FreeBSD 12 as an alternative to the Linux desktop
Conclusions
FreeBSD is very stable and provides interesting security features, including the jails concept, but the system does not provide an easy or efficient operating system setup. In our lab, FreeBSD proved less suitable than the popular Linux variants as a desktop system.
The gappy hardware support and the lack of graphical tools for installing and customizing the system cause a high volume of manual work and time overhead before you have your FreeBSD desktop system to your liking. Beginners who are interested in BSD would be better off using a derivative such as TrueOS [9] or GhostBSD [10] if the goal is to set up a desktop system. Both of these BSD variants emphasize the desktop and focus on developing their own graphical tools.
Infos
- Download: https://www.freebsd.org/where.html
- "Installing a Desktop Environment on FreeBSD": https://www.freebsdfoundation.org/freebsd/how-to-guides/installing-a-desktop-environment-on-freebsd
- Hardware compatibility: https://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/faq/hardware.html
- Documentation for setting up a desktop: https://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/x11-wm.html
- "Installing applications: packages and ports": https://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/ports.html
- Ports list: https://www.freebsd.org/ports/
- Jails: https://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/jails.html
- Freebsd update documentation: https://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/updating-upgrading-freebsdupdate.html
- TrueOS: https://www.trueos.org
- GhostBSD: https://ghostbsd.org
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