Manjaro 0.8.3 KDE: Simply getting better with each release!

I reviewed the last two releases of Manjaro Linux (0.8 and 0.8.2) earlier this year and was quite impressed by the last release. There were some glitches of course, like high RAM usage, in spite of being based on Arch Linux. But Manjaro has its own advantages as well like rolling release. To be honest, I wasn't using using Manjaro on a regular basis - relying more on Linux Mint and Archbang for productivity purposes. Hence, when the new updated release of Manjaro (0.8.3) came out, I had to do a fresh install to try it out. Manjaro 0.8.3 has now Cinnamon, Mate, KDE and XFCE versions - Gnome is left out for obvious reasons. Both 32 and 64 bit ISOs are available for download.

From Manjaro 0.8.3 KDE

KDE is now a days my favorite desktop environment, after getting a bit fed up with Gnome. Given the updated release of Manjaro has KDE 4.9.4, I downloaded it first, though I guess Manjaro XFCE is the most popular one. The 32-bit KDE ISO is about 1.6 GB is size, almost same as Manjaro 0.8.2 KDE. I did a live-boot on the following three systems:

1. Asus K54C laptop, 2.2 Ghz Core i3 with 2 GB RAM
2. Asus 1101HA EeePC netbook, 1.38 Ghz Intel Atom with 1 GB RAM
3. HP P4 desktop, 2.4 Ghz with 1.5 GB DDR RAM

Here I tried to choose a variety of systems - a decently powered laptop, a low powered netbook and an antiquated PC. Live-boot was created using Mint Imagewriter (Unetbootin doesn't work with Arch). You can use OpenSUSE Imagewriter as well (basically the same thing).

Live boot was followed by installation on a 8 GB drive in the Core i3 laptop, to test out it's performance for a couple of days of continuous usage. I am writing this blog from Manjaro 0.8.3 KDE installation.

At a high level, not much has changed from last release except the following:

1. Linux kernel is upgraded to 3.4.24 from 3.4.18 in the last release.
2. KDE is upgraded to 4.9.4 from 4.9.2.
3. From the release note, I noted quite a few improvements and optimizations in hardware detection and software packages (like LibreOffice installer, CFI installer, etc.)
4. Some bugs, like keyboard layout detection, are fixed now.
5. Nvidia-legacy has been added and all software package list is now optimized.

The desktop looks typical KDE and I miss the Manjaro Linux artwork in the KDE version. The developers should include at least the black and green Manjaro wallpapers here. The default KDE look is really bland! Even the grub menu is the default black and white and the developers should pay some attention to the artwork in the KDE version as well.

From Manjaro 0.8.3 KDE

Manjaro 0.8.3 detected Wifi and touchpad perfectly. Sound and resolution worked perfect in all the machines. I don't have a printer and hence, couldn't test that aspect. But, I didn't face any issue in hard-drive detection or mounting USB. However, it is not auto-mount but required password authentication for mounting existing hard drives.


Applications
The application list remains more-or-less the same as the last release with upgraded version of the apps, namely:

• Office: LibreOffice 3.6 Writer & Calc, Okular document viewer
• Internet: Firefox 17, Thunderbird 17
• Graphics: GIMP 2.8, Gwenview Image Viewer, Digikam photo management, KSnapshot, Simple scan, ShowFoto photo viewer & editor
• Multi-media: Amarok, Dragon Player, K3b disk burning
• Accessories: 7-zip FM, Kate text editor, Ark Archiving tool, Klipper, KGpg, Nepomuk backup, Sweeper, HP Device Manager

Multimedia codecs and Adobe flash support is inbuilt and out-of-the-box, which is good. The graphics section is quite rich in Manjaro with a whole lot of applications incl. GIMP. Rest of the sections are decent, except Internet. I expect a bit-torrent client and a IM, to say the least, along with a browser and an email client. And please include Impress in Office apps, as I have been saying from the last release review.

From Manjaro 0.8.3 KDE

Other than that, applications and multimedia support is good enough for a regular user, to start watching their favorite movie or listen to music right after installation.

Installation
Installation is quite easy and takes about 15-20 minutes of time. Once you live boot, there is an installation guide to help you out with step by step explained adequately. The guide is updated for 0.8.3, unlike last release. Installations steps are as usual, choose the installation drive, format it, install, create user id and grub2 install. Overall, installation is very easy and I could install Manjaro in my first attempt.

