Linux distribution

Linux is a UNIX-compatible operating system that features a tremendous collection of available software and hardware support. If you think you're unfamiliar with Linux or non-Microsoft operating systems in general, you're probably more familiar than you know. Linux is the core of many consumer electronics, including home automation systems, Android cell phones, routers, and even televisions. It powers everything from strange homemade robots to parts of the International Space Station and military submarines. Renowned for its flexibility and stability, Linux is a good choice for many applications.

Linux as a desktop environment isn't as unfamiliar as you'd think either. Linux features a large collection of software for desktop users, including Firefox, Google Chrome, LibreOffice, and Thunderbird. Many of the programs Windows users run every day have Linux compatible versions that are the same in almost every way.

Linux management, however, is quite different. Software is installed from the people who package your OS directly, ensuring that everything each program needs is automatically installed and updated. Updates for both the OS and programs come from the same place. Linux automatically purges temporary files every time it shuts down, and is designed to keep fragmentation to a minimum, meaning routine maintenance is almost non-existent.

Linux even has the ability to run many Windows programs, including many games, via a compatibility layer called Wine. Wine attempts to run Windows software in the most transparent way possible, converting the program's ties to Windows to equivalent Linux underpinnings as the program runs. Not all programs are compatible, but most are. Yes, even some viruses work. That's not the best thing for users, but still impressive, in an unfortunate sort of way.

Linux does still need your help to keep itself safe. Running programs from the internet is never a good idea, especially if you aren't sure of the source. Linux installs its own software from servers that are trusted, and checks the contents to ensure they came from the right place. If you're using our Linux distro, packages can be installed from tkPacman, which is found under System Tools in the launcher. Security updates are a good first line of defense, and should be run regularly to protect the system from known security problems. Software installs are handled through the package manager, and never come from websites, ensuring that users will be more likely to question a website that tells them to install something it provides. It will still let you run Windows programs downloaded from shady websites, though, so try not to do that.

We build our own packages for Debian Linux. Debian was chosen for its robust update mechanism, near-universal support in the Linux community, and wide platform support, including native support for many different processor types.

Systems we install include additional packages meant to provide a stable, adaptable base that installs target applications by task, not application name. Removing the arcturus packages will unmark all packages installed for that task, allowing them to be uninstalled with apt autoremove. All config files that are required for normal operation will remain untouched. It is recommended to not uninstall arcturus-base, as this prevents apt from removing the Debian core package list and manages the apt mirrorlist. Removal can be performed, but you should immediately mark any needed core packages to prevent them from being automatically uninstalled.