Slashdot Mirror
PC-BSD 0.5a Beta: BSD For Dummies
linuxbeta writes "PC-BSD 0.5a beta has now been released! You can download the 670Mb ISO file from our download page. This version fixes some minor bugs, and now has fully automatic network support. Screenshots available." So what's it all about? From the PC-BSD FAQ: "This OS has as its goals to be user-friendly, especially in the area of software installation and management, something that many of the *nix based distros have not yet mastered."
It would appear that this is the first BSD with a fully-graphical installer. Kudos! When will we see this installer backported and available as an option during the CD-build process? :)
Well, where's the torrent? It seems like that should be part of any article involving new *nix releases.
I haven't tried BSD before, and this sounds like a good first timer's distro.
Yes fair enough the other BSDs may not be ment for the average person , but yyour missing one vital point here , this is not the other BSDs (actualy OS X is fairly well aimed at the commen man)This BSDs sole aim is to make BSD easy to use which i think is a grand ambition as it gives the people more to choose from.
Yes indeed more trained admins are needed , but ontop of that a wider user base is also needed as such a think spectrum of users will keep the *free* *bsds unaprochable which may make adopotion of the system harder .
The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
I use Mandriva LInux 2005 (it got faster than past Mandrakes). I know BSD is a better system than Linux. It's development is more centralized, better tested, more secure. However, I installed FreeBSD and I got the X server running. I had to do EVERYTHING that Mandrake does for me. I had to load my sound card by editing loader.conf. I had to load my windows partitions by editing the fstab file. I had to tinker around with the Xorg.conf file to get my NVIDIA driver to run. And then, to top it off, my XMMS was crackling and popping with every MP3 (running on OSS driver), and I couldn't figure out the damned Ports system. Too much editing, supfiles, etc. etc. etc.
Compare all that hassle, with one time installation of mandrake, going into their GUI application, EASY URPMI my sources, updating my distro to latest packages, and installing selected packages. BIG DIFFERENCE.
I believe in the BSD coherent philosophy as opposed to Linux' anarchism. But...customizing the PC shouldn't be a hell. Somethings SHOULD be automated...customize your window manager and its themes. customize the speed or kernel...but don't make people have to work for simply recognizing a windows partitition! OR having to add people's names to the "group file" so that you can SU from their account! These are the things that the BSDs have ignored, which turn off many potential BSDers, and which make it hard for us open-source advocates to spread the Gospel to other savvy Windows users who can turn to open-source.
I customized my BSD and got EVERYTHING running. I had problems with the Ports System and keeping my entire system up to date. Those are the things that the BSD groups need to prioritize to make the system more accessible. And doing so doesn't mean we have to lose out on the stability, highly secure basis of the OS.
If PC-BSD can focus on that, and keep the FreeBSD qualities, I'll switch from Mandriva to it any day. If PC-BSD can do what VidaLinux' GUI emerge functions did for Gentoo Linux (meaning, make the whole updating from source easy), then you got yourself the perfect OS. Easy to use, secure, easy to update, and stable.
BSDs are the most advanced OSes in the world...but they are lacking in installation, management, and upgrading. It's not easy...and I've used 8 different Linux Distros (Mandrake, Suse, Ubuntu, Debian, Gentoo, VidaLinux, Yoper Linux, Vector Linux), and attempted FreeBSD 3 times (the third was the charm).
I think that's true, but I don't think you should look at it exclusively. I've been using computers since a Commodre 64, have used Linux and Windows extensively and recently bought a Mac. I love OS X... not because I don't know how to use a computer, but because I enjoy using a computer that is not constantly getting in my way and making my life difficult.
OS X I think is appealing to computer veterans, and geeks like myself. Email, photos, music all have extraordinarily good applications, but you can still drop to the command line, do some development if you please on a decent Unix shell. What could be better?
dominionrd.blogspot.com - Restaurants on