# Total newb - FreeBSD or something else that begins with L and ends in X



## baggister (Oct 29, 2011)

.. or both? Had no experience in either, really. Am more of a windows man, I'm a developer by trade.

Last time I installed Slack, I found myself not knowing what to do! Also, I didnt know how or whether to install firewall software, antivirus, antispyware, etc
So I gave up.

Three years later, Im back to have another go at something different.

I'm interested in Slack, because of its lack of branding and vanilla packaging (thought not sure what this means - presumabely, no packages at all). Also because its stable, and more like unix than most other linux dists. Also, they say that slack isnt automatic, in that you have to tell it to do everything, so you get to learn a bit more of the system.
However, I'm worried that slack has 'proprietry' methods or folder structures, or is different from the 'standard'.

Im also interested in Freebsd because it too is more like unix (or bsd, or berkeley etc), and is thus more consistent; but I was wondering, is it too equally as brandless as linux, and vanilla-like? Does it follow that "you have to tell it to do everything" idea?

Also, does the standard FreeBSD come with other window managers by default, eg windowmaker, fluxbox, blackbox?

Thanks


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## DutchDaemon (Oct 29, 2011)

Start here first, FreeBSD? So, what is it?, or you'll be asking more questions than a thousand people can answer. FreeBSD has excellent documentation; it's probably best if you read that first.


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## hitest (Oct 29, 2011)

baggister said:
			
		

> I'm interested in Slack, because of its lack of branding and vanilla packaging (thought not sure what this means - presumabely, no packages at all). Also because its stable, and more like unix than most other linux dists. Also, they say that slack isnt automatic, in that you have to tell it to do everything, so you get to learn a bit more of the system.
> However, I'm worried that slack has 'proprietry' methods or folder structures, or is different from the 'standard'.



I am a FreeBSD user and a Slackware user.  I suggest that you read the ample documentation provided by both excellent operating systems before you attempt an installation.  It may be an idea to try out these operating systems in a virtual environment prior to doing a HDD installation (VMWare, etc.).  In this way you can decide for yourself which system meets your individual needs.
Slackware does a good job with providing unmodified applications from upstream providers (vanilla source code), that is, the source code from companies like Mozilla are provided as is without modification.
Both Slackware and FreeBSD are similar in that they use a text-based installation system; system configuration is achieved using a text editor.
Best of luck with your choice of operating system.  Preparation is the key to success. 

Edit: Added later
You say you are a developer yet you are unaware what the term vanilla packages means?!


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## SirDice (Oct 29, 2011)

baggister said:
			
		

> Does it follow that "you have to tell it to do everything" idea?


That, actually, sums it up pretty good :e


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## Dru (Oct 29, 2011)

A developer by trade, yet you dunno how to use a forum search feature, Google search or read any documentation....awesome.


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## fonz (Oct 29, 2011)

baggister said:
			
		

> Last time I installed Slack, I found myself not knowing what to do!


Boot. Partition the disk(s). Run the installer. Reboot. Quite a run-of-the-mill procedure, really.



			
				baggister said:
			
		

> how or whether to install firewall software, antivirus, antispyware, etc


A firewall might be useful. For Linux, read the HOWTO. For FreeBSD, see the relevant section of the handbook.



			
				baggister said:
			
		

> vanilla packaging (thought not sure what this means - presumabely, no packages at all).


Nope. It means the packages have not been modified.



			
				baggister said:
			
		

> However, I'm worried that slack has 'proprietry' methods or folder structures, or is different from the 'standard'.


There is nothing proprietary about Slackware itself. Directory ("folder" is Windows talk) structure (you probably mean where system files are to be found) differs between UNIX systems of all kinds.



			
				baggister said:
			
		

> Does it follow that "you have to tell it [FreeBSD, red.] to do everything" idea?


That is generally the UNIX idea, yes. 



			
				baggister said:
			
		

> Also, does the standard FreeBSD come with other window managers by default, eg windowmaker, fluxbox, blackbox?


First: What do you mean by "other"?
Second: Out of the box, FreeBSD doesn't even install X-windows, let alone any window managers. But they can be installed manually.

I suggest you have a look at PC-BSD. It's based on FreeBSD, but probably more to your liking.

Fonz


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## hitest (Oct 29, 2011)

baggister said:
			
		

> Last time I installed Slack, I found myself not knowing what to do! Also, I didnt know how or whether to install firewall software, antivirus, antispyware, etc
> So I gave up.



Installing a firewall is a good idea for Slackware.  Eric has an easy-to-use firewall generator.

http://connie.slackware.com/~alien/efg/

A decent utility for malware is rootkit hunter which can be found at Slackbuilds.org.

http://slackbuilds.org/repository/13.37/system/rkhunter/


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## baggister (Oct 30, 2011)

Thanks all, loads of stuff to read and get me thinking.

Btw, when I said I didn't know what to do, I meant, "right, I've installed Slack, started x, what now?" Haha! But because I used to tend to play games on my PC, I tended to just do everything on Windows. I've recently wiped my drive, so good time to start again. Besides, I'm sick of games.

