"Here we are at the moment of truth for the FreeBSD operating system - the 7.0 release. This is what FreeBSD users and developers have been waiting for ever since the dark days of the 5.X series when the promises of superior performance, threading, and stability fell flat. Though each release in the FreeBSD 6.X series improved markedly in quality and performance, 7.0 has been widely anticipated as the release that FreeBSD fans can have confidence in. I wish I could say that FreeBSD 7.0 lived up to the hype."
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Member since:2006-12-16
I'm simply noting the reaction from loyal freeBSD users to any form of criticism about their operating system, and some of the replies posted here, which pretty much confirm the elitist nature of at least some freeBSD users (but I suspect the majority of them). Your reply is along the lines of many others.
I've used Linux for a good number of years and truth be told, it generally works, and works well, unless I tinker with it and start breaking things. I'll give you a hint - that's usually my fault for tinkering. I could easily install a Debian Etch system and it'll run for years. Install might take 30-60 minutes, depending on what I choose to install, but the vast majority of hardware will work out of the box, and work well, as will the applications. My experiences with freeBSD (admittedly a few years ago now) aren't so gracious. To be entirely fair to freeBSD, I need to give the latest versions a try to see how they've grown and improved, which is what I actually intend to do in about 2 months time when I have enough money to put my new PC together. Hopefully, freeBSD has improved.
I do note that freeBSD documentation is excellent, and it did impress me back then, and impresses me now.
What I have issues with is many of the freeBSD users here who basically have the attitude of "it's not a desktop system, go use PC-BSD", which I find completely unacceptable. There's no reason why freeBSD cannot be a desktop system, and there's no real reason why it should be difficult. Things should work out of the box, or at least the majority of them. That's a well designed operating system. freeBSD has many good things as far as I'm aware, but the implementation leaves a little to be desired. Don't get me wrong, Linux is far from perfect, as is Microsoft Windows or OS X. Such is life.
Dave
Member since:2008-02-05
"I'm simply noting the reaction from loyal freeBSD users to any form of criticism about their operating system, and some of the replies posted here, which pretty much confirm the elitist nature of at least some freeBSD users (but I suspect the majority of them). Your reply is along the lines of many others."
Your comments consist of insulting generalizations about an entire community of open source software users, and appear to be calculated to denigrate the reputations of users of non-Linux OSes. If that's not your intent, perhaps you should look into charm school to learn how to communicate politely with others.
"I could easily install a Debian Etch system and it'll run for years."
Ironically, Debian Etch was the Linux system I was using when frustration with Linux issues finally pushed me to give FreeBSD a try as an alternative. My problems cleared up pretty quickly after that. I'm not saying FreeBSD is perfect -- nothing has been so far, out of the dozen or so OSes I've used to any significant degree since the early '80s -- but for my needs, at least, it has proven the most stable, reliable, convenient OS platform so far.
"My experiences with freeBSD (admittedly a few years ago now) aren't so gracious."
How long ago were those experiences? Have you noticed that Linux systems have improved significantly in the last five years (and also in the five years before that)? Why do you find it so difficult to believe the same could have happened with FreeBSD that you're willing to just give FreeBSD a bad review without giving it a try? It's a bit like giving MacOS X a bad review based on your experience with MacOS 9.
"I do note that freeBSD documentation is excellent, and it did impress me back then, and impresses me now."
It's the best OS documentation I've ever had the pleasure to encounter.
"What I have issues with is many of the freeBSD users here who basically have the attitude of 'it's not a desktop system, go use PC-BSD', which I find completely unacceptable."
I find that troubling as well. There is a contingent of FreeBSD users who regard FreeBSD as the ultimate general-purpose server OS (which it may or may not be), but get into a snit any time someone asks for "desktop" functionality. I'm not in that camp -- I'm typing this from a Thinkpad with FreeBSD installed, and it's the best OS for a laptop I've ever used.
"There's no reason why freeBSD cannot be a desktop system, and there's no real reason why it should be difficult. Things should work out of the box, or at least the majority of them."
I agree -- and, in my experience, the majority does work "out of the box". When additional configuration is required, it's easier to manage than on Linux-based systems too -- multi-channel sound is a short shell command away, unlike the configuration hell of ALSA, for instance.
"That's a well designed operating system. freeBSD has many good things as far as I'm aware, but the implementation leaves a little to be desired."
FreeBSD is better designed. Linux distributions (which vary wildly from one to the next) occasionally have default configurations that provide an easier transition for people used to MS Windows, which makes it seem more "user friendly" to people used to a particular way of doing things. In my experience, the differences between FreeBSD and Linux-based systems is like a step further on the path to better design than what you get moving from MS Windows to a Linux distribution.
My favorite Linux distro was, and is still, Debian. Everything I liked about Debian more than its Linux-based cousins, I like even more about FreeBSD.
Obviously, your experience from several years ago may differ from mine today.
By the way . . . considering the often Linux-centric community here, when judging the entire FreeBSD community off a couple of comments, you might want to keep in mind that the people posting here are those who step outside of the FreeBSD world to interact with people like you, who (outnumbering them probably 50 to 1 in a more Linux-oriented community) likely promote something of a siege mentality in them with your selection bias prompting you to insult all FreeBSD users everywhere.
. . . and, frankly, from what I've seen people here are commenting on the general poor quality of the reviewer's work, as well as the specific poor quality of this individual review. Maybe the common thread isn't FreeBSD so much as it is a general distaste for this particular reviewer.
Member since:
2008-02-05
I have had far fewer problems (both with installs and with operation) since I switched from Linux to FreeBSD. I guess my experience differs from yours.
I've also encountered fewer self-righteous jerks like you who find it necessary to denigrate others as some kind of marketing for their OS of choice.