Although I've been using Linux for awhile now, I've had little experience with its brother-in-arms, FreeBSD. However, I've admired FreeBSD and its derivatives from afar (somewhat like watching Jun Ji Hyun in movies like Il Mare). The FreeBSD wiki is well-written and comparable to the Fedora Project's robust online documentation so it was more about time and attention that prevented me from committing to a FreeBSD system. Having been unable to install ArchLinux due to the Great Firewall in China, I decided on FreeBSD 9.1 for my spare laptop.
Yeah, I used FreeBSD as an excuse to post a picture of Jun Ji Hyun. If only the Linux/Unix community can get endorsements from celebrities like her. Screencap from a Korean tea commercial.
Although there's a graphical installation process available, I opted for the more orthodox approach. Jesse Smith over at Distrowatch cited issues with the online repository for binary packages and it seemed the repository was still offline at the time of my trying out FreeBSD 9.1. Compiling software from the FreeBSD ports collection is relatively easy but I didn't realize it would take such a long time. Installing FreeBSD is a great change of pace from repairing Windows, fixing OSX issues, and yes, even testing Linux distributions. However, the novelty of setting up FreeBSD quickly disappeared after the first four hours of compiling software.
Distrowatch's resident reviewer quoted 6 hours to set up a workstation. I'm not exactly a power user but it took me upwards of more than 8 hours just to get everything done though I followed the FreeBSD manual to the letter (installing the FreeBSD Gnome 2 environment surprisingly took forever). In a quick comparison, my setup for a basic Lubuntu install takes around 2 hours at most (most of the time is devoted to Ubuntu updates). Ditto for an openSUSE system. My Windows machine probably takes 3 hours at the most since I have a few Adobe and Corel products to install alongside Office 2010 and Windows' prodigious patches. A Mac takes considerably less time of course. I am sure however, that FreeBSD wouldn't have taken very long if the binary repository was up and running.
It's very difficult and unfair to write a review or tutorial of FreeBSD 9.1 on an incomplete install on an EEEPC1000H system.
New user who want to try FreeBSD 9.1 may be put off by the lengthy and laborious process, though if you've undergone the missteps of previous openSUSE releases, the final Mandriva release before bankruptcy, or some of the more dubious Fedora iterations, you're more than likely to go through the experience in good humor. Admittedly, troubleshooting an ArchLinux system was somewhat less tedious. A FreeBSD installation can't be left attended so I multitasked between compiling software/downloading packages and watching Takeshi Kaneshiro in Lost and Found (1996). Moreover, the endless stream of almost undecipherable gibberish as packages were downloaded, checked, and installed was enough to drive anyone insane in an H.P. Lovecraft way especially if you're susceptible to the hypnotic nature of flowing ASCII text. It didn't take me long to realize just how far (and how simple) Linux installations have become in comparison. For those who complain about Fedora's Anaconda installer or ArchLinux's text heavy setup process, try FreeBSD 9.1.
I've been procrastinating about saving up for a Macbook Pro for years, often coming to the realization that OSX doesn't provide any real advantages for me compared to most Linux distributions (and plenty of financial disadvantages). With an iMac and Windows workstation at work and Linux boxes at home, I am determined to get to know Linux's kissing cousin a little better. The latest release of PC-BSD, a FreeBSD derivative that is somewhat more similar to a mainstream Linux distribution, is my next stop.
0 comments:
Post a Comment