New to the BSD world

N

nerdistmonk

Hello everyone, I built myself a PFSense Router and it works so well that I decided to try freebsd as a desktop, anyways ive read through the handbook which is simple enough but I just want you guys to give my check list a once over to make sure im not heading for disaster.

Is Freebsd 8.0RC a good idea or is it ugly?

Once I figure that out heres the plan:

Install *BSD (I got this down good, except that I keep hearing about ZFS? and that its good?!? dont know, I went with UFS2)

Once Im loaded I guess I install KDE4? (Make install clean) or is their something I missed (Thats all the handbook page says about it), I tried XFCE but it didnt go so hot, he died....

Would it be safe to assume that building KDE4 will include kdm? and then ill I have to do is follow the handbook for writing the x files...(no pun)

and Finally, (sorry for this mess of a post) is it safe to assume that my audigy 4 and Nvidia 9600 will have working drivers? Nvidias website didnt have nothing of use, and I didnt check ports for anything just yet.

Thanks in advance
 
Couldnt find an edit button for my post so I just doubleposted (sorry in advance) It seems that nvidia is cooking up a driver for bsd64 (as of Sept09) possibly for the upcoming Freebsd 8.0....errr sadly that means only 3gb of ram for me....
 
You only need the binary nvidia drivers if you want accelerated 3D and/or use multiple monitors.
 
Const said:
Try PC-BSD. It's FreeBSD tuned for desktop use
Click to expand...

PCBSD doesnt use ports natively, im not afraid of text and typing, and PCBSD wont have the drivers I need either, my main machine is going to have to be down until nvidia finishes the amd64 drivers I checked and apparently they are VERY close (I.E all features required implemented)

PCBSD is what I would put on a notebook or something... If I wanted PBI's (Pointy/clicky) and not ports I would just run Linux.
 
nerdistmonk said:
Couldnt find an edit button for my post so I just doubleposted (sorry in advance)
Click to expand...
No problem
nerdistmonk said:
It seems that nvidia is cooking up a driver for bsd64 (as of Sept09) possibly for the upcoming Freebsd 8.0....errr sadly that means only 3gb of ram for me....
Click to expand...
You can go i386 fow now, just to start learning the os. Probably you will not need all that amount of ram on the beginning, even on a desktop system.
When nvidia will release the amd64 driver you can backup your data and configurations and reinstall.
 
ale said:
No problem

You can go i386 fow now, just to start learning the os. Probably you will not need all that amount of ram on the beginning, even on a desktop system.
When nvidia will release the amd64 driver you can backup your data and configurations and reinstall.
Click to expand...

The more I have been looking around freebsd, the worse it seems to get (No offense) its like looking at a car that looked nice from a distance.

My current issues:
*Wine....or lack there of...it may work on 32bit bsd, but amd64 isnt happening

*Installing BSD without a cd, Opensuse lets me load the ISO onto a thumbdrive via unetbootin, but freebsd makes me burn cds faster than I kill burritos.

I really dont want to keep wasting CD's, its the 21st century, also I would go 32bit, but then I would be wasting 1gb of ram :(
 
WINE?
I think you'll find running MS apps is not a priority for most BSD users. Why not use windows?
I use:
emulators/VirtualBox for XP and linux.

To be honest,
If you are after a snazzy 3d desktop whilst using MSN and
browsing youtube you've probably got the wrong OS.
You'll have trouble getting decent flash too.

BSD is more about what's underneath than it is a pretty desktop.

It's not a BSD problem it's reliance on 3rd party stuff
like flash. not much we can do about it.
 
bigearsbilly said:
WINE?
I think you'll find running MS apps is not a priority for most BSD users. Why not use windows?
I use:
emulators/VirtualBox for XP and linux.

To be honest,
If you are after a snazzy 3d desktop whilst using MSN and
browsing youtube you've probably got the wrong OS.
You'll have trouble getting decent flash too.

BSD is more about what's underneath than it is a pretty desktop.

It's not a BSD problem it's reliance on 3rd party stuff
like flash. not much we can do about it.
Click to expand...


I like games, Wine under linux runs my games fine, it looks like ill be moving back to linux for my gaming needs
 
yes well,
i wouldn't hold your breath for the nvidia driver!
plus FreeBSD 8 is still a release candidate not production.

unfortunately, as you say, BSD is not enough in the real world, even
though it's about the best designed OS there is.
 
nerdistmonk said:
*Installing BSD without a cd, Opensuse lets me load the ISO onto a thumbdrive via unetbootin, but freebsd makes me burn cds faster than I kill burritos.

I really dont want to keep wasting CD's, its the 21st century
Click to expand...
This statement looks really stupid to me.
  1. Did you read the 8.0-BETA1 annoucement?
  2. Do you know that you can install with just disc1?
  3. Do you know that there is a few megs iso (~43 megs) for install from the net?
  4. Do you know that you just need a cd/dvd to install (if not with memstick) and then you'll never need to download a new iso for years?
  5. And maybe the most shocking for you...do you know that there's a new technology called CD/DVD-RW?

