When comparing Ubuntu MATE vs Anarchy Linux, the Slant community recommends Anarchy Linux for most people. In the question“What are the best Linux distributions for desktops?” Anarchy Linux is ranked 65th while Ubuntu MATE is ranked 73rd. The most important reason people chose Anarchy Linux is:
It works! Whereas neither the calamares installer used by arcolinux or manjaro nor the archlabs installer produces a working result.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Simplicity of Gnome with the power of Ubuntu
Debian was good to use but has limited documentation and is difficult to pick up. Ubuntu MATE brings the ease of design and logic of the Gnome 2 style desktop so it's easy to get around coupled with the vast documentation, forums and ease of learning/using the Ubuntu system.
Pro Works great on old laptops
It does not have a lot of system requirements so it works pretty well even on older laptops.
Pro Perfect for people who like Gnome 2
The goal of MATE is to maintain the look and feel of Gnome 2, while maintaining compatibility with Gnome 3. To that end, it has also forked and renamed many of Gnome's core applications. It benefits from the years of work and polish that have gone into the Gnome project.
Pro Highly configurable
Comes with an option to configure as Windows-like, Mac-like, Gnome-like, etc. in a single click. Wonderful to get you started without having to learn it all from scratch.
Pro Behaves like Ubuntu with Unity - after Ubuntu-Gnome transformation
No better place to continue Unity experience with Ubuntu (Left-side panel, HUD) and not as awkward as Gnome.
Pro Based on Ubuntu
Pro LVM on LUKS encryption of whole disk possible
It works! Whereas neither the calamares installer used by arcolinux or manjaro nor the archlabs installer produces a working result.
Pro The end result is a well configured standard Archlinux system
Pro Saves a lot of time to set up an Archlinux system
Once you had your experience to set up an Archlinux system manually from scratch this distro saves a lot of setup time.
Pro Full access to Arch repositories as well as Aur
Pro Many preconfigured Desktop environments supported
Pro Fully developed in Bash
Being programmed entirely in Bash, it is relatively easy to find and solve errors or propose improvements.
Pro Everything you need in a small and fast Arch distro
Pro Low setup time
Even a person without prior knowledge will figure out how to set it up quite quickly.
Pro Looks good by default
Pro Supports 32-bit architecture
Use ArchLinux32 instead of the traditional Arch Linux to support 32-bit architectures.
Pro Friendly community
The community and developers are willing to solve any kind of inconvenience.
Pro Good for gaming
Smooth and cool. Easy to get going.
Cons
Con No very good Software Center by default
The Software Boutique is not good. You can install Gnome Software from it.
Con Too much bloat included by default
Con Redundant
There is absolutely no reason to install it, since it uses the same package repositories as Ubuntu and you can transform any Ubuntu install into a Ubuntu MATE install.
Con Not bleeding edge
Users who want the latest and greatest software would be happier using Arch Linux, Antergos or another rolling release distro. However, because Ubuntu MATE is based on Ubuntu, users still have access to a large repository of recent software.
Con Nothing new
It's just Arch with a graphical installer.
Con Anarchy Repo is completely unsigned
Ridiculous security risk.
Con TUI can be confusing for the uninitiated
The TUI is as good as can be expected, but if you're not comfortable with the command line, this isn't where you want to be.
Con Just an Installer
Anarchy isn't its own distro, it's just an installer for Arch. That's great if it's what you're after, but don't expect bells and whistles.
Con Redundant
It's just Arch with a graphical installer and ArchLabs already has this.
Con The installer has many bugs
Especially during the manually partitioning and the additional software installing procedure. If you do the automatic partitioning and you don't install additional softwares it's ok.
