General comparison
| Ubuntu | Arch Linux | |
|---|---|---|
| Attended portion of setup | ~ 5 min.1 | ~ 25 min. |
| Unattended portion of setup | 15 - 20 min. | 8 - 12 min. |
| Initial system configuration | < 5 min. | > 30 min. |
| Time to fully usable system (i.e., getting work done) | 2 - 3 h. | 2 - 3 days |
| Stuff that needs to be removed | lots (OOo, Mono, Gwibber, etc.) | none |
| Stuff that needs to be installed | 15 - 20 packages (GIMP, Inkscape, etc.) | 30 - 40 packages (vim, mutt, xorg, firefox, etc.) |
| Ease of doing something "new"2 | easy | somewhat difficult |
| Efficiency once setup | moderate – good | good – extreme |
| 1 these numbers are in no way meant to be scientific—at best, they're a guestimate from my past experience. 2 like adding a printer, networking computers, etc. |
||
Rankings
| Ubuntu | Arch Linux | |
|---|---|---|
| Ease of use | 8 / 10 | 1 / 10 |
| Time to setup | 9 / 10 | 2 / 10 |
| Minimal-ness | 3.5 / 10 | 9 / 10 |
| Productivity (after setup) | 7 / 10 | 7.5 / 10 |
| Conduciveness to dark themes | 6 / 10 | 8 / 10 |
| Geek credibility factor | 3 / 10 | 8 / 10 |
| Total score: | 36.5 / 60 | 35.5 / 60 |
Epilogue
Ubuntu wins by one point! Take that, Arch!
Please don't take this seriously. I'm just having a little fun after my recent Arch experience.
