Manjaro Linux 0.8.9 Review: Right on the money release after release!

Whenever I have to recommend a Linux distro to a novice user, the first name that I generally tell is of Linux Mint. Now I think I have another distro to refer to - Manjaro Linux. In fact, these days I am using Manjaro Linux XFCE in a couple of my systems for last 6 months or so - none of them broke in the last 3 updates. So, I start with a spoiler here: I have seen and used quite a few Arch based distros and Arch Linux itself to take advantage of rolling release and thinking I don't have to reinstall them again. However, except Manjaro and Chakra Linux, none of the other installations survived more than a month. In every major update, one thing or the other broke or it became unbootable. I am not blaming the distro but my limited knowledge / time / willingness to research on where I messed up.

Manjaro Linux, on the other hand, survived my limited knowledge and rolling release update inevitably every time. A 32-bit version of Manjaro XFCE is currently running on my HP Desktop Computer with 2.3 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 processor, 1.5 GB DDR RAM and 250 GB HDD. It is really an antique PC bought in 2003 and still going strong thanks to Linux. And Manjaro XFCE works way better than any other XFCE / Openbox / LXDE spins I tried on it. And by any, I literally mean, any. I have tried almost all 32-bit distros on it!
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From Manjaro 0.8.9 KDE http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

Coming back to Manjaro 0.8.9 update, it is the first update of 2014. Previous year Manjaro released 0.8.3, 0.8.4, 0.8.5, 0.8.5.2, 0.8.6, 0.8.7, 0.8.7.1 and 0.8.8 - in total 8 updates in 12 months. So, I am expecting at least 6 updates this year as well. Manjaro's specialty is in making pre-configured Arch Linux distros appealing to both Linux novices as well as seasoned users. Officially it releases KDE, Openbox and XFCE versions. Also, Mate, Cinnamon and GNOME 3 spins are released in community editions. XFCE is the most popular release followed by KDE for Manjaro (based on download stats). I am covering primarily the KDE version here which I tried out as a fresh install. I have an XFCE version running for last 6 months (and now upgraded to 0.8.9) on my HP desktop. If you need information on the XFCE version, feel free to post a comment in my blog.

The Manjaro Linux 0.8.9 KDE 64 bit ISO is about 1.8 GB in size and ships with KDE 4.12.2 and Linux kernel 3.10.30. Manjaro aims for a relatively stable distro and hence, you may not always find the bleeding edge Linux kernels/apps. It is a slightly conservative and I prefer the stability in Manjaro.

I created a live USB using Mint Image Writer and a 4 GB USB drive. I first did a live boot followed by installation on my Asus K55VM laptop with 2.3 Ghz Core i7 processor, 8 GB DDR3 RAM and 2 GB NVIDIA GeForce 630M graphics. I installed it on a 50 GB partition.

Installation
Manjaro has both CLI and graphical installer. Last time I tried the CLI installer and actually it put me off a bit.

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From Manjaro 0.8.9 KDE http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in
This time I went with the graphical installer called Thus. It is similar to what Linux Mint uses and is very user friendly. The steps are pretty simple: select language, country for system locale, time zone, keyboard layout, where to install and finally create user ID. No confusing options like where to install grub, etc. Thus is pretty neat and the among the best I have seen in non-Ubuntu distros. It takes about 10 min. to get over with everything.

manjaro.gif
From Manjaro 0.8.9 KDE http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in
Notably, I didn't get any error pop-up while selecting drives to install Manjaro - possibly because I was using a real computer to try it out and not a virtualbox. Virtualbox has a lot of limitations and possible not the best way to assess a distro for review.

Score for Installation: 10/10

Aesthetics
Manjaro Linux 0.8.9 also sports a black themed desktop with a tinge of green and is not very different from 2013 Manjaro updates in terms of looks.
Like Chakra Linux, post-installation, Manjaro has a post-installation user configuration tool named Turbulence. It allows customizing common settings like folders in home directory, windows decoration theme, wallpaper and familiarizing with system settings. It is not as exhaustive as Kapudan in Chakra Linux but never-the-less a good beginning for Manjaro.

