 2023. It's never been easier to use and doesn't blow up on you nearly as often as the reputation implies. Just use good hygiene and make snapshots so if you blow it up, it's only a 5 minute recovery.
Okay buddy. You obviously didn't come here to do anything but grind your axe. 3% of desktop use is pretty cool, even if it's likely just a ton of Steam Decks. Anyway, have a nice time developing.