2009.08 official snapshots

Question

Hey guys and girls.
We cannot post this on the mainpage (yet) but we don't want to hold you back, so we want to introduce you to the official 2009.08 images.
These images are the first fruits of our new arch-releng build environment on the sevenL server.
They are built from a current snapshot of core, which includes kernel 2.6.30.4-1, udev 141-5 and pacman 3.3.0-2.
Changes compared to 2009.02:
- more up-to-date software (see above)
- usage of new AIF installer, which brings:
  * better disk editor with support for dm_crypt and lvm setups
  * support for automated installations using config files (deprecates quickinst)
  * a framework to build your own installation procedures
  * better date/time setting with ntp support
  * refactored grub installation routines
  * usability improvements
- aufs instead of unionfs
- enhanced boot device detection on image start
- ftp images are renamed to netinstall to avoid confusion
- bugfixes (xfs freeze, mirror setting, clock correctness, network settings, ...)
- and much more...
detailed package list and additional snapshot information
As you can see, just like with 2009.02 there have been some huge changes.
We should be more settled now and hopefully it will be more straightforward to build snapshots in the future.
Time will tell ;-).
As usual, the images come in iso and img flavors, with grub and isolinux for people whose cd-rom drive doesn't work with grub
Due to all mentioned changes, the installation guide will get a bunch of changes in a few minutes
The new guide is for now only available in English but we'll add other versions when we receive translated versions.
We cannot update the download page yet, but most mirrors have these images and torrent files (with webseed support) in their iso directory.

Answer 1

Dieter@be wrote:
MetalheadGautham wrote:Nice. I hope the installer is easier to use than the older ones. I remember that the hardest part about archlinux was INSTALLING it when I installed the then currently available release exactly around an year back. It does its job but is seriously uncomfortable to use at the same time.
This is odd. I often think our installer is too userfriendly.  I mean once you have Arch installed, all configuration is done with config files, and all work by using tools on the commandline.
When you install, you are guided and have ncurses interfaces that hide stuff like pacman invocation, network setup etc.
I often think we should make the installer more minimal but I'm not sure yet how exactly I would implement it.
Its userfriendly if the user in question is an experienced linux user who is used to ncurses. But for those guys who are shifting to serious distros from toys like ubuntu, its a real pain in the rear sometimes.
Anyway, the hardest part in the installer IMO is partitioning.
The funny thing is that archlinux is otherwise really easy to use because everything is plain and simple and the default configuration files all have great inbuilt commented documentation. I found archlinux easier to use the first time I used it than CentOS 5.2 for example.
The only saving grace is the excellent inbuilt guide in the installer CD. I think it would be great if the installer also transfered this guide to a place like /var/doc or placed it in the /root folder by default after installation.