I am a developer, but I'm not young (over 40). I have googled, of course. I've spent hours (in total over a period of 3 or 4 days) googling for differences between Slack and FreeBSD, and "Vanilla Packages" (well I must have come across the phrase from somewhere - google ofc!), and window managers/desktops. Didn't get the answers I needed, so here I am.



			
				fonz said:
			
		

> First: What do you mean by "other"?
> Second: Out of the box, FreeBSD doesn't even install X-windows, let alone any window managers. But they can be installed manually.
> 
> I suggest you have a look at PC-BSD. It's based on FreeBSD, but probably more to your liking.
> ...



Well, last time I installed Slack, I thought it was totally fantastic the way you could switch window managers between Windowmaker, fluxbox, blackbox, ICEWm simply from a dropdown menu - loved it, coolest thing ever! So Slack came with 5 or 6 I think, so wondering if FreeBSD also has this fantastic feature.

I had a look at PC-SD: looks like a BSD Ubuntu (bubuntu?) - not quite what I'm after, but thanks for tip, good to know about.

Right, will update in due course. Ta.


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## fonz (Oct 30, 2011)

baggister said:
			
		

> you could switch window managers between Windowmaker, fluxbox, blackbox, ICEWm simply from a dropdown menu - _[snip]_ wondering if FreeBSD also has this fantastic feature.


Not out of the box. It is of course perfectly possible, but you'll have to set it up manually.

Fonz


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## hitest (Oct 30, 2011)

baggister said:
			
		

> Well, last time I installed Slack, I thought it was totally fantastic the way you could switch window managers between Windowmaker, fluxbox, blackbox, ICEWm simply from a dropdown menu - loved it, coolest thing ever! So Slack came with 5 or 6 I think, so wondering if FreeBSD also has this fantastic feature.



Yes.  On Slackware if you set it to boot to run level four using KDM you can switch easily between WM/DEs.  In run level three you can issue the command *xwmconfig* and then you can select your DE/WM from the ncurses screen that comes up.
FreeBSD comes with Gnome and KDE on the 8.2 DVD I believe.  You can pull down XFce, Fluxbox, etc. using *pkg_add* or by using the ports tree.  You can have an easy selection of DE/WMs if you use KDM or GDM as your log-in manager with FreeBSD.  Or you can set-up your default DE/WM manually as previously mentioned.


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## baggister (Nov 2, 2011)

Right, installed Virtualbox on my Windows. intalled FreeBSD as well into virtual image. This virtual stuff is superb, isnt it? However, stuck at the moment - not able to connect to the internet from FreeBSD, need to surf around, could be some setting with VB - tried tinkering with network adaptor - NAT, Bridged, etc, no luck. OK I'll try and dig up an answer, don't want to use this thread.


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## Zare (Nov 2, 2011)

Put VirtualBox's network adapter in bridge mode with your LAN interface that has internet access. It will behave as same as your virtual guest was a physical box with NIC connected to same switch as your main computer. 

If you want to reach the goal of having multiple WM/DE's on your FreeBSD, you should do the following;

1. Read how to configure network under FreeBSD. Keep in mind how VBox's bridge mode works.
2. Read how to install 3rd party programs on FreeBSD using ports and/or packages system.
3. Install and configure X11 environment. You'll also want to install VirtualBox guest additions.
4. Install all window managers you want, together with some X11 session manager.

Everything can be found in the handbook.


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## Martillo1 (Nov 2, 2011)

About VirtualBox, it is a wonderful virtualizer, and it is what I use under FreeBSD, but under Windows I prefer VMware Player. I find it faster, even if it can only emulate 4 cores against 8 in VBox (in my i7 system). Maybe it is something related to disk access, maybe not.

However, VMware can only emulate IDE and SCSI drives, and VBox can also emulate SATA. I do not think it is a big issue, tough.

P.S.: I forgot something: VMware Player does not support Snapshots, so for experimentation VirtualBox is the way to go.


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## baggister (Nov 3, 2011)

Thanks dude, but got to the bottom if it - When I installed FreeBSD, I didnt configure Network. Rather than muck around with network config just yet, I just did a reinstall, leaving default settings in virtualbox (NAT).


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## baggister (Nov 3, 2011)

OK, well I tried to install X. It took an absolule eon (almost an hour). Even though I think I installed from DVD ISO and installed entire ports, there seemed to be an awful lot missing, and X install and was pulling alot of files from internet. Quite a few "expected this file to be there but cant find it. attempt to download" (it does succeed, by the way).
And then after nearly an hour, Install failed! with Error code 1 or soemthing! Jeepers. 
Welcome to the world of BSD/Linux haha!

Anyway, the point of this thread was for me to know more about FreeBSD compared to Slack, and I have; I dare say I'll be scouring the forums for XORG install stuff.

Big thanks to everyone for your help. Credo.


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