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From Manjaro 0.8.9 KDE http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in
I really like the fact that developers give the simple menu as default. It is more efficient in my opinion and requires the least number of clicks to open an app. Also, left side bar of the menu gives the favorite packages making it further efficient. Indeed these are small changes but immensely useful for regular use.
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From Manjaro 0.8.9 KDE http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

Manjaro ships with a slightly customized KDE. Windows decoration theme is Air-black-remix green and Violet pastel as the desktop theme. It is similar to the themes that Chakra Linux and OpenSUSE users. In overall, the theme gels quite well with the default wallpaper.
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Windows Decoration theme options From Manjaro 0.8.9 KDE http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in
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Desktop theme options From Manjaro 0.8.9 KDE http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

I checked the wallpaper section, Manjaro ships with a whole lot of other good looking wallpapers along with the default one. Some of these, however, don't go quite well with the default all black theme. Hence, a bit of customization in desktop and windows decoration themes to use them.
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Wallpapers section From Manjaro 0.8.9 KDE http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

Usual KDE effects like desktop cube are not enabled by default. A short tinkering with the system settings enabled the effects along with other animations.
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From Manjaro 0.8.9 KDE http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

Manjaro Linux is the usual grub2 with black background, nothing special there like Chakra Linux. However, the bootsplash is customized and looks appealing. Further, font rendering quite good in Manjaro making it easy to the eyes.

Based on overall originality of theme and professional desktop, I give Manjaro Linux 100% for aesthetics.

Score for Aesthetics: 10/10

Hardware Recognition
Like Linux Mint, hardware recognition for Manjaro is impeccable. Everything, starting from screen resolution, touchpad detection, sound card, wifi, LAN, etc. worked exactly how it is supposed to work, except double tap. No issues there for me. Only concern is that though my touchpad worked perfectly, but I didn't see the touchpad option in System settings manager.

Score for Hardware Recognition: 9.4/10

Pre-Installed Packages
Manjaro Linux ships with a host of KDE and non-KDE packages, namely:
  • Office: LibreOffice 4.1.5.3 (Base, Calc, Draw, Impress, Writer), Contact theme editor, Kaddressbook, Ktimetracker, Ktnef, Okulardocument reader
  • Internet: Kmail, Kontact, Akregator feed reader, Avahi SSH & VNC, Blogilo, Kget download manager, KNetAttach, Knode, Konqueror browser, Konversation IRC, Kopete IM, KPPP, KrDC, Krfb, Ktorrent, Rekonq browser
  • Graphics: Digikam, GIMP 2.8.10, Gwenview, Ksnapshot, Showfoto, Simple scan
  • Multimedia: Amarok music player, Dragon Player, AMZ downloader, Juk music player, K3b CD/DVD writer, VLC 2.1.3
  • Accessories: Ark archive manager, HP Device Manager, Kalarm, Kate notepad, KGpg encryption tool, Kjots notepad, Kleopatra, Klipper, KNotes, Nepomuk Backup & Cleaner, Sweeper, Gparted partition manager, Konsole, KWallet Manager, UXTerm, Xterm,Yakuake terminal, Printer Manager
  • Others: SUSE Studio Image Writer
I really like the application set provided here, except for the internet section where the choice of browsers disappointed me slightly. Both Konqueror and Rekonq are not my preferred browsers and I am not sure how many users actually prefer them over Firefox and Chrome.

However, one good thing is that Adobe flash plugin and multimedia codecs are preinstalled. I could watch my favorite YouTube videos in Rekonq immediately after installation.
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From Manjaro 0.8.9 KDE http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

VLC player worked really well. Even the KDE default dragon player is not bad at all when all the multimedia codecs are installed.
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Watching Ice Soldiers in VLC From Manjaro 0.8.9 KDE http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

Further, I found Yakuake terminal pretty handy. Instead of browsing through the menu, I just need to press F12 to start it and given that I use terminal a lot, it increased my productivity.

