I've recently switched my laptop OS from Debian Linux to Arch Linux.

Put on your glasses and suspenders folks, it gets nerdy from here.

I was originally intimidated by the rather daunting install procedure -- modifying core system configuration from a terminal during the install the "hard way" struck me as terrifying.

But ultimately, what I've found is both an educational and, yes, an overall much easier experience in many areas.  Educational, since I've had to discover and configure things I didn't previously even know existed -- /etc/rc.conf, anyone? Installing Xorg and a display manager myself? These are tasks that I would have thought too far beyond my reach.

So how've I managed to pull through? Well, that's the part that actually makes things easier -- the ArchLinux community. Between the wiki, the forums and the Arch User Repositories, it's actually simpler to install and run bleeding-edge software and to find answers to more complex problems. Because of the DIY nature of ArchLinux, it tends to attract the sort of users who are willing to get their hands dirty and tinker with the plumbing of things -- so finding help for a particular finicky low-level problem is significantly easier, because odds are someone else has grappled with it at some point already.

The Arch User Repositories also deserve a second mention; because the package format for Arch Linux (which is effectively source code with something approximating a makefile) is so simple to build and maintain, the already-savvy userbase is even more likely to have packaged any given Linux app or library within weeks or days of its release, leading to a bleeding-edge system that you know like the back of your hand.

Sometimes, doing things the "hard" way is the right way. Now if only I could suppress the urge to continually tinker.