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Feature: BSD
DesktopBSD 1.0: FreeBSD for the desktop
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CommentsUnderneath the familiar KDE desktop, DesktopBSD is still FreeBSD; in fact, you will find more references to "FreeBSD" than "DesktopBSD" throughout the system. That's because, as the DesktopBSD FAQ says, "DesktopBSD isn't a 'fork' [of FreeBSD] -- it's a customized FreeBSD installation that mainly consists of the DesktopBSD Tools and a collection of configuration files and software for desktop use."
FreeBSD is a great operating system, but it does not match Linux in the "ease of use for new desktop users" department. DesktopBSD, however, is well-suited for both experienced and new BSD users.
The DesktopBSD experience
The first thing you notice with DesktopBSD is the graphical installer -- simple, efficient, and easy to use. The partitioning process is a cinch -- all you have to do is create a new partition (also referred to as a slice) on your hard drive, and DesktopBSD will automatically divide that partition into everything it needs for proper operation, without your having to fiddle with creating a root, home, boot, and swap partition.
After you have DesktopBSD installed, an Initial Configuration Wizard allows you to create users, and offers you an introduction to DesktopBSD and how to best make use of it. Once you get past the login screen, you will be greeted with a typical KDE interface. The only thing that gives away the fact this isn't a Linux distro is the wallpaper.
You will find in DesktopBSD about the same assortment of software as you would expect to find in any current mainstream KDE-based distribution, including FireFox 1.5.0.1, KMail, OpenOffice.org 2.0, K3b, amaroK, Gaim, and KDevelop.
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Among the DesktopBSD Tools, you will find utilities such as the Tray Mounter, which allows you to mount and unmount partitions from the system tray. This is especially useful for USB drives, since FreeBSD is somewhat lacking in this department. There's also the Disk Partitioner, which lets you repartition your hard drive, neatly integrated into the standard KDE Control Center. The User Manager, to add, remove, and edit users, is also offered as a KDE Control Center module.
If you're already a FreeBSD user, I highly recommend you install these tools, even if you don't install DesktopBSD. You can find them in the sysutils/desktopbsd-tools port.
Having FreeBSD as a base means having the Linux binary compatibility layer, which gives you the ability to run Linux applications, though you might not have much success with really complex applications, such as Cedega. No Cedega means no Windows games under DesktopBSD (or FreeBSD for that matter).
Nothing is perfect
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DesktopBSD isn't the only effort to make FreeBSD more usable as a desktop system; PC-BSD is another alternative. While DesktopBSD takes a FreeBSD base and adds tools to make for a better desktop experience, PC-BSD drops the excellent FreeBSD ports system in favor of a custom package management system. |
On the other hand, the kernel panic bug is a problem. It happens only on computers that run motherboards powered by Intel chipsets (particularly affected chipsets seem to be 845/865). Attempting to boot DesktopBSD for the first time from the DVD will crash affected computers with a kernel panic, most likely caused by the performance tweaks added to the standard FreeBSD kernel by the DesktopBSD team. While FreeBSD will run on such systems, DesktopBSD will not. This happened on one of my test systems. The solution, until the problem gets fixed, is to install the latest FreeBSD and then the DesktopBSD tools, as noted above.
While it's not perfect, DesktopBSD provides the best BSD on the desktop experience for users to date.
Comments
on DesktopBSD 1.0: FreeBSD for the desktopNote: Comments are owned by the poster. We are not responsible for their content.
RoFreeSBIE (comes in a “live” flavor CD/DVD) is another project showing great potential in the road to user firendliness for freeBSD.
A link to the a fore unheard of RoFreeSBIE would have been handy.
I've been doing Linux since November 1991 but still remember Bill Jolitz 386BSD. I like both the explosion that is Linux and the focus of the *BSD's. I'm all for looking over anything new, like RoFreeSBIE.
Im not saying that there are no advantages in XFS, Im just curious as to exactly which features it is that people use.
Agreed. And I sincerely wish them good luck. But once this is being said, on another level: does this BSD on the desktop have anything to offer which a GNU/Linux distro like Debian does not already have?
[not to mention that the port system is no match for APT]
It is not GNU. This may good reason for someone.
On the other hand, for tinkerers, some prefer the BSD underpinnings over the GNU ones. I would imagine that, for exampe, at Yahoo, which uses a whole lot of FreeBSD, this DesktopBSD would be particularly welcome. Of course, Slackware, which reminds me a whole heck of a lot of FreeBSD, gives me what I like about BSD with all the other good stuff that comes with GNU/Linux (hardware compatibility and such). They've even ported APT to Slackware ("slapt-get"). So I find myself using Slackware most of the time.
I must disagree with you about the port system, though. I find the package/port system to be a total breeze to use, certainly comparable with APT. The only thing "missing" is a GUI front end comparable to synaptic, which the home user would likely appreciate. APT is pretty damned slick, though, what with its Super Cow Powers and all.<nobr> <wbr></nobr>:-)
(I know, that last bit was MOOrbid)
The only thing "missing" is a GUI front end comparable to synaptic
Have you ever seen Kports? It's good enough, to handle ports and upgrades in KDE.
Any Free Software effort like this is welcome
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on September 12, 2006 02:24 AMIt's good to see that some folks are making it a bit easier for newbies to use the BSD's, in this case, FreeBSD. The more Free Software users we have out here, the better.
This project reminds me of what the VectorLinux project does with Slackware (my favorite distro, personally). Like FreeBSD, on which Slackware is much patterned, Slackware has two reputations: one deserved, the other, in my opinion, not as deserved. The first is its solidity. Totally spot-on. The other is that of being "as user-friendly as a coiled rattlesnake." While I do question that assertion, VectorLinux does make a very slick Slackware tweak, which I like a lot.
However, I wrote an article on FreeBSD for the desktop a while back, using FreeBSD 5.1 as my guinea pig. I found that, while the installation does take a little geekiness, it's nothing that your average tech-savvy teenager couldn't figure out in pretty short order. Typical adult users, though, being a bit less "tinker-minded" than teenagers are, admittedly might be put off a bit. Once installed with KDE, Mozilla, and OpenOffice.org, FreeBSD reminded me so much of GNU/Linux that I had to do a uname to be sure which one I was using. Actually using the system was a breeze that even my mother found easy...after it was installed, of course.
I think that this might be the major stumbling block for newbies: installation. FreeBSD could improve a bit that way. Ubuntu Dapper Drake, Red Hat/Fedora, and SuSE have spoiled us totally, in a good way; it's actually easier to install Red Hat/Fedora than Windows XP and has been since Red Hat 6.2! I hope that DesktopBSD is focusing some on this issue as well, because FreeBSD is, of course, quite good.
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