Manjaro Linux 20.0 Lysia has been released today, as the latest major refresh for this Arch Linux based distribution. This comes shortly after the big Ubuntu 20.04 release too.
Unlike multiple other Linux distributions (like Ubuntu, Fedora), Manjaro doesn't have 1-2 releases a year. Instead, it runs on a rolling-release model. It gradually pulls in packaging updates from Arch Linux, while holding them back a little while before pushing out big stable updates. Every so often, they also refresh their downloads with a full new edition like we have today with Manjaro Linux 20.0 Lysia.
Manjaro's flagship edition uses the Xfce desktop which is now at Xfce 4.14, along with a new theme called 'Matcha'. Additionally there's a new 'Display-Profiles' feature, that lets you store multiple profiles for your desktop tweaking.
Pictured: Manjaro 20.0 Xfce
They also provide a KDE edition with Plasma 5.18 which went through something of a theme refresh too, and I have to say it's looking pretty sharp. Lots of little details went into it with light and dark versions, an animated splash screen, Konsole terminal profiles and so on. This also comes with the latest KDE-Apps 20.04 update with tons of improvements to various KDE applications including their file manager, PDF reader, Kdenlive video editor and more.
Pictured: Manjaro 20.0 KDE
Who can forget the GNOME edition coming with the latest GNOME 3.36, which came with some pretty impressive upgrades we covered here before. In the Manjaro GNOME edition it comes with a dynamic wallpaper by default, an updated login manager, an improved layout switcher and applications are sorted into folders to give it a cleaner look by default.
Pictured: Manjaro 20.0 GNOME
Additionally Manjaro 20.0 support the ZFS file system installation and it comes with Linux Kernel 5.6 for more hardware support (like the latest Mesa drivers for AMD/Intel). Unlike some Linux distributions, they're seemingly not taking any sides when it comes to the future of Linux application packaging. They've chosen to integrate support for both Snaps and Flatpak into the Pamac package manager.
Manjaro has rocketed in popularity lately, to the point that it's even my daily driver on my main PC. Going by our stats it's third, and Steam's survey also shows it as third too. The Manjaro team have gone through something of an evolution as well, going from a hobby Linux distribution to the formation of a dedicated company behind it.
You can download from the official Manjaro website. The release announcement is here.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Still, I find comfort in knowing that Manjaro's always in the wings for the day when Canonical is bought-up by Microsoft, or Ubuntu refuses to let me install anything that's not a dog-diddling SNAP. At times being an Ubuntu user can be as troubling as it is troublefree --- so it's nice to know that options such as Manjaro are around. :)
Last edited by Nanobang on 27 April 2020 at 1:30 pm UTC
That explains the mass of updates when I switch my PC on this evening :)
isnt it normal for a rolling release? a 400MB download every 2 weeks.. 200MB are kernel and mesa
It's been a few years since I had Manjaro on one of my machines. I liked it for the most part. I was just getting used to using pacman --- and really digging the sweet logic of it --- when an update broke something with my Steam Controller, and I didn't discover it until I opened Steam to play something with a friend. The next day, after a bit of fruitless troubleshooting I went back to Xubuntu because when I want to play a game, I want to play a game.
Still, I find comfort in knowing that Manjaro's always in the wings for the day when Canonical is bought-up by Microsoft, or Ubuntu refuses to let me install anything that's not a dog-diddling SNAP. At times being an Ubuntu user can be as troubling as it is troublefree --- so it's nice to know that options such as Manjaro are around. :)
I hope to be on Mint for a long time for much the same reason. All the power and compatibility of Ubuntu, but they have one eye on switching directly to Debian instead. No snaps on Mint, no Gnome-shell. Just a beautiful, snappy (see what I did there?) polished desktop. It's bliss.
I might give Manjaro another shot at some point in the future, but my two attempts at installing it previously didn't go well. On the first install I got to the LightDM/GDM login prompt, but entering anything at all gave me a blank screen for a few seconds, then dumped me back to the login. The second attempt on the same day after burning a new LiveUSB dumped me straight at a command line... no GUI at all. That was about 3 or 4 years ago though. Definitely worth another shot at some point, as long as there's an XFCE or Cinnamon option.
Arehandoro Apr 27, 2020
Projectile Vomit Apr 27, 2020
That explains the mass of updates when I switch my PC on this evening :)
isnt it normal for a rolling release? a 400MB download every 2 weeks.. 200MB are kernel and mesa
No it's not, Normally just some incremental updates. Only when a major release like KDE/Mesa ect updates do you get a largish update.
Even that big update was done in less than two minutes.
slaapliedje Apr 28, 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRyFmvGQCeEManjaro is a great choice for people wanting a bit more polishWhat if they want a bit more Danish?
That explains the mass of updates when I switch my PC on this evening :)
isnt it normal for a rolling release? a 400MB download every 2 weeks.. 200MB are kernel and mesa
No it's not, Normally just some incremental updates. Only when a major release like KDE/Mesa ect updates do you get a largish update.
Even that big update was done in less than two minutes.
https://forum.manjaro.org/c/announcements/stable-updates/60
there are so many kernel updates. download 100MB... install 300
then mesa, firefox, chrome from AUR, office, DE, etc
Last edited by mylka on 28 April 2020 at 3:12 am UTC
That explains the mass of updates when I switch my PC on this evening :)
isnt it normal for a rolling release? a 400MB download every 2 weeks.. 200MB are kernel and mesa
No it's not, Normally just some incremental updates. Only when a major release like KDE/Mesa ect updates do you get a largish update.
Even that big update was done in less than two minutes.
https://forum.manjaro.org/c/announcements/stable-updates/60
there are so many kernel updates. download 100MB... install 300
then mesa, firefox, chrome from AUR, office, DE, etc
Not sure what you're getting at with that comment, Is it a FYI for whats been updated ?
Tell you what has broke though within the last month is dolphin seeing SMB shares. No clue what's caused it.
I was hoping the update to KDE 20.x would fix it but it hasn't for me.
Yes I did try dropping the minimum protocol required to no avail .
Mountain Man Apr 28, 2020
Distrohopping ended here on this distro. Nvidia-driver installation (as far as i remember) was a world of pain everywhere else.I've never had a problem installing nvidia drivers on Kubuntu. Just open the driver manager, click, and you're done.
Thanks Phil and the whole Manjaro crew!
Distrohopping ended here on this distro. Nvidia-driver installation (as far as i remember) was a world of pain everywhere else.I've never had a problem installing nvidia drivers on Kubuntu. Just open the driver manager, click, and you're done.
Thanks Phil and the whole Manjaro crew!
In ten years of using Linux, I've experienced precisely one time where I struggled with the Nvidia driver on Ubuntu - when I tried to install it from Nvidia's site. I can't even remember why I was doing so, but I couldn't get it working and had to revert to the distribution driver from the command line on that occasion.
Otherwise, installing Nvidia driver is about 4 clicks - Settings, Driver Manager, choose your version, hit apply. I never understand why some people seem to have such a hard time with it. Even across the 6 or 7 various cards I've had over the years.
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