Using FreeBSD as Desktop OS

knightjp said:
How do I get the polybar to start at login.. I tried "polybar &" in the autostart.sh file and it doesn't work.
Click to expand...
Polybar needs to start a predefinded bar. I dont know if polybar on freebsd comes with a sample config somewhere. If so you can copy that to ~/.config/polybar/.
Otherwise create the config directory and files on your own
Code: 
$ mkdir -p ~/.config/polybar
$ touch ~/.config/polybar/config
$ touch ~/.config/polybar/launch.sh
You can search the web for editing ~/.config/polybar/config but remember that not all modules will work on FreeBSD actually.
For testing you can simply start with the date module on the right, so add this to the config
Code: 
[bar/yourbar]
font-0 = YourPreferredFont:size=10;0
background = #1d1f21
foreground = #707880
width = 100%
height = 30

modules-right = date

[module/date]
type = internal/date
date = %Y-%m-%d%
To start yourbar add this to your launch.sh
Code: 
#!/bin/sh

# Terminate already running bar instances
killall -q polybar

# Wait until the processes have been shut down
while pgrep -x polybar >/dev/null; do sleep 1; done

# Launch Polybar, using default config location ~/.config/polybar/config
polybar yourbar &

echo "Polybar launched..."
Make sure the launch script is executable. Finally add this line to your openbox autostart or something comparable for your wm/de of choice
Code: 
$HOME/.config/polybar/launch.sh &

I should note that the above comes without guarantee to work cause I dont use polybar just now (not yet) cause I have no time for desktop tweaking at the moment. Use it as starting point.
 
knightjp said:
Quite true but part of setting up the desktop, tinkering and customizing is actually serving the purpose to get me acquainted with the OS.
Click to expand...

What OS did you use to post?

Do you actually have a functional FreeBSD desktop at this point? I don't mean something you can look at and say "I've got a FreeBSD machine" while you work at customizing it in hopes of eventually getting it set up like you want. One that you can and do use.

If I could offer one piece of advise to new users it would be to get a functional desktop set up and leave well enough alone while you learn more about the OS before you start customizing or tweaking settings.

Most of the problems new people have are from tweaking and customizing things they don't yet have the basic knowledge to fix. That's all good and well in its own right. Learning on your own is encouraged, but learning how to fix the things you break is part of it. Actually using it the best way to learn.
 
knightjp said:
...part of setting up the desktop, tinkering and customizing is actually serving the purpose to get me acquainted with the OS.
Click to expand...
When I start a new job, I sit at the desk given to me and put things where I want them to be in the drawers and the desktop and get to work. Over time, I may rearrange things but it's not something I dwell on. While eating lunch, I might move papers from the top drawer to the bottom but that's all. Rearranging things doesn't interfere with my work.
 
I've pretty much settled on Xfce.. I would say that I like the way that it looks and operates right about now.
6389


6390


I would like to use conky rather than htop. However I'm not quite sure how it set it up to look like the screenshot below.

6391
 
Now that's what I'm talking about and wanted to see. :)

I prefer sysutils/gkrellm2 over Conky as it's more compact and has a wide variety of sensors. It's in all my screenshots and have use it since I first used Linux. I use the moonclock and a weather widget whatever with it.

I've tried Conky too and have a plain config file somewhere. They are available on the web and you should be able to find one you like.

Given screenspace, I usually keep a terminal open running top at the bottom of the screen and one at the top of the screen to work from. It comes in handy having two open if I run as root in my work terminal to do file transfer and need to do something like df -h to see how much space I have left on the stick.
I like to keep an eye on what processes are running too.
 
I'm still not able to get the sound working on this FreeBSD installation. Its a Lenovo X201... Would be great to get a touch working as well if I could. But for now I would settle for sound.. Any ideas?
I did the usual entry into /boot/loader.conf
Code: 
hw.snd.default_unit=1
It doesn't work
 
knightjp said:
I'm still not able to get the sound working on this FreeBSD installation. Its a Lenovo X201... Would be great to get a touch working as well if I could. But for now I would settle for sound.. Any ideas?
I did the usual entry into /boot/loader.conf
Code: 
hw.snd.default_unit=1
It doesn't work
Click to expand...

unit=1 may not be yout main audio output.

You can see the detected audio devices this way:

Code: 
slemke@besta:/home/slemke 1001 $ -> cat /dev/sndstat
Installed devices:
pcm0: <Realtek ALC298 (Internal Analog)> (play/rec) default
pcm1: <Realtek ALC298 (Left Analog Headphones)> (play)
slemke@besta:/home/slemke 1002 $ ->

In my case right now my sound plays from the onboard audio (default).
If I want to switch the audio to my headphone I switch it like this(as user):

Code: 
slemke@besta:/home/slemke 1003 $ -> sysctl hw.snd.default_unit=1
hw.snd.default_unit: 0 -> 1

slemke@besta:/home/slemke 1004 $ -> cat /dev/sndstat
Installed devices:
pcm0: <Realtek ALC298 (Internal Analog)> (play/rec)
pcm1: <Realtek ALC298 (Left Analog Headphones)> (play) default
slemke@besta:/home/slemke 1005 $ ->
 
Is there any info on getting conky working with the conkyrc files one could find online? It seems that when I try to get it working I get error messages regarding the formatting of the conkyrc. I tried to google an answer, but the only answer I found was downgrading to an older version. Is there a way to keep with the current version?
 
fernandel said:
Do you use a transparent plugin or something else, please?
Click to expand...

It's the "Glass" skin for sysutils/gkrellm2. There is a skin repository with 191 skins you can download all at once. Invisible, CoplandOS, HiFi and Operational are a few others I have installed. Extract them individually to /home/username/.gkrellm2/themes and choose the skin from the program GUI. Here is the Invisible skin:

RUExperienced.png


There are plugins for it in the ports tree. Something recently changed so the weather plugin doesn't work anymore but it has a nice astro/gkrellmoon2 MoonClock if you like that kind of thing.
 
I've been running MacOS on a Hackintosh as my preferred Desktop OS for a long time. However, now that Apple is going to their own processors, it is prompting me to think that about moving to FreeBSD as my OS of choice; because I really like using my own hardware. I find it more flexible and easy to upgrade, etc. I really like FreeBSD and prefer it to any Linux distro out there, but there are certain things about MacOS that I will miss.
Like the features of Handover, the way that it syncs with my iPhone, etc. I basically like the ecosystem.

The one great thing about running FreeBSD would be the ability to use whatever Desktop that like. KDE has been making great strides in becoming more optimized and less bloated that people are comparing it to XFCE in the Linux space.
With that being said it means that I can have a Desktop with infinite possibilities of customization.
 
I like & use KDE, but it definitely could need some downsizing of options or at least a separation of basic & advanced settings, like some programs already have. KDE is in urgent need to have that throughout the whole DE. IMHO currently the only reasonable alternative is XfCE. But Gtk developers made some weird decisions in the past (e.g. concerning handling of screen resolution), so IMHO any Qt-based desktop is preferable. Besides that, it's good that any user can take his own decision, and FreeBSD's clean separation of base OS & ports is a big plus compared to Linux.
 
knightjp said:
I've been running MacOS
Click to expand...

I made that same transition many years ago, and what I found was that although there's no way to perfectly recreate that ecosystem from open source parts, the vast majority of integration was doable and ultimately MUCH more flexible once I broke the chains. The things I couldn't replicate I simply don't miss. And the benefits of moving are impossible to fully quantify. Happiness being a prime example.
 
I've recently switched from MATE to KDE. I had always stayed away from it in the past because it was too complex and too heavy, but version 5 is really impressive performance-wise. Besides speed, the user experience is smooth and seamless, a real pleasure.

Like mjollnir, the only negative point I find in KDE 5 is the complexity of its configuration - too many options, scattered across too many places. Fortunately, the default configuration needed very few changes to suit my taste. :)

It is also important for me to be able to easily customize the user interface in a secure an reproducible way for easy deployment of VM or workstations. KDE uses text files to store its configuration, so it meets this requirement. MATE uses a different method, still very easy and convenient, but XFCE is really no good at this.
 
I tried to move to FreeBSD some time ago with a test made on an old Lenovo laptop. But the one thing that I felt that I liked about MacOS was the fact that I could install and uninstall an app by just dragging and dropping a file (a file that contained everything that it needed to run).
MacOS also has the best keyboard layout that I liked. I use the Dvorak layout and but the one thing about Dvorak is that its standard shortcuts are not as great as one would like. MacOS remedies this with the Dvorak+QWERTYCmd. It allows me to have the standard keyboard shortcuts and use the Dvorak layout. So far, I have not seen it on any other system as standard.

phalange said:
there's no way to perfectly recreate that ecosystem from open source parts, the vast majority of integration was doable and ultimately MUCH more flexible once I broke the chains. The things I couldn't replicate I simply don't miss.
Click to expand...
Could you elaborate on this?
 
knightjp said:
Could you elaborate on this?
Click to expand...

Sure, for examples:

iTunes -- easily replaced by Spotify, which is (IMO) superior to Apple's product since it has a web client. Also, many previously missing artists are now added.
iTunes Match -- money wasted, since most of my music is available in the cloud these days, and lower cost drives make it more realistic to store songs on my local drives anyway.
Photos -- I now use an Android phone, and there are many cloud-based photo sharing options (including Nextcloud or even Dropbox) that allow photos to sync across devices.
Texting -- I enjoyed texting via a Mac laptop, but this loss was not catastrophic. Also, KDE and others are finally bringing programs out that replicate this feature.
Contacts -- replaced with Google Contacts, and now I'm migrating to Nextcloud.
iCal -- replaced with Google Calendar, and now I'm migrating to Nextcloud; both can share calendars with iCal users too.
iWork -- I always detested these apps, and now I use Collabra on my iPad and Libre Office on FreeBSD and Linux.

In all, Apple beat everyone to the punch with integration, but so many years later, there's stiff competition in every category.

There are paper cuts along the way for sure. Like FaceTime is hard to replicate since my family uses Apple gear, and they have to switch over to Skype or Duo to contact me.

Also FreeBSD is not where Linux is in terms of easily installing Dropbox, Spotify, Skype and so on, so I've had to perform more work-arounds to approximate things on FreeBSD, but I can always dual-boot back into Linux as a failsafe. I prefer this to keeping OSX around.
 
An another example is the windows management. In Mac OS X, since few years, there is a strange mix between fullscreen / free window with a lot of frustations.
I decide to always use full screen, but the place where new a window open is not predictable and I need to arrange the order of all windows too often.

In the same time, I buy a new laptop and install freebsd on it with DWM.
I can not compare Mac OS X with DWM in functionnalities. But in usage, I prefere the simplicity and the concistance of a very simple tilling WM. I have to accept that the Apple way is not always the best way and learn something else. But now, I am conviced that Mac OS X need to evolve to present a decent WM and not a nasty mix between mac OS 9 concept and iPad constraints
 
Hakaba said:
I can not compare Mac OS X with DWM in functionnalities. But in usage, I prefere the simplicity and the concistance of a very simple tilling WM. I have to accept that the Apple way is not always the best way and learn something else. But now, I am conviced that Mac OS X need to evolve to present a decent WM and not a nasty mix between mac OS 9 concept and iPad constraints
Click to expand...
I have tried DWM and other tiling window managers. I even got tiling window managers on MacOS working. I worked fine I guess. But I soon realized that tiling window managers are not for me.
I will concede that window management is an annoyance for some people that use MacOS. But like Linux and FreeBSD, it is an easy fix there. I use a program called MOOM and it works well. To be honest, I'm not even using a 1/4 of the what features it has.

phalange said:
In all, Apple beat everyone to the punch with integration, but so many years later, there's stiff competition in every category.
There are paper cuts along the way for sure. Like FaceTime is hard to replicate since my family uses Apple gear, and they have to switch over to Skype or Duo to contact me.
Click to expand...
I agree that Apple started it, and now there are a number of apps and things that you can do to replicate it, but that's the issue. All of this is out of the box with MacOS. And it's always the little things that you don't think of initially but miss when you suddenly realize they're not there.
  • I enjoy having a dedicated Whatsapp client on my system so that I can use my computer to text. I can use iMessage as well.
  • Then it is the idea of having FaceTime work on my phone, iPad and even my computer. Whichever device I am using at the time.
  • The way that if I edit my contacts on my system, my phone is automatically updated as well.
I know people call it a "walled garden" or limiting in many ways. And to a degree, it can be. I will concede to that. But with that said, the number of people that are enjoying the features of the "ecosystem" can actually suggest that they are doing something right. I mean even Google is trying to copy it with their Android systems.

If I have to move away from Apple ecosystem, I want to move to a place that is completely free of Google services as well. It would be moving from one walled garden to another.

phalange said:
Also FreeBSD is not where Linux is in terms of easily installing Dropbox, Spotify, Skype and so on, so I've had to perform more work-arounds to approximate things on FreeBSD, but I can always dual-boot back into Linux as a failsafe. I prefer this to keeping OSX around.
Click to expand...
This is what kind of bugs me. FreeBSD is inherently a more stable and better platform IMO, but still lags behind Linux in terms of support. I mean the little things such as driver support and stuff work better on Linux than with FreeBSD.
 
knightjp said:
If I have to move away from Apple ecosystem, I want to move to a place that is completely free of Google services as well. It would be moving from one walled garden to another.
Click to expand...

Definitely!

I've never felt comfortable with Apple's way of doing things, starting with UI design, so I've never owned Apple hardware.
Google has been appealing to me at some point, but they quickly became way too invasive for me.

I'm not a privacy paranoid, but I hate above all that someone decides in my place what is good or bad for me.
I also hate that someone reads my emails - to notify me of upcoming bills, for instance, as if I didn't already know.
I feel insulted by such practices.

So I ended up renting a VPS and having my own email system and web server.
I've learned (and still learn) a lot doing it and this is a great advantage for me - learning is one of the things I enjoy the most. :)
It's also a great playground for my creativity: whenever an idea strikes me, I can easily implement it, for real. :)

On the client side, I also tested a Kaios phone. More respectful to its users than Google and Apple, but still perfectible.
Anyway, my sight getting worse and worse with age, I tend to use a phone just to give phone calls, so an Ericsson GA628 would do. ;)
For anything else, I really need the comfort of a computer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top