Pc-bsd

[ThinkBuntu]

I haven't been in this forum for a while since I started using just my Mac, but I wanted to alert everyone to a "distro" that looks like the real deal: PC-BSD. Their website is professional and is one of the best I've seen for a free software project. Reviews show a smooth user experience, Compiz-Fusion enabled by default, and a whole bunch of other great stuff going on. I think people should really give it a try: I certainly would if I still had a good test bed and spare time.

[ThinkBuntu]

And just on a side note, the topic name got changed to Pc-bsd because VB thinks I was posting in all caps, which technically I was.

[jrusso2]

Meh, no flash 9 and the hardware support is behind linux a couple years. But its pretty nice for BSD

[ThinkBuntu]

I doubt that hardware support is behind by any means. Look at Net-BSD which will run on pretty much any machine. And Flash 9 can work on BSD, it just takes a little work. If that's the only obstacle...

[maybeway36]

NDIS support sucks. Everytihng else is really nice, though. I especially like that you can install the ports tree from CD#2 now.

[tehhaxorr]

The BSD base also doesn't support HD-Audio yet, wouldn't play sound on my dell no matter what i tried.

The guys on the PCBSD forum are also sorta useless at solving problems, they give advice like "Works for me, must be your computer" or "try installing it again"

It's likke Microsoft tech support.

[.aku]

tehhaxorr,

Quote from desktopbsd.net:



DesktopBSD 1.6 RC 3 is now available for download from our mirrors or via BitTorrent. This release candidate is considered a large step towards a final release 1.6 with major changes such as:


X.Org release 7.2, improving support for modern graphics hardware
NVIDIA graphics driver, providing hardware 3D acceleration for NVIDIA video cards
Latest FreeBSD 6-STABLE as base system with High Definition Audio (HDA) support
Support for multiple processors and multi-core CPUs
More up-to-date software packages from the DesktopBSD build servers
Many small bug fixes and optimizations
Upgrades from 1.0 and previous release candidates are supported. An additional language CD and 64-bit (AMD64) DVD will be released soon.

So at least DBSD should support HDA.. ?

[Jimmey]

I think it's great for a BSD to be as good as PC-BSD is, but in terms of an OS, it's not quite there yet.

Installation was pretty eazy peazy, but having said that, I had to run it in safe mode to stop it from crashing at 59%.

But sound didn't work, and is too difficult to make work. I wasn't expecting internet to work (broadcom), so I used a wired LAN instead to try some .PBIs, which didn't work.

nVidia drivers were quite easy to get installed, which was good.

After that, Compiz worked quite nicely (except for it being a little slow - I think it's a few updates old).

But really, I think the focus should be on making BSD supported hardware work first time, every time, rather than making windows wobble.

Although it's not really my place to say, but it seems they're trying to "catch up" too quickly.

I'll come back to it in a couple of years, though.

[hanzomon4]

I've tried it and it's awesome on my Dell. I just couldn't get sound to work on my M-Audio Delta 66 (ice1712). It truly was easier to setup then Ubuntu, I'd say go for it if it supports all of your hardware.

Jimmy, they really didn't have to do much in regards to compiz/beryl once Freebsd 6 got xorg 7.2.

[roachk71]

PC-BSD 1.4.1 won't even get past kernel boot on my Pavilion s3020n. Kernel panic, then reboots.

Version 1.3 wouldn't get past that point on my older xt125 notebook, either...

I like the speed and reliability of the BSD releases, so this really ticks me off with it!

](*,)

[wolfen69]

can someone state the advantages of using bsd over linux in a typical desktop environment?

[SunnyRabbiera]

can someone state the advantages of using bsd over linux in a typical desktop environment?

there are no real advantages to be honest, except maybe stability where BSD is very good at.
By nature because it doesnt use any oddball drivers and such BSD can be considered superior to linux from a stability point of view but really there is not much of a difference between the two in the long run, only that BSD is considered more "true unix" then linux but really both have their place.

[Harpalus]

It's a stable, well integrated system. If you want an essay on the differences between BSD and Linux, try here (http://www.over-yonder.net/~fullermd/rants/bsd4linux/bsd4linux1.php).


Meh, no flash 9 and the hardware support is behind linux a couple years. But its pretty nice for BSD

Hardware support is most certainly not years behind Linux. Linux is slightly ahead, but claiming the difference is that great is just FUD.

Never tried PC-BSD, perhaps I might. If I wanted an OS I can point and click my way around, I'd probably go with Xubuntu/Ubuntu. But perhaps I'm speaking too soon, seeing as I've yet to try out PC-BSD.

[mips]

Linux is slightly ahead, but claiming the difference is that great is just FUD.

Some BSD drivers are actually better than their linux counterparts.

[Bachstelze]

Moved to BSD Discussions.