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24-hour Test Drive of PC-BSD

Posted by Zonk on from the might-get-a-few-reluctant-IT-folks-on-board dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Ars Technica has a concise introduction to PC-BSD, a FreeBSD derivative that emphasizes ease of use and aims to convert Windows users. The review describes the installation process, articulates the advantages of PC-BSD,and reveal some of the challenges that the reviewer faced along the way. From the article: 'In the end, I would suggest this distribution to new users provided they had someone to call in case of a driver malfunction during installation. I would also recommend PC-BSD to seasoned Unix users that have never tried using FreeBSD before and would prefer a shallower learning curve before getting down to business.'"

12 of 285 comments (clear)

  1. Am I the only one.. by WarwickRyan · · Score: 4, Funny

    ..who read that as 24hrs of Blue Screen of Death testing? :(

    1. Re:Am I the only one.. by Poromenos1 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Wait, you're on Slashdot and you say you read BSD and understood BSoD? You must be new here...

      --
      Send email from the afterlife! Write your e-will at Dead Man's Switch.
    2. Re:Am I the only one.. by mushadv · · Score: 3, Funny

      Or perhaps Netcraft's confirmation was just that strong.

  2. "a FreeBSD derivative that emphasizes ease of use" by skeevy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Isn't that a Mac?

    Flame On!

  3. Re:Will somebody please explain... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    A cuter mascot?!?

  4. Re:fp by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Try PC-BSD for your next fp. Goes from 0 to 2 GHz in 1 nanosecond.

  5. Re:Will somebody please explain... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    My question is whether this would pull Windows users into it that might be put off by GPL

      What, both of them? But seriously, I'm sure there are LOADS of windows users who'd like to try an alternative OS, but just can't get past the restrictions the GPL puts on them. ...

      BWA-HA-hahahahahah!

  6. Re:Do we really need this? by serviscope_minor · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think your computer is broken.

    --
    SJW n. One who posts facts.
  7. Re:Do we really need this? by elrous0 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Mac OSX - pricey, but seems to just work.

    Not if you're trying to install it on a PC.

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
  8. userfriendly? by mixenmaxen · · Score: 5, Funny

    I was able to boot into safe mode, log in as root, remount the filesystem as read-write, and try to edit my xorg.conf file. In safe mode, I found that something was wrong with the line terminations when using vi, so I had to use less to view the files and then construct a sed substitution to change the video driver from "nv" to "vesa." Upon reboot, everything worked swimmingly.


    Sounds terribly userfriendly, even my mother would have no trouble installing this.

    wait...
  9. Re:Will somebody please explain... by twentynine · · Score: 3, Funny

    combatically speaking, a demon with a pitchfork can wreck almost all varieties of penguins in a fight

  10. Re:Do we really need this? by obeythefist · · Score: 2, Funny

    No, it's a fashion accessory that doubles as a vertical monopoly lock-in device for DRM implementations for Steve Job's music distribution business.

    --
    I am government man, come from the government. The government has sent me. -- G.I.R.