If one of the most important thing to judge an os for you is it need to burn a cd to install, well...
 
ale said:
This statement looks really stupid to me.
  1. Did you read the 8.0-BETA1 annoucement?
  2. Do you know that you can install with just disc1?
  3. Do you know that there is a few megs iso (~43 megs) for install from the net?
  4. Do you know that you just need a cd/dvd to install (if not with memstick) and then you'll never need to download a new iso for years?
  5. And maybe the most shocking for you...do you know that there's a new technology called CD/DVD-RW?

If one of the most important thing to judge an os for you is it need to burn a cd to install, well...
Click to expand...

and when I go to blog my experience about bsd amongst my fellow linux bretheren, I shall have this engraved on a plaque above my pc whilst im loading suse via a thumbdrive.....
 
8.0-BETA1 annoucement

The amd64 and i386 architectures include a file named:

8.0-BETA1-<arch>-memstick.img

If you copy that to a USB memory stick newer machines should be able to
boot from it and use it to install from.
Click to expand...

Reading not your strongest suit?
Anyway. Thread going nowhere like this. Don't ask for help if you don't want it.

Closed.
 
Sorry, DutchDaemon, but nerdistmonk didn't rant about FreeBSD and also didn't say that he doesn't want to read the docs.
So there's no need to close the thread.
 
Fine, so long as this doesn't turn into another 'FreeBSD can't do what Linux does, so it sucks' type of thread.
 
nerdistmonk said:
I like games, Wine under linux runs my games fine, it looks like ill be moving back to linux for my gaming needs
Click to expand...

I game too, and 'fine' under wine'd linux-emulation is not prime. If you use *NIX, and game as well, you have custom windows installation in it's own drive, running at 100% native performance, dedicated and secured just for that purpose. Or buy a videogame console, your pick.

This thread just corroborates all the stereotypes of a linux-distribution user and the serious philosophical differences between linux-kernel users and *BSDs, among them "using the right tool for the job pursued". I shall keep your thread as a case study, thank you!
 
graedus said:
ehem...
2^32 B == 4 GiB == 4*1024^3 B
Click to expand...

I wasnt trying to start a holy war, I just kept hearing that Freebsd was better than linux, and it does seem like bsd is being updated constantly, but it seems it just doesnt meet my demands. No offense intended. I am using ClarkConnect for my router (Linux based) and I loaded back onto Kubuntu (Debian wont install from a thumbdrive due to a bug in the installer).

And no I dont have any windows touching this pc or any others, Wine plays the games I like (Call of duty 4, spore, etc)
I think BSD will have its day, it just wont be today, once x64 bsd gets nvidia 3d drivers (which are very close) and wine under amd64 takes shape, then I think I might be making the switch.

Thanks for the hospitality (most of you anyways)
 
on a further note, I really like bsd and it holds a special place and like I said it will have its day on my pc in the future, What can I say, I like its "headers" ;)

--Peace out (and no for the record, I dont like snazzy, im more of a fluxbox kind of person or maybe even using a tty for browsing while updating with the DE stopped)
 
sorry about the snazzy comment!
(try sawfish and rox-filer, you'll love it)

well I've used linux for about 10 years and I had a fling with solaris 10 (756 Mb RAM for an installer? ridiculous)
and i've been on BSD for the last 18 months.

You have to spend time with it and appreciate all the things it can do, not the things it can't.

things like Never wating for an fsck when you boot.

though few can argue it's enough for everything in the 21st century - I'm job hunting and I need linux for the flashy web sites and office documents. No escaping it.
 
bigearsbilly said:
sorry about the snazzy comment!
(try sawfish and rox-filer, you'll love it)

well I've used linux for about 10 years and I had a fling with solaris 10 (756 Mb RAM for an installer? ridiculous)
and i've been on BSD for the last 18 months.

You have to spend time with it and appreciate all the things it can do, not the things it can't.

things like Never wating for an fsck when you boot.

though few can argue it's enough for everything in the 21st century - I'm job hunting and I need linux for the flashy web sites and office documents. No escaping it.
Click to expand...


Freebsd is the only OS thats closest to being 21st Century ready, heres how that works out in my mind:

Freebsd is:

1)A complete operating system (and the kitchen sink)
2)Doesnt use Alsa. Pulse, or other a$$warming accessories
(I Like OSS)
3)Has consistency of breakfast gravy or portland cement (I always know BSD will start, Ive never had it just crap out from doing a update)
4)Has ports (I Like it)
5)Has binarys (Thankyou sir, I would like another)
6)Is a blood relative to Unix (Linux is unix like, i dont like mimes or rhymes)

Heres what I wished BSD had (and its not much of a list, but its enough for me not to be able to put it to work)

1)OSSv4 (Its under bsd license now or so ive heard)
2)Nvidia Drivers (I might get this one when version 8.0 is finalized)
3)Wine working as good as it does under the linux (1.1.29 works as good as having windows IM SERIOUS)
4)Make putting a desktop enviroment in a little easier (I loaded XFCE and XDM, I wrote the files it needed, and yet the stinker still wouldnt start with any of the xbinary commands)

Like I said as soon as bsd can get me consistent wine and 3d graphics acceleration (For wine lol) Ill jump right over, beleive me I DO NOT enjoy kubuntu this thing stinketh of a$$ (They call 9.10 beta a beta HA, 20 kernel errors later, I cant even turn on konqueror without the entire kernel crashing)

--Peace out (and no im not demanding anything, im just speaking whats on my mind, I need 2 things out of that list to enjoy bsd to its fullest)
 
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