In the past few weeks I've installed FreeBSD (and OpenBSD and ubuntu which won't install and...) 11.3 and 12.1 and have these suggestions;
- UseDNS should be off by default
- the password auth/PAM thing is confusing, and I see no reason for PAM to be a default, BTW what does PAM buy us again ???
- the install should have a BACK button, especially for when Enter or ? is pressed at the wrong time
- the screen-write install routine could be better, maybe it ought to set the background 1st, so it doesn't write chars on different backgrnd colors all over.
- maybe it would be better if the install program asked the user what size their screen is, so that the text size might be made 1 size smaller, or ?
- I see no need for groups of ntp servers to be set in ntp.conf by default that wil only cause errors msgs on the console afterwards. Why not ask during install if we'd like to be a ntp server or client, and if client, then what is the server IP add ?
- the range of choices of what's installed, defaults, etc ought to be bigger, including FTP, HTTPd, and maybe even Apache. There's plenty of stuff the average person doesn't need on the cd as it is, that could be removed IMHO. 12.1 asks for different choices, but removed some of the others from 11.3 - would it hurt to have a whole page, or 2, or 3, of options to install during install ? Nope.
- the ntp 'install' could tell us not 'in-the-know' if it's a ntp client of server, and if there was a ntpd server, why not install it ? I think most folks dont' care if their PC doesnt' keep stratum 1 time but is close enough to the wall clock to be used in a small network. CHOICE during is what is important to me at least and this is one reason today I completely gave up on OpenBSd as it is just too complicated/weird to install, and then 'strange' after the install as I'm left with no keyboard history at all plus the arrow keys don't even work. I could undestand this if it were 1920, but not in 2020. How difficult is it to install an OS ? So I gave up and installed FreeBSD over that install of Open BSD. Ubuntu (14.x) is so weird, it won't even install as that options page has got to be the design of real martians.
FreeBSD is the best but it can be improved.
I said this 20-25 years ago, and I'll say it again, someone should start an org that would design a GUI for unix, that would include nearly ALL the things that can be done. This is what Bill did, eventually leading to the Registry, and it worked. it may not be the best OS out there now, and it wasn't then (OS/2 was a better OS) but at least it WORKED and everyone could use it. Unix, FreeBSD, all of them have so much potential and they are used by those who know what they're doing but...
Why isn't x an option in the FreeBSD install ?
I will tell you about my recent OpenBSD X experience
I installed it during install, and then it started up on a 17" monitor but the resolution was so high that I had to get a set of magnifying glass just to see it. I nuked that install and installed over it. there was no way I could find to even change the simplest thing, the most important thing, re a GUI, and was screen resolution. Is this 1920 or 2020 ?
I must admit I don't even know if x is installed on the FreeBSD PCs I have. I don't see a unix GUI as beign required as it is in XP (or?) but why not have the option for when you forgot how to set the IPv6 address of that 3rd int ? A GUI is what they call 'knowledge passing' I think.
End of Ramble.
Oh yea, durign these 10 +/- installs, I made a list of the man pages that would be nice to add.
- UseDNS should be off by default
- the password auth/PAM thing is confusing, and I see no reason for PAM to be a default, BTW what does PAM buy us again ???
- the install should have a BACK button, especially for when Enter or ? is pressed at the wrong time
- the screen-write install routine could be better, maybe it ought to set the background 1st, so it doesn't write chars on different backgrnd colors all over.
- maybe it would be better if the install program asked the user what size their screen is, so that the text size might be made 1 size smaller, or ?
- I see no need for groups of ntp servers to be set in ntp.conf by default that wil only cause errors msgs on the console afterwards. Why not ask during install if we'd like to be a ntp server or client, and if client, then what is the server IP add ?
- the range of choices of what's installed, defaults, etc ought to be bigger, including FTP, HTTPd, and maybe even Apache. There's plenty of stuff the average person doesn't need on the cd as it is, that could be removed IMHO. 12.1 asks for different choices, but removed some of the others from 11.3 - would it hurt to have a whole page, or 2, or 3, of options to install during install ? Nope.
- the ntp 'install' could tell us not 'in-the-know' if it's a ntp client of server, and if there was a ntpd server, why not install it ? I think most folks dont' care if their PC doesnt' keep stratum 1 time but is close enough to the wall clock to be used in a small network. CHOICE during is what is important to me at least and this is one reason today I completely gave up on OpenBSd as it is just too complicated/weird to install, and then 'strange' after the install as I'm left with no keyboard history at all plus the arrow keys don't even work. I could undestand this if it were 1920, but not in 2020. How difficult is it to install an OS ? So I gave up and installed FreeBSD over that install of Open BSD. Ubuntu (14.x) is so weird, it won't even install as that options page has got to be the design of real martians.
FreeBSD is the best but it can be improved.
I said this 20-25 years ago, and I'll say it again, someone should start an org that would design a GUI for unix, that would include nearly ALL the things that can be done. This is what Bill did, eventually leading to the Registry, and it worked. it may not be the best OS out there now, and it wasn't then (OS/2 was a better OS) but at least it WORKED and everyone could use it. Unix, FreeBSD, all of them have so much potential and they are used by those who know what they're doing but...
Why isn't x an option in the FreeBSD install ?
I will tell you about my recent OpenBSD X experience
I installed it during install, and then it started up on a 17" monitor but the resolution was so high that I had to get a set of magnifying glass just to see it. I nuked that install and installed over it. there was no way I could find to even change the simplest thing, the most important thing, re a GUI, and was screen resolution. Is this 1920 or 2020 ?I must admit I don't even know if x is installed on the FreeBSD PCs I have. I don't see a unix GUI as beign required as it is in XP (or?) but why not have the option for when you forgot how to set the IPv6 address of that 3rd int ? A GUI is what they call 'knowledge passing' I think.
End of Ramble.
Oh yea, durign these 10 +/- installs, I made a list of the man pages that would be nice to add.
