In today's open source roundup: Five reasons why you should consider Arch Linux as your next distro. Plus: Linux Mint Debian Edition 2 RC screenshot tours, and a teardown of the Samsung Galaxy S6 The virtues of Arch Linux There are many different Linux distributions available, but few provide as much direct control over your computer as Arch Linux. One of our bloggers here on ITworld shares his thoughts on why he picked Arch Linux as his desktop distro, and why you might want to consider it as well. Swapnil Bhartiya reports for ITworld: Installing Arch Linux is a bit like building your own house. You have to dig the foundation, erect the walls, build the roofs, run the plumbing and electrical wiring around it … and all the rest of it. In other words, installing Arch Linux is not at all like renting an apartment, just moving in, and letting the landlord take care of everything else. Arch is the primary distro that runs on my main system. I do use openSUSE, Ubuntu, and Kubuntu on it and switch between them from time to time. But I spend the majority of my PC time on the Arch system because I find it to be an excellent distribution for advanced, and new, Linux users. In a nutshell, I am hooked on it. And there are reasons for it. The bigger question is, why did I choose Arch Linux over others and what does it have to offer that others don’t. #1 By the community, for the community #2 The ‘biggest’ software repository #3 Almost all major desktop environments at your disposal #4 Total user control #5 Once it starts rolling, it never stops More at ITworld The Arch Linux wiki has more information: Arch Linux is an independently developed, i686/x86-64 general purpose GNU/Linux distribution versatile enough to suit any role. Development focuses on simplicity, minimalism, and code elegance. Arch is installed as a minimal base system, configured by the user upon which their own ideal environment is assembled by installing only what is required or desired for their unique purposes. GUI configuration utilities are not officially provided, and most system configuration is performed from the shell and a text editor. Based on a rolling-release model, Arch strives to stay bleeding edge, and typically offers the latest stable versions of most software. Arch Linux was founded by Canadian programmer Judd Vinet. Its first formal release, Arch Linux 0.1, was on March 11, 2002. Although Arch is completely independent, it draws inspiration from the simplicity of other distributions including Slackware, CRUX and BSD. In 2007, Judd Vinet stepped down as Project Lead to pursue other interests and was replaced by American programmer Aaron Griffin who continues to lead the project today. More at Arch Linux Roger Comply at Paranoid Penguin has a full review of Arch Linux: Arch is extremely fast and responsive and I have yet to experience a single application crash. This is highly unusual for me in my KDE endeavors so I’m both surprised and impressed with how well the system has performed. By choosing Arch Linux you’ll get a distribution that is all about you. Assemble the system you always wanted on a lightening fast Arch base and enjoy a vast collection of current software. Obviously this approach is not everybody’s cup of tea, but if the Arch way makes sense to you, then get ready for a fun and rewarding learning experience. The Pros: The Arch way, which should be a blueprint for software development in my opinion. The Arch community. The ArchWiki has become my main resource for everything Linux, no matter what distribution I’m using. Rolling releases. Never grow old. Never die. It’s fun to be an Arch Linux distro. Bleeding edge. Get all the new toys before most other distributions. A good way to get familiar with new technology. The Cons: Bleeding edge. It’s called bleeding for a reason, some challenges regarding the stability of your system have to be expected. Not a suitable choice for production servers in my opinion. The Arch User Repository may contain build scripts of questionable quality. No choice of init system. More at Paranoid Penguin Drop by the official Arch Linux Downloads page to snag a copy of it for your system. You might also want to check out the Beginner’s Guide, Installation Guide, and Arch Linux FAQ. If you have any problems installing or using Arch Linux, be sure to seek feedback and assistance in the official Arch Linux forum. Linux Mint Debian Edition 2 RC screenshot tours The release candidate for Linux Mint Debian 2 is out, and there are a couple of screenshot tours of it. The first is from Linux Screenshots and the second is by Softpedia. Check out the tours to see the new features and get a good overview of Linux Mint Debian 2. Linux Screenshots reports: The team is proud to announce the release of LMDE 2 “Betsy” Cinnamon RC. LMDE (Linux Mint Debian Edition) is a very exciting distribution, targeted at experienced users, which provides the same environment as Linux Mint but uses Debian as its package base, instead of Ubuntu. LMDE is less mainstream than Linux Mint, it has a much smaller user base, it is not compatible with PPAs, and it lacks a few features. That makes it a bit harder to use and harder to find help for, so it is not recommended for novice users. Linux Mint is an Ubuntu-based distribution whose goal is to provide a more complete out-of-the-box experience by including browser plugins, media codecs, support for DVD playback, Java and other components. It also adds a custom desktop and menus, several unique configuration tools, and a web-based package installation interface. Linux Mint is compatible with Ubuntu software repositories. Image credit: Linux Screenshots More at Linux Screenshots Marius Nestor at Softpedia reports: The RC (Release Candidate) version of the upcoming Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) 2, codenamed Betsy, has been announced earlier today by no other than the father of the Linux Mint project, Clement Lefebvre. Both Cinnamon and MATE editions of LMDE 2 have been released for testing and we were asked by our users to create screenshot tours. As you can see from the screenshot tour at the end of the article, both distributions include approximately the same packages. Among these, we can mention Mozilla Firefox 36.0.1, Mozilla Thunderbird 31.5.0, Pidgin 2.10.11, GIMP 2.8.14, Transmission 2.84, LibreOffice 4.3.3, Banshee 2.6.2, as well as VLC Media Player 2.2.0. Both the Cinnamon and MATE versions of Linux Mint Debian Edition are powered by a Linux 3.16 kernel based on the upstream Debian kernel 3.16.7. More at Softpedia Samsung Galaxy S6 teardown The Samsung Galaxy S6 might be the company’s best phone yet, but how well does it stack up when it comes to being fixed by users? Android Central notes that trying to repair the Galaxy S6 yourself might be tough. Rich Edmonds reports for Android Central: While the Samsung Galaxy S6 sports visually appealing glass and metal elementst, it does increase difficulty levels when attempting to pull apart the device and attempt a repair. Put simply, should you find repairing smartphones a difficult endeavour, do not attempt the same with the new Galaxy S6. Aside from the above observations, the Galaxy S6 contains various smartphone components as one would expect. There’s nothing out of the ordinary here, though it does appear Samsung has done a solid job in the design of the device, both inside and out. Everything that makes the magic happen is neatly packed together. More at Android Central David at MyFixGuide has the complete teardown with tons of photos: In this guide, i’ll explain how to disassemble Samsung Galaxy S6 to remove back cover, battery, speaker, rear camera, front camera and motherboard, refer on this guide, you can repair your Samsung S6. More at MyFixGuide Did you miss a roundup? Check the Eye On Open home page to get caught up with the latest news about open source and Linux. Software DevelopmentOpen SourceTechnology Industry