Thoughts about Manjaro, Endeavour, and Gentoo: Recent Dives into the rabbit holes

I have tried Endeavour Linux in the past; something always feels wrong about it.  It has some good points, though.  When I saw it overtook Manjaro, on Distrowatch, my curiosity got the better of me, so I installed it. 

I still like i3 better than other Desktop Managers (KDE is interesting, but slower, for me).  So I reached for the i3 install.

 

Once again, I am disappointed.  Mostly, it's because of the difficulty I had trying to use Endeavour's idiosyncratic customized i3 setup.

 

Pros

• It seemed faster (maybe my older Manjaro is tangled up in knots?)
•  My Manjaro is well worn, feels good, but there are many little issues.  Endeavour felt really speedy.
  
•  Quick to boot.
  
•  

 Cons 

• i3 is intractable to me.  It seemed even more difficult than the last time. 
• Installing the regular config file did not work for me
•  I do not enjoy the wallpaper
• Ranger is not installed
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On the whole, Endeavour was overwritten in one day with Manjaro.  Manjaro is easier to install, and the setup is familiar.   This is regrettable, because I really want an easy-to-install Arch Linux, with Arch repos, without the manjaro overwatch.  

Tried to install Gentoo recently

About 15 years ago, Gentoo was my favorite distro.  I did not like that updating required more than a day, in my aging (but not horribly ancient) hardware.  Maybe it's time to try again?   

Distrowatch's recently featured review of the Gentoo LiveCD received the highest KUDOs of any I have recently read.  So shouldn't I try it?  

The Live CD is nice.  So I tried to install from the Live CD.  There is no Calamares-equivalent installer.  I followed all the steps.  The Boot Manager did not work.  

So I gave up.  I have work to do.  I cannot spend days installing a new OS.  My machine might be up to Gentoo, but I'd have to rein in my penchant to update every few days.   

I never got to find out whether KDE libraries are still a gordian knot on recent Gentoo.  Also, it's a huge learning curve.  Maybe I'll try one of the easy-to-install  Gentoo shortcut distros, but my patience would be certain to be tested.  There are too many steps for everything.  

I might try again.  Maybe on a clean machine.  I want to try Apple Hardware.  

 

Why not Apple M1 or M2?

 The need for speed has me looking at MacBooks and Mac Minis.  

The biggest need for me is an easier to use search function.  The virtual folder feature is so clean and cool, it might be just what I need.  Or maybe I'm fooling myself.

 

Arch and Manjaro

Manjaro is easy to install.  It is my go to system recovery distro.  Let me explain: The System Rescue CDs leave me at the lurch: I still have to dig around, and I don't do well at that.  I'm what might be called a High-Skilled Linux User Without Computer Skills. I can run a system, but the finer points of system tweaking---involving programming---are a massive challenge.  

I have work to do.  GNU/Linux is my biggest ally, but I don't have time or inclination to spend more time, for example to learn to install Arch every few months.  Arch's supporters say that the Arch installation process is a learning tool.  I've learned it too many times already.  Arch is easier than Gentoo.  Gentoo is too much power; more than I can handle, and I cannot keep it on the road.  Arch is the next step toward independence, but every time, I have ended up stepping on my toes, tripping myeself up, and having to re-install.  Because it's easier to install (esp. with Manjaro) than to dive in to the problems.  Even using the greatest help system: Google and the multitudes of users.  I am so dependent on these folk.  How can I repay it forward?  

:-)