# Newbie but technical :) - PC-BSD or FreeBSD?



## virtualu2 (Apr 24, 2009)

Hi,
I am moving off windoze and have been using Linux for a while, I know a "bit" about unix and linux - make my way around fine and work out issues to a point ... 

I am not "thrilled" with any specific distro right now and know how secure freebsd is.  I checked out PC-BSD and it was lightning fast and seemed very good and "easy to use" which is nice but I don't want a just point/click system.

So my question was with pc-bsd can you install software from command lines such as apt-get, does the software update "dependencies" like on debian and other package managers, and how often do people find themselves using the command line overall?  I know that is a per user question, but mostly just for system admin work as I would run this on my laptop.

Thx!


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## LateNiteTV (Apr 24, 2009)

freebsd uses ports.
basically

```
cd /path/to/port && make install clean
```
will pull in all dependencies and install whatever you are installing.

```
pkg_add -r pkgname
```
will do the same but install binaries instead of compiling from source.

i work in the shell almost exclusively.


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## tangram (Apr 24, 2009)

Take a look at http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en/books/handbook/ports.html.

It explains how to use third party applications in FreeBSD.


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## tangram (Apr 24, 2009)

Also forgot to mention... Welcome aboard


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## hydra (Apr 24, 2009)

I like this attitude: "I don't want a just point/click system". Yeah ! I was the same, that's why I chose FreeBSD and I live happily with it.


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## meeb (Apr 24, 2009)

You will not find anything like apt for FreeBSD. FreeBSD is mostly source based (debian is not) and its not "everything is a package" (as in debian). To compare PCBSD and FreeBSD i would say that PCBSD gives you a "ready to work" FreeBSD with (nearly) everything FreeBSD could, plus some more DesktopUserLikeALots.

BTW: You are always invited to use command-line and maybe there are some points, in nearly every unix-like system, where you prefer to do so (to be comfortable or to use all options).

Edit: And Welcome!


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## mwatkins (Apr 25, 2009)

Welcome aboard!

If you are more into the command line, FreeBSD is a good choice. If you need a little of both, FreeBSD can still be a good choice but if you also want a GUI then be prepared to work a little bit harder than with a desktop-oriented BSD or Linux.

I use FreeBSD for desktops (a few) and servers (many more) and have never regretted my choice.

If I were to pick a Linux (and have had to once in a while) it would probably always be Debian; you can get source (apt-get source somepackagename) but it isn't nearly as sweet as the FreeBSD ports system IMO. Plus I just don't like the SysV style of starting things.

If you are technical to begin with, I'm sure you'll be happy with whatever BSD you end up choosing.

PS: One little point to mention - the various flavours of BSD's are not "distros" in the Linux sense. A Linux is a compilation of a kernel with whatever packages the OS designer decides to put in. You could put together your own Linux "distro" if you want and call it UnfriendlyDistro!

FreeBSD is a complete operating system. Every FreeBSD system will look like another; the same can't be said of every Linux. 

I'm not saying one way is better than the other but I personally prefer the FreeBSD approach as it feels more cohesive. And its a darn good OS!


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## MikeyIckey (May 6, 2009)

I *LOVE* PC-BSD. It's such a great little OS. And in terms of adding software from ports the only difference from PC-BSD and FreeBSD are the pbi's that PC-BSD allows you to use. You can basically download a port that has been turned into a .pbi file and right click and select 'install' from the menu and it will run the same as 

```
cd /usr/ports/port-name && make install clean
```
But you can just as easily open a terminal and type that in as well. 
It's what got me into BSD in the first place. And I've since moved on to FreeBSD and OpenBSD (but mostly FreeBSD). If you want to get down to the real guts of BSD I'd suggest using FreeBSD because it's a little more well documented then PC-BSD is. The guys had to change some of the directory structure around when building PC-BSD so if you need/want to recompile your kernel the process changes a little bit (this is just from my experience so if I'm wrong please let me know). I hope I was able to help.


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## hedwards (May 6, 2009)

Admittedly I'm a bit biased, but I like FreeBSD.

The easiest way of dealing with ports IMHO is as such.
To update the ports tree. First one initially then subsequently with update.

```
portsnap fetch extract
portsnap fetch update
```
And the following to update or install new ports.

```
portmaster -a
portmaster /usr/ports/category/nameofport
```

I'm still working on figuring out how ports-mgmt/portconf works, from what I gather it only affects choice of which ports to use as dependencies, not other options.


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## cpeterson (May 8, 2009)

PC-BSD is really pretty similar in concept to OS X.
Your "base system" with it includes things like KDE and X11, as well as having a nice shiny end-user friendly package manager.
but... you're not limited to being stuck with just the base system or stuff off pbidir, the PC-BSD stuff keeps in it's own directory structure, and you can use the usual freeBSD tools like portsnap and pkg_add to add extra software.

Basically, IMO PC-BSD is probably a good choice for you as you get a working system out of the box, but aren't really loosing much (any?) in the way of real UNIX when you open the terminal.


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## virtualu2 (Jul 3, 2009)

*newbie - command line and pc-bsd versus linux (ubuntu, mint, etc)?*

Hi,
Thanks everyone!  I am giving PC-BSD a shot.  I had read a thread on the PC-BSD forum about Vmware workstation and virtualbox not being stable at all on pc-bsd, does anyone know if that is true or maybe just one users experience?

I like the pc-bsd system, it looks awesome and I like the freebsd system (only used it a SMALL bit), but its reputation is unbelievable.

As I mentioned I don't want to just point and click, but I do want a nice looking system as well and this seems to fit the need.  I have a laptop and want to run virtual systems on it and also on my desktop.

How is the multimedia support and stuff like that for non-work things?  Does WINE tend to run OK?  I have only a couple apps I might need it for, but who knows.  

Thanks Again, great forum and members!


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## lme@ (Jul 3, 2009)

Wine is pretty good pre-configured under PC-BSD.
AFAIK Wine runs a bit better on Linux than on FreeBSD, but you still can run a lot of Windows apps.


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## harishankar (Jul 3, 2009)

To get a desktop oriented system off the bat, PC BSD seems to be a much better option, because with FreeBSD you'll have at least 3 or 4 hours of work before it's set and shiny as a desktop (configuring, tweaking, installing additional stuff etc.)

If you have the time and inclination to dive into the deep end, I recommend FreeBSD. If you want a working desktop in a short time and yet use a BSD OS, PC BSD is a great choice.

I've used DesktopBSD once, it was a great project but I am not sure if it's still active.


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## MikeyIckey (Jul 3, 2009)

virtualu2 said:
			
		

> How is the multimedia support and stuff like that for non-work things?  Does WINE tend to run OK?  I have only a couple apps I might need it for, but who knows.



Very little configuration is required (if any) is required to get flash up and going in firefox. I believe there is a firefox-win.pbi that will do it for you. for other things like dvds, it's going to be the same process for PC-BSD as FreeBSD. You'll have to 

```
cd /usr/ports/multimedia
```
and install the required libraries and or programs, in my experience any way. But that part isn't really difficult. 

```
sudo make configure install clean
```
As far as wine working on PC-BSD? never used it myself on PC-BSD, so i can't really say other then I know windows firefox works. Hope that answered the question.


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## virtualu2 (Jul 3, 2009)

*Multimedia stuff*

Hi,
Thanks, is there anything that shows what you need to play movies and music, etc for libraries?


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## jb_fvwm2 (Jul 4, 2009)

```
cd /usr/ports/multimedia/totem
make run-depends-list
```
The latter ports will install before the former.


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## harishankar (Jul 4, 2009)

mplayer is the best media player you will find in *nix. Supports nearly every format.

And for a basic Flash plugin (for example to watch embedded flash videos), gnash does a decent job but complex Flash scripts will execute with errors on gnash.


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