# freeBSD vs PCBSD?



## Grobar87 (Mar 15, 2010)

What the difference between FreeBSD and PC BSD?I heard a lot about FreeBSD but what about PC BSD? I am new to unix and i dont know how to configure FreeBSD (make wifi connection,installing gnome....)so i want to install PC BSD on my lap top.So if there any big differences? tnx.


----------



## vermaden (Mar 15, 2010)

PC-BSD = [ FreeBSD + KDE4 + PBI + Graphical Package Management + Preconfigured System ]


----------



## thuglife (Mar 15, 2010)

I think you should ask this question at the PCBSD forums.

Most members here are familiar with FreeBSD, in any case PCBSD should be a good starting point for you.


----------



## Grobar87 (Mar 15, 2010)

thanks... i'm so boried with linux..i want something better!


----------



## oliverh (Mar 15, 2010)

You'll certainly get something different, whether it's better depends on your daily routine.


----------



## z662 (Mar 18, 2010)

I used to use PCBSD for my desktop and relied on FreeBSD for my servers.  After a while though I switched back to FreeBSD for 2 reasons.  And this is purely my opinion.... 

When something was wrong with my desktop, due to a config file change or anything small/random (see this thread:http://forums.freebsd.org/showthread.php?t=11763) then I found it very difficult to get help on the PCBSD forums.  

A lot of the users seem to lack knowledge about what EXACTLY has been changed to the underlying OS and do not seem to be very technical in some instances.  Of course that is a dramatic simplification and not ALL were clueless, but they seem to outnumber the technially inclined in large numbers.  

Vermaden was accurate with the additions/modifications to FreeBSD, but again its finding out exactly WHAT has been modified and how those changes impact each other.  One example of this would be this thread http://forums.pcbsd.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=14945  Notice that no one was able to answer my question.  

These are just two small examples of why I switched to FreeBSD and have never looked back.  I like the fact that I can always get help but very competent people in a very short period of time, that the entire OS is EXTREMELY well documented and that I know (or am learning) what all of the config files do and how they interact with others.  Assuming you can read documentation and either already know how to configure X and get a desktop manager running or dont mind the learning curve then you shouldnt have any trouble.  Hope that helps.


----------



## tankist02 (Mar 18, 2010)

I can echo these sentiments. PC BSD was created for casual users who don't want to spend too much time with technical details. But doing that PC BSD changed the underlying system a tad too much for (some) advanced users. I much prefer ports to PBIs, but on PC BSD ports are relegated to second class citizens - criminals even - since they are run in jails. 

Personally I liked the DesktopBSD approach - more or less intact FreeBSD system with easy installation routine and pre-configured for desktop consumption. It is a pity the main developer quit and nobody picked up the torch...


----------



## oliverh (Mar 20, 2010)

>It is a pity the main developer quit and nobody picked up the torch

We were just a bunch of people and to be somewhat honest: Linux has got just a fraction of the desktop, FreeBSD the fraction of a fraction. Surely, we had a different approach than PC-BSD, but in the end we tried to build some kind of an 'entry-level FreeBSD'. Last not least DesktopBSD didn't gain any momentum.


----------



## fronclynne (Mar 21, 2010)

re: desktopBSD
The tools, though, should any crabno-based life-form chuse so to do, are there for the future enhancement of some project of the future.  Did I say "future" yet?  I should.

On the other hand, the BSD world is a bit unaccepting of the general sorts of concepts that "EZ-2-Uz" operating systems rely on, like clinking once to install your favourite malware.

On the gripping hand, linux's market share is mostly [due to|because of] its pernicious communist agenda.  And the $VALUE said about that, the $VALUE_JUDGMENT.


----------

