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What do you guys think about FreeBSD?

What makes BSD stand out as its own system? I've been thinking about installing it in a new computer mainly for reading but I don't know much about it.

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  • I’m going to get crucified for this… for a desktop end-user it’s basically Linux with completely different syntax, lesser hardware compatibility and limited support channels.

    • I am certainly not going to crucify you for it. While FreeBSD is a fantastic operating system, its hardware support is lacking.

      • I really wish it was more popular. The userspace feels way more cohesive and the GNUisms of some Linux utilities is annoying sometimes.

        • It's actually amazing they got this much hardware support. Heck, they even have Nvidia driver support. It could've been worse.

        • I do as well but FreeBSD made a lot of self-inflicted wounds. OpenBSD on the other hand runs surprisingly well on a variety of hardware. It won't run well on the absolute latest but one or two generations behind it works gangbusters.

          • Do you have recommendations for where to get started with OpenBSD? The only BSD distro(?) I have gotten working with my hardware (Thinkpad X1 gen9, M1 Mac) is Nomad.

            • Simply get started using the OpenBSD FAQ. I think the Gen9 Thinkpad X1 should work. I just don't know if it uses NVIDIA crap. If it does, you're shit outta luck. As for the first generation Apple silicon, I don't know how feature complete OpenBSD is on that platform.

        • that’s the catch though: it’s more cohesive because it’s not popular… people work and design and finesse it into a standard… linux however is popular so has a lot of opinions going into it! and that reinforces itself: it has a lot of stuff so that makes it popular and it’s popular so that means it has a lot of stuff!

          BSD is great for what it’s great for and Linux is good for… pretty much everything

    • No that's 100% the standard take. FreeBSD is a fantastic operating system but it doesn't make sense as a daily driver for a personal computer

    • And less supported software! Open-source programs can often be compiled for FreeBSD but many closed-source and some open-source software won't work in FreeBSD. There is the Linuxulator, which is basically Wine but for Linux programs on FreeBSD but it doesn't have perfect Linux software support yet.

    • What's the benefit in other circumstances?

      • It’s rock solid. It also has a heavy emphasis on security. Numerous high-end network routers and security devices use it as the base operating system. Darwin, the open source foundation of macOS is also derived from it.

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