#chakra linux

I went without a laptop for quite a few months this past academic year. I wanted to see how life would be relying on a tablet as my primary means of production. It was fun, but ultimately it was prudent for me to invest in something with a more powerful operating system. I bought an 11-inch netbook capable of running more than Windows 7 Starter (dude, I didn’t even know they made those) and watched as my productivity shot back up.

I didn’t leave Windows 7 on my new netbook for long. Now, I’m not about to rail against Microsoft or anything (no, seriously, I mean it this time). As far as operating systems go, I quite like Windows 7 and prefer using it over Mac OS X. With that said, I’ve grown quite accustomed to the Linux way of doing things. I used Linux primarily before buying my Android tablet, and there were so many times over the course of using that tablet where I wished I could just follow what the developers were doing and see just why certain apps were as buggy or delayed as they were. It was a very unfamiliar feeling for me to return back to my software being treated less like code and more like a product. Let me explain.

In Linux, when something breaks, I can proceed to google how to fix it and come up with a handful of possible solutions. More often than not, I’m able to fix what’s wrong this way. At the same time, for problems that I can’t fix, I can usually google why the problem exists and find out. I’m typing this blog post using Calligra Words, a word processor primarily intended to be used with the KDE Plasma Desktop. In remember using this program two years ago, when it was still known as KWords, lacked spell check, and crashed regularly. I was able to read and follow the progress the developers made over the course of the application’s development. On my Android tablet, I primarily relied on Quickoffice Pro HD for typing. It’s a marvelous app, but it didn’t get spell check until last week. Prior to that, the most I could find were press releases or web pages intended on telling me how awesome the product was, or the polite suggestion to request the feature on Quickoffice’s brainstorming page, which others had already done. Now, I already knew Quickoffice was awesome, I used it regular, I just wanted someone to tell me frankly just what was going on. I wanted to be treated as an equal, not solely as a consumer. To many people, interacting with software developers or computer manufacturers as consumers is all they want, and that’s perfectly fine by me; but this is one of the primary reasons why I prefer using Linux over Windows or Mac. I rather have the control and the change in atmosphere over the convenient ecosystem that comes with using the same operating system as most everyone else around me.

So when I wiped Windows 7 off my computer, I discovered that my netbook was relatively new and was still a hassle to get working properly under Linux. I used Fedora for over a month, switched to Ubuntu for a few days, and yesterday found success with a distribution I had never tried before, Chakra Linux. I managed to get it working properly, but I fell in love with it for many more reasons than that.

Chakra Linux isn’t trying to take over the computing world by directly challenging Windows and Mac, the daunting task that Ubuntu has undertaken since 2004. Its intentions are straightforward, to provide a stable Linux core with the KDE ecosystem on top. It is not meant for new computer users, or new Linux converts, or people who may not have much experience with Linux. They’re welcome to try it, but the onus is on them to figure it out. Chakra is intended for Linux users who want the cleanest KDE setup possible, and it relies heavily on the terminal for managing the system. In the past such extensive terminal use would have turned me off, but now, I consider it a draw.

See, in the past I was drawn to the possibilities that Linux presented, the idea of a Windows/Mac kind of experience, but free and open. Many Linux desktop environments are moving in that direction. GNOME 3 and Ubuntu’s Unity interface are attractive, touch-orientated interfaces. They have limited many options in order to present an interface that the average person can pick up and understand. This doesn’t bother me. In all honesty, this used to be exactly what I wanted. But now, after having spent several months using a tablet as my primary device and experiencing sort of an “ideal” clean, touch interface, I don’t long for such an environment anymore. Now I find myself drawn back to KDE, the most configurable, integrated, and customizeable desktop environment I have ever known. It allows me to edit many of the minor things that bother me (things such as font choices or the amount of space between the clock and notifications, things I wish I could edit in any desktop environment) as well as provides me with advanced options that really do come in handy (such as being able to right-click the titlebar and combine more than one window into one tabbed window, regardless of application). Likewise, Chakra’s website provides clear instructions how to get around the terminal. The distribution also boots and shuts down by displaying the processes that are being performed, rather than masking them with pretty boot screens. In the past I would have wanted the boot screen, but now I like the power of knowing what step my computer is performing and exactly when and where something goes wrong, if something goes wrong.

I have come to find Chakra to be the ideal blend of an elegant GUI and the command-line, where the former doesn’t intend to mask the latter. App stores are fine, but I’ve come to appreciate the simplicity of managing software from a terminal window, getting to see exactly what is going on inside my computer, and enjoying the vastly speedier experience.

In the past, I longed for Linux and open source software to take over the computing landscape. Now, I’m not as concerned about what the people around me use. I use open software because I personally prefer it. I do my part by using open formats such as .odt and .ogg whenever possible, and in this way I contribute to the open ecosystem I hope to see someday, but I won’t be disappointed if Linux continues to exists in the background. I’ll be happy to use it regardless.

And while I’m still excited to watch desktop environments evolve and mature, I’m looking forward to becoming increasingly comfortable inside the terminal.

Distro hopping::Hour 3:

Tried Bodhi Linux. Didn't like the live setup it gave me. At all. It was functional, but it just wasn't happening for me. I did like how it gave me a bunch of different options on which type of desktop I would like to see on booting the live usb. I was slightly impressed by E17, but not enough to actually make the switch. I might try it on Arch and see what happens.

Then comes Chakra. I'm impressed. I wound up installing it to give it a whirl and put it through its paces. Unfortunately... I didn't have permission to log in from the login manager and I had to startx from tty1. And then I couldn't even connect to wifi because of insufficient permissions. O_o Got that figured out by logging in as root. But after playing for about an hour with KDE, I still can't say that I even remotely enjoy it. It just feels so unnecessarily bloated and heavy. I love the feel of Chakra though, and I think it's a great idea, but I can't bring myself to use KDE.

On the OS short list: - Bodhi Linux - I want to try E17 out! - Arch - Current. I want to switch from XFCE though - Chakra - but KDE and CCR might be a deal breaker - Linux Mint - I want to see how far its come haha - Debian/OpenSUSE/Slackware - If I'm feeling adventureous

DE/WM short list: - Cinnamon - Favorite, but I don't think my computer can take it any more. - E17 - As stated above, I want to try this sucker out - Awesome WM - I've never actually gotten Awesome to work... but the screenshots look nice! - KDE - I've never been fond of KDE, but I also think I've never given it a proper test. - Openbox/Fluxbox - I've tried them and they worked quite well, but I never fell in love with them so to say. - XFCE - Current, but its been bugging out on me :(

Tribe, el instalador de Chakra Linux, tendrá en un futuro el frontend (interfaz gráfica) en QML. Como vemos, parece que el desarrollo funciona, ¡y queda sencillamente genial! Uno de los mejores instaladores de todo Linux para una de las mejores distros Linux. :D

Debo notar que no solo las transiciones entre pantalla y pantalla son elegantes y suaves, sino que también se incluirá la opción de conectar la webcam para sacarnos una foto y ponerla de avatar. ¡O ese genial editor de particiones!