# Ode