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Yakuake terminal From Manjaro 0.8.9 KDE http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in
Firewall packages are not by default there in the distro but can be downloaded from the repos. The XFCE version has the firewall package and I feel, it should be there by default in the KDE spin as well.

Manjaro Linux ships the most of the apps that I like to see in a distro, namely: an office suite, a PDF viewer (Okular), an email client, a download manager (Kget), a torrent downloader (ktorrent), an instant messenger (Kopete), a photo viewer (Gwenview), Photo editor (GIMP), a screenshot app (Ksnapshot), an audio player (Amarok), a video player (VLC, Dragon), CD/DVD writer (K3b), and a live USB creator (Image writer). Only things missing are a Video calling app (like Skype) and WINE to install Windows applications.

So, I go 9/10 for pre-installed packages for Manjaro Linux from my side.

Score for Pre-Installed Packages: 9/10.

Settings Managers
Manjaro Linux ships with a couple of settings manager - one is the default KDE one and another Manjaro Settings Manager. The default System Settings is quite a functional one integrating KDE settings control options. Apart from regular options like settings themes, animations, keyboard, mouse, desktop resolution, etc., it also provides setting up hot corners and keyboard shortcuts. It is definitely one of the best system settings I have seen.

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Settings Manager From Manjaro 0.8.9 KDE http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in
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Creating Hot corners From Manjaro 0.8.9 KDE http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in
Manjaro ships in addition a Manjaro Settings Manager. It has to be accessed as root and provides language, user account, keyboard and hardware detection option. I used the hardware detection option to see if it is detecting the Nvidia graphic card properly or not. It allows installation of free and non-free graphic card drivers.

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Manjaro Settings Manager From Manjaro 0.8.9 KDE http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in
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Hardware Detection From Manjaro 0.8.9 KDE http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in
Repositories
Though Manjaro Linux is based on Arch, but it has it's own repositories. Like Arch, Manjaro uses the Pacman package manager and is compatible with Arch User Repositories (AUR). Manjaro itself has 3 sets of repositories:
  • Unstable: with bleeding edge Arch packages, possibly 1 or 2 days delayed
  • Testing: packages which are being tested for stability
  • Stable: with only stable packages
Like Chakra Linux, in Manjaro Linux, as well, I saw that core, extra, community and multilib repositories are enabled.

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Pacman.conf file From Manjaro 0.8.9 KDE http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in
Octopi 0.3.2 is the default interface to browse through and install the packages. AUR repos are enabled by default and can be compiled via yaourt. Normally these things require a bit of technical knowledge in Arch Linux but Manjaro ensures it to be very user friendly.
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Octopi From Manjaro 0.8.9 KDE http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

If you are fond of using terminal to install packages, then "sudo pacman -S <app name>" is the option for you. I installed Chromium browser and Firefox using the following commands:
$ sudo pacman -S firefox
$ sudo pacman -S chromium

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Firefox and Chromium From Manjaro 0.8.9 KDE http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in
Another good thing about Manjaro is that it provides the nouveau drivers and bumblebee by default. You just need to enable the right drivers to prevent Nvidia drivers running all the time and use Intel graphic drivers by default.

Performance
I got impressive performance from Manjaro Linux KDE. At steady state, 64-bit Manjaro version took about 528 MB RAM and 0-5% CPU with system monitor running. It is about 5% lower than the average RAM consumption of KDE distros that I have tested on this computer.

Manjaro takes about 45 seconds to boot with autologin enabled, which is about 14% lower than boot time of KDE distros (53 seconds). It boots a lot faster than most of the KDE distros I've tried so far.

Another important fact I should mention here. Normally 32-bit KDE spins run like a snail on a netbook that I have (Asus 1101HA, 1 GB DDR2 RAM, 1.38 Ghz Intel Atom processor). However, Manjaro Linux KDE runs pretty decent on it. Definitely, it is one of the best KDE spins that I've used till date.


Operating System (64 bit)Size of ISO (GB)BaseDesktopLinux kernelCPU (%)RAM usage (MB)Size of installationBoot time (sec)
Debian KDE 7.3.00.7Debian WheezyKDE 4.8.43.2.00-5%4234.149
Neptune 3.31.9Debian WheezyKDE 4.11.23.10.120-5%4397.253
Netrunner 13.061.4Ubuntu RaringKDE 4.10.53.8.00-5%4755.940
Siduction 13.2.01.2Debian UnstableKDE 4.11.43.12.00-5%4783.760
Mint 15 KDE1.4Ubuntu RaringKDE 4.10.53.8.00-5%4837.045
Solydk 2013.111.6Debian TestingKDE 4.11.33.10.30-5%4846.259
Bridge Linux 2013.061.0ArchKDE 4.10.43.12.50-5%4904.639
Mint 16 KDE1.4Ubuntu SaucyKDE 4.11.33.11.00-5%4967.037
PCLinuxOS 2013.121.6MandrivaKDE 4.11.33.4.700-10%4965.865
Kwheezy 1.44.0Debian WheezyKDE 4.8.43.2.00-10%51112.449
Kubuntu 13.040.9Ubuntu RaringKDE 4.10.53.8.00-10%5234.935
Manjaro Linux 0.8.9 KDE1.8ArchKDE 4.12.23.10.300-5%5284.945
Mageia 31.4MandrivaKDE 4.10.23.8.00-5%5303.946
Calculate Linux 13.11 KDE2.3GentooKDE 4.11.33.10.190-5%5377.164
Mageia 43.6MandrivaKDE 4.11.43.12.80-5%540856
Kubuntu 13.101.0Ubuntu SaucyKDE 4.11.23.11.00-5%5475.253
Chakra Fritz 2013.091.8ArchKDE 4.11.13.10.100-10%5505.041
OpenSUSE 13.14.4OpenSUSEKDE 4.11.23.11.60-5%5936.053
Chakra 2014.021.7MandrivaKDE 4.12.23.12.60-5%6184.141
ROSA Fresh KDE R21.6MandrivaKDE 4.11.33.10.190-5%6205.453
Netrunner 13.121.6Ubuntu SaucyKDE 4.11.23.11.00-10%6237.248
Manjaro Linux 0.8.8 KDE2.0ArchKDE 4.11.33.10.240-10%6555.066
Fedora 20 KDE0.9FedoraKDE 4.11.33.12.50-5%6918.477
Korora 19.12.4FedoraKDE 4.11.13.11.20-5%6979.279
OpenSUSE 13.1.1 Education Li-f-e3.3OpenSUSEKDE 4.12.13.11.60-5%7309.357
Korora 202.3FedoraKDE 4.11.53.12.60-5%7508.058


Score for Performance: 9/10

Overall
Manjaro Linux is right on the money again and the present release performs way better than the 0.8.8 version I used earlier. It is lighter and more efficient, boots faster and is very stable. Though it is not bleeding edge (unless you choose the testing or unstable repos), but the packages are fairly updated ones and given rolling release works pretty accurate for Manjaro, you may not like to go back to any other Linux once you start using Manjaro. It is perhaps one of the rare distros in Linux world which appeal to both Linux novice and advanced users alike. Documentation for the distro is pretty good as well. Like most of the Arch distros, Manjaro too as a very good wiki.

I rated Netrunner as the best KDE distro earlier but now Netrunner has a stiff competition. Manjaro Linux 0.8.9 KDE too gets a 10/10 in my rating and is right on top of the KDE spins I have used in 2013-14 along with Netrunner. Well done Manjaro developers!

Manjaro Linux is a definite recommendation from my side to all Linux users and KDE lovers. You can download the 32 and 64 bit editions from here. The get Manjaro webpage has sourceforge links for XFCE, Openbox and KDE spins along with community spins (Cinnamon, Mate, GNOME, LXDE, Enlightenment, etc.).

Overall Score: 10/10
Installation: 10/10
Aesthetics: 10/10
Hardware Recognition: 9.4/10
Pre-Installed Packages: 9/10
Performance: 9/10


출처: http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.ca/2014/03/manjaro-linux-089-review-right-on-money.html


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