Manjaro-based distro works well overall, appeals to more experienced users on the Linux spectrum
By Larry Cafiero
With all the hubbub around the Arch AUR – and since Manjaro is based on Arch – we thought we’d throw caution to the wind and give an Arch-based distro a shot. Today, Distro of the Week travels to Poland to review Mabox 26.04, a Manjaro-based distro with the Openbox window manager.
Installing Mabox 26.04
The Mabox 26.04 ISO is an average 3 GB and downloaded in about 10 minutes. Once we put it on USB drive, the live version came up fairly quickly. On the live USB, there’s an option to choose either open source or proprietary drivers. With the Openbox window manager providing a wide variety of menu items – three separate windows, thanks to Conky (which we’ll get to later), we finally found the download icon on the small panel on the upper left.
Downloading Mabox consists of a Calamares installer, which consists of the standard time zone, keyboard, disk setup, and login/password. Once the user confirms everything, the installation gets underway. About 10 minutes later, the install was complete, and we are off to the races.
After updating the distro upon rebooting, the user looks at what might be considered a unique desktop layout. First of all, once again there are three – count ‘em, three – separate menus, which can be modified by the Conky manager. We dropped the photo menu in the lower right, and the two menus which appeared on the lower left, and leaving only the Conky in the upper right.
Once the Conky was sorted, Mabox’s Openbox window manager had a left panel on the top, complete with icons for web browser, terminal and other important programs, and the panel on the right featuring the desktops, the WiFi, Volume, Update, Photo, Time, and Power Button. Once we got the desktop the way we wanted it, with the single System Info window in the upper right,we were ready to go.
Test-driving Mabox 26.04
First things first: While the ISO is 3 GB, the fact that the only signiicant daily-use program that was included was Firefox ESR. With a plethora of Arch- and Manjaro-based tools included in the original download, the availability of software drops off significantly. Perhaps that’s by design – some distros purposely do not include software so users can build their own system to their liking and taste.
So it was off to use Pacman – avoiding AUR for the time being – to add a few software morsels to make daily life easier, specifically the LibreOffice suite of software, GIMP, VLC and Thunderbird, which – as an aside – should be standard issue on any Linux distribution.
Once we settled in with all the software required, the daily use of Mabox almost became second nature. With Arch-via-Manjaro rumbling underneath the hood, most of the daily chores, online and offline, became completely manageable, and the distro was userful overall. Surfing the web with Firefox while reading and sending emails on Thunderbird were both effortless, and using LibreOffice to write this article while listening to a little Bruce Springsteen on VLC can best be described as uncomplicated.
In true Manjaro fashion, Mabox 26.04 handled multitasking issues with normal Arch fashion, which specifically was both quick and effortless. The distro played nicely with online programs like Google Docs and Google Drive, and swapping documents and photos between each of the programs and the hardware was a breeze.
The last word
Despite the original desktop being a bit “busy” – for lack of a better term – the strength behind Mabox 26.04 is certainly its malleable nature. A few clicks on a variety of menus created the desktop that I was comfortable with, and once the desktop and hardware was set up, it was a rather pleasant week using this distro.
Despite this, beginners may want to avoid Mabox 26.04, although this distro is almost custom made for intermediate and advanced users. The reason beginners may want to avoid it is because of the interface, which can be a little intimidating at first. But for even the most adventurous beginners, Mabox might be an option, if for no other reason that the Manjaro base of the distro provides a wide variety of options and its community is wide and helpful.
Overall, Mabox 26.04 presents itself in a better-than-average fashion. The Openbox configuration strikes a nice balance between form and function, like useful keyboard shortcuts, a clean tint2 panel, and the customized jgmenu system that provides a clean, organized application menu. The wide variety of Mabox tools puts system configuration well within easy reach without being overwhelming.
If you’re looking for a new distro and you have a little bit of Linux experience, Mabox 26.04 may be for you. Visit the Mabox page and see for yourself.
Do you have a distro you think would make a great feature for Distro of the Week? Don’t be shy—let me know! Email me at larry.cafiero@gmail.com and I’ll make an effort to make your choice available to the wider public … No suggestion is too mainstream!