Performance
Last time I noted a bit high RAM usage in Manjaro compared to Kubuntu 12.04. However, I see marked improvement - on my Core i3 laptop, Manjaro 0.8.3 KDE showed 335 MB RAM with 1-10% CPU usage with system monitor running. That is about 100 MB reduction in RAM usage from the last release on the same machine under similar conditions! Remarkable indeed! Further, I didn't feel any stress on the system while multi-tasking.

From Manjaro 0.8.3 KDE

Also, Manjaro live boot worked well on the netbook with limited resources. CPU usage was stable (around 50-70%) while watching a video or live streaming and I could multi-task within a reasonable limit.

However, on P4 desktop, it wasn't quite smooth to use and CPU usage shoot up to 100% while using Firefox and the system dragged a bit. It was a bit on the slower side. Never-the-less, system didn't hang which is a good thing. This HP machine is unable to run Windows XP SP3 but flies with Archbang!

Repository
Manjaro is cutting edge but not bleeding edge. It is actually good if you are using the system for production purposes. Manjaro sources packages from the Arch repo, which is quite rich. Yapan, abbreviation of Yet Another Package Manager Notifier, gives notification of the packages with pending updates. Like right after installation, I was notified of 100 mb updates. Like all Arch based distros, Pacman is the default package manager and it is very good.

One thing I miss in Manjaro is Pacman-GUI with the live DVD. Experienced Linux users would be at ease with terminal but for Linux novices a GUI with the default installation would help to a great extent. Package browser is there which helps with the package list, but it can't substitute a package manager GUI. So, I downloaded the pacman-GUI exclusively designed for Manjaro by typing the following command at the terminal:

$sudo pacman -S pacman-gui

Pacman-GUI is about 4 MB in size and is actually helpful to download applications. However, one needs to search the package browser for the exact package name and then input it in the pacman-GUI. It is kind of complex and confusing for any Linux newbie and an integrated package browser plus downloader is a much preferred option. Still, Manjaro at least has a pacman-GUI, I couldn't get a similar thing in Bridge Linux.

From Manjaro 0.8.3 KDE

From Manjaro 0.8.3 KDE

Experienced users, I guess, won't even care for a package browser and would directly download a package using the terminal. After having used Archbang for a couple of months, I could easily download Skype 4.1, VLC 2 and a host of other applications in Manjaro without even resorting to pacman-gui. I must say, webcam and microphone integration in Manjaro is good and Skype worked well with it.

From Manjaro 0.8.3 KDE

From Manjaro 0.8.3 KDE

Comparison to Bridge Linux 2012.12
I reckon the closest competitor of Manjaro would be another Arch based Linux with a GUI, Bridge Linux. To compare, I tested Bridge Linux 2012.12 on all the three systems. Bridge worked equally well on the Core i3 laptop (1-10% CPU and 330 MB RAM with system monitor running and detected Wifi), but didn't get started on the netbook and couldn't connect to LAN on the desktop. With a little bit of tinkering of the network settings (assigning a random Cloned Mac Address), Bridge could connect to the ethernet correctly. Bridge performed better on the HP P4 PC (5-20% CPU & 340 MB RAM) over Manjaro (80-100% CPU with 400 MB RAM usage).

In terms of hardware detection, Manjaro worked well on all the three machines, detected screen resolution, sound card, LAN and Wifi correctly, without much manual intervention, on all occasions. So, I have to keep Manjaro ahead of Bridge in terms of versatility though Bridge has a slight edge in performance.

Overall
Manjaro 0.8.3 KDE is actually a very good upgrade over 0.8.2 KDE. I could note significant improvement in performance and stability. Also, it is really smooth to use. Earlier, Bridge Linux was ahead in performance but now Manjaro has really caught up! Further, given Manjaro at least has a provision for a pacman-GUI (which may be a little complex to begin with), I'll recommend Manjaro 0.8.3 over Bridge for a Linux newbie. Also, from hardware recognition point of view, as my test showed, Manjaro is ahead of Bridge. Bridge still has a slight edge in performance on low powered machines.

In nutshell, Manjaro 0.8.3 KDE is really good and works decently on most of the systems I tried. If anyone is looking for an Arch-based KDE distro, my recommendation will now surely be Manjaro ahead of any other distro!

You can download Manjaro from here. 

You may interested to read my recent article on Comparison of Best KDE Distro of 2012.