Dark Arch For Linux

Dark Arch is an open source and completely free operating system based on the powerful and highly acclaimed Arch Linux distribution and built around a stripped-down KDE Plasma desktop environment with the dark Arch theme. It features a pre-configured Go development environment using the LiteIDE software.

Being based on the main ISO image of the Arch Linux operating system, the distribution comes with a dual-arch Live DVD that will support both 64-bit (x86_64) and 32-bit (i386) hardware platforms. The ISO has approximately 2GB in size and must be deployed to either a DVD disc or a USB flash drive of 2GB or higher capacity in order to boot it from the BIOS of a computer.

No surprise here either, as the boot prompt of the Live DVD is identical with the one of the Arch Linux operating system, allowing the user to start the live environment with 64-bit or 32-bit support, boot an existing operating system from the first disk, run a system memory diagnostic text using the Memtest86+ utility, view detailed hardware information with HDT (Hardware Detection Tool), as well as to reboot or power off the machine.

As mentioned, the distribution features a minimal KDE Plasma setup that uses a dark Arch theme and comprises of a single taskbar located on the bottom edge of the screen, from where the user can launch applications, interact with running programs and system tray area functions.

Default applications include the FileZilla file transfer client, HexChat IRC client, Dolphin file manager, Mozilla Firefox web browser, Qtransmission torrent downloader, Zenmap network scanner, VLC Media Player, and GParted partition editor.

Summing up, Dark Arch is a great distribution of Linux that provides users with a minimal, fast and lightweight KDE Plasma desktop environment on top of the latest upstream Arch Linux version.