Why are FreeBSD users seen as black sheep? (+ thanks)

[Andrey Lanin]

Windows is also really good at malware and running slowly without a way to diagnose the reasons why. Seriously, running Windows on latest i7, DDR5, with NVMe 5.0 storage, at work and it still manages to go slow motion all the time. It's actually incredible that it's capable of making that hardware so slow. I can't imagine what magic they have going on over there at Microsoft to enable that kind of CPU, RAM and NVMe usage to actually make the system run at a snails pace frequently. And that's not even the reason I don't care for Windows. I just don't care for Microsoft. But they do have an edge on other systems when it comes to problems that consume processing power with no ability to diagnose the cause.

Yes, I don't argue that Windows isn't the best operating system. But for me personally, having multiple operating systems means more software development contracts. I don't have a favorite operating system. I use operating systems only to make money—I use the one that allows me to make the most money right now. If I have a good contract for Windows development today, I use Windows; if I have a good contract for Linux development, I use Linux, and so on. Yes, of course, I pay attention to the performance and reliability of operating systems, but that's not my primary concern. What matters most is the contract the customer is paying for.

 

[MrBSD]

Yes, I don't argue that Windows isn't the best operating system. But for me personally, having multiple operating systems means more software development contracts. I don't have a favorite operating system. I use operating systems only to make money—I use the one that allows me to make the most money right now. If I have a good contract for Windows development today, I use Windows; if I have a good contract for Linux development, I use Linux, and so on. Yes, of course, I pay attention to the performance and reliability of operating systems, but that's not my primary concern. What matters most is the contract the customer is paying for.

I have old i5 machine with 16 gigs of ram and i installed Windows 11 22H1 on it. This machine has no internet access. It works flawlessly. It is incredible to me how reliable and stable it is just because its completely offline.

 

[Andrey Lanin]

I have old i5 machine with 16 gigs of ram and i installed Windows 11 22H1 on it. This machine has no internet access. It works flawlessly. It is incredible to me how reliable and stable it is just because its completely offline.

Yes, no network means no additional overhead for searching and sending personal data to Microsoft (and not receiving malware). The network isn't that important for my work (we develop operating systems for microcontrollers and libraries (in C, C++, and Java) for accessing these microcontrollers; all of this is supplied to customers who develop their applications on various operating systems: Windows, Linux, and FreeBSD).

 

[kpedersen]

They aren't out there to get you. They don't make the laws. They enforce the laws. Getting upset because you broke the law and got caught is on you, not them.

I do agree it isn't personal but for a different reason. We have police and road traffic officers and they tend to not to be that bothered by the dangers of speeding itself (we commonly have dual carriageways at 40mph and motorways at 50mph for example, so going 10% over is still well under the rest of the world). Instead, they simply want cars off the road to reduce the congestion. We have a serious road infrastructure problem here in the UK. The people in charge have failed to invest in the roads for decades.

If they can bump up the points you are given or get you off the road for that little bit longer based on the info you give them, I suspect they will take it. And yet in the UK we are so reliant on cars that if you are banned, you are a little bit screwed for a year. You can't get anywhere, the public transport is defective and the trains cost more than owning a Ferrari per mile.

Whats worse is if you have to retake your test, you will have to wait 6 months at least, just to find an available booking, so you are looking at being off the road for a couple of years. Which is why drinking whilst driving is absolutely avoided because ironically this is one of the only ways they can require you to retake your test compared to going above 12 points (where it would make so much more sense to retake a test).

In other words, the laws are being misused to solve infrastructure problems.
</offtopic_rant>

 

[DanielBowman]

Yes, no network means no additional overhead for searching and sending personal data to Microsoft (and not receiving malware). The network isn't that important for my work (we develop operating systems for microcontrollers and libraries (in C, C++, and Java) for accessing these microcontrollers; all of this is supplied to customers who develop their applications on various operating systems: Windows, Linux, and FreeBSD).

From what I remember the main reason for slow down on Windows were the updates somehow cluttering the system. It wasn't the updates alone but the way they stacked on top of each other.
Why I think that?
Because the remedy was to do vanilla install and do just the one (although huge) current update....approximately every few years.
Never used rolling release i.e. Arch but what I gathered it is also good practice to do fresh install now and then. Just to de-clutter the fixes of the fixes of the fixes.....

 

[bda65]

Because the remedy was to do vanilla install and do just the one (although huge) current update....approximately every few years.
Never used rolling release i.e. Arch but what I gathered it is also good practice to do fresh install now and then. Just to de-clutter the fixes of the fixes of the fixes.....

Use Arch for years. Never reinstall on the same computer. But need to make update regularly. One time per week at least. Never use rolling release OS on a server...

 

[bda65]

Now, while I still don't know why FreeBSD users are seen as black sheep, I do know what they're like: friendly.

 

[drhowarddrfine]

Yeah, if anything, I get a feeling of admiration and respect from other technical people but on almost any social media platform you'll find people who will attack you no matter what you use.