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Diffstat (limited to 'content/bsd/why-not-bsd.md')
| -rw-r--r-- | content/bsd/why-not-bsd.md | 23 |
1 files changed, 19 insertions, 4 deletions
diff --git a/content/bsd/why-not-bsd.md b/content/bsd/why-not-bsd.md index c600bdd..e4f4afa 100644 --- a/content/bsd/why-not-bsd.md +++ b/content/bsd/why-not-bsd.md @@ -1,5 +1,5 @@ +++ -title = "Why you shouldn't run a BSD on a PC" +title = "BSDs may not be a system for you" author = ["Michał Sapka"] date = 2024-04-20T22:13:00+02:00 categories = ["bsd"] @@ -7,18 +7,21 @@ draft = false weight = 2003 primary_menu = "bsd" abstract = "Reasons why BSD may not be the best OS for you" -menu_item_override = "why you shouldn't" +menu_item_override = "perhaps you shouldn't" menu_item_override_end_li = true [menu] [menu.bsd] weight = 2003 - identifier = "why-you-shouldn-t-run-a-bsd-on-a-pc" + identifier = "bsds-may-not-be-a-system-for-you" +++ Changing GNU/Linux distribution can be done on a whim, as underneath all of that you've got the same basic operating systems. With BSDs it's not the same. One should try to understand the downsides, as not to waste the next 20 years exploring an OS that simply is not a good fit. + +## Hardware {#hardware} + All BSD are much less popular than GNU/Linux[^fn:1], and with this comes the most pressing downsides. The support from hardware vendors is, at the very least, problematic. You will have problems with recently released components; most likely your WiFi card will not work. @@ -39,6 +42,9 @@ Ever wondered why GNU's GUIX doesn't support Nvidia? That's because the drivers are provided as blobs, and therefore closed-source. As a result, the work needed for BSD support is difficult and slow[^fn:3]<sup>, </sup>[^fn:4]. + +## Software availability {#software-availability} + But let's assume this is not a problem in your case. You have been blessed by the Gods of Hardware Support. You've installed the system: your GPU is calculating pixels, your air is full of bits and waves. @@ -52,11 +58,14 @@ _BSDs on desktop_ crowd is not significantly large enough for companies to want We are not completely lost here, as BSD is POSIX-compliant, so it's possible to compile everything that's running on GNU/Linux. It requires changes and a bit of luck[^fn:5] but any open-source application can be run. Unfortunately, since we are not using GNU/Linux, all hacks that make software run fast there may now work here, or even create huge problems. -Firefox on FreeBSD is a hack layered over a hack running slowly. +Firefox on FreeBSD is a huge pile of patches layered over each other. I have no idea how much work is required to support it, but it's somewhere between "big" and "have mercy". About that closed-source ones? No Office for you. + +## Help {#help} + Let's once again allow our imagination run wild and assume all software you use is there, but you have a problem. You try to Kagi[^fn:6] it and nothing. Nada. @@ -84,6 +93,9 @@ Folks these days assume _a lot_ and BSDs don't even come with ZSH out of the box Ever used the basic _Shell_? Too bad, as _Shell_ is what you should assume in all your scripts. + +## Pace of change {#pace-of-change} + Next: do you like to call yourself an _early adopter_? Being in the _bleeding edge_ is what gets you going? BSD are evolving slowly by design. @@ -94,6 +106,9 @@ Even good old _ifconfig_ is being deprecated. At the same time BSDs still use technology from decades ago[^fn:7]. There was never a need to replace them, so no one did it. + +## It's Linux, right? {#it-s-linux-right} + And lastly, prepare for a lot of raised brows. Younger folks may have never even heard of BSD. Rocking their MacBooks they don't know (nor care) about its FreeBSD roots. |