FreeBSD 10.2 Released

moderators_are_w*nke writes with news that FreeBSD 10.2-RELEASE is now available. Here is the download page, the release notes, and release errata. Features highlights: The resolvconf(8) utility has been updated to version 3.7.0, with improvements to protect DNS privacy. The ntp suite has been updated to version 4.2.8p3. A new rc(8) script, growfs, has been added, which will resize the root filesystem on boot if the /firstboot file exists. The Linux® compatibility version has been updated to support Centos 6 ports. Several ZFS performance and reliability improvements. GNOME has been updated to version 3.14.2. KDE has been updated to version 4.14.3.

Comments

Re:Still no 64-bit Linux support?

[moderators_are_w*nke]

It's in -CURRENT, not sure whether it will make in to -STABLE before 11-RELEASE.

Re:Ob

[jandrese]

No, although there is a package called uselessd that provides enough systemd hooks to get Gnome running if that's your thing.

Really like FreeBSD

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a real pity that FreeBSD and the BSDs in general don't get more love from Slashdot. Linux seems to have stolen the thunder from the BSD camp, but in all honesty, FreeBSD rocks. It makes a far better server than Linux for the vast majority of cases. I used to run BSD servers, both FreeBSD and BSD/OS back in the day. Never, ever had an issue save for HW failures. Cannot say the same for Linux on identical HW. FreeBSD handles load that bring Linux to its knees. I've always agreed with the statement that "Linux is hacked together, while FreeBSD is engineered". In general, I think the BSDs are better written pieces of software.

Re:Really like FreeBSD

[TheRaven64]

The Linux community has a whole has some ADD notion that tools are disposable and to replace them with the latest greatest tool. This is just a sign that no one put any thought into the original tool.

(FreeBSD developer, so beware that there may be some bias here:) In my observation, there's a tendency for Linux developers to identify a problem and immediately implement and ship a solution. In the FreeBSD community, there's more of a tendency to identify the problem, step back and try to find a more general solution, then implement that. This means that Linux often has the solution right now, whereas FreeBSD often lags a bit, but when the FreeBSD solution exists it's a lot more pleasant to work with (compare kqueue vs epoll + timerfd + eventfd + ..., for example).

Both approaches have upsides and downsides. I generally prefer the end result of the FreeBSD approach, but it still sucks when you're in the window (often a couple of years long) where Linux has a bad solution and FreeBSD has no solution at all.

Painless upgrade

[rl117]

Just finished upgrading all my work and home systems and VMs, plus one clean install. Smooth painless upgrades from 10.1-RELEASE and no problems encountered, all systems running nicely. Great work, team, your efforts are much appreciated.

FreeBSD merrilin.codelibre.net 10.2-RELEASE FreeBSD 10.2-RELEASE #0 r286666: Wed Aug 12 15:26:37 UTC 2015 root@releng1.nyi.freebsd.org:/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/GENERIC amd64

PC-BSD is pretty good, too

[epine]

I had never run BSD on the desktop before, but recently I converted both my desktop and my aging T500 laptop to PC-BSD. The experience has been pretty good so far.

I especially like the boot environment upgrade process. The only thing you need to be aware of is not installing new software on your system after the ZFS clone. Otherwise the upgrade process affects you not at all until you're good and ready to boot into it, and at that point if anything goes wrong, you just roll it back and wait for next time.

Then I look at my real FreeBSD server and wish it was equally slick.

My biggest problem with PC-BSD is that Life Preserver does something with SSH that's just never worked for me. I've tried multiple clients to multiple servers. I've emulated the SSH part of the connection process at the command line, no problem. But after setting up the same connection, Life Preserver bombs out with a generic (aka useless) error message.

Mostly it just works, but when it doesn't I've found some of the error messages extremely unhelpful.

(Yes, I know how to wrapper SSH to diagnose this properly, but I just haven't found the time yet.)

Re:PC-BSD is pretty good, too

[michaelmath]

I tried OpenBSD on a new Dell laptop. I thought I would end up writing over it, but I experimented and found that it is awesome. Everything I want is working: encrypted home partition, sound (hd-intel), 3d hardware accelerated graphics (intel card), suspend, wifi internet (with a tiny dongle), my wireless mouse, touchpad. all of my favorite applications are in ports and chromium is working fine. After all that I ended up keeping Openbsd as my desktop. It feels much cleaner, I like how everything is organized. Of course it can't use as many devices as linux. YMMV

Re:WTF Dice?!!

[KGIII]

When he left? No. He came back drunk one night and stole it, however. They say he was wearing a cowboy hat, nothing else, and covered in spaghetti sauce. Some folks say it was blood. Nobody dared taste the drippings and nobody wanted to call the cops.

FreeBSD on the Desktop.

[srobert]

A lot of people say FreeBSD is best on the server, while Linux is best on the desktop. But I was a long time Linux user and started playing around with FreeBSD a few years ago. It turns out, that IF your hardware is compatible with it, and IF you know what you're doing, then FreeBSD is also best on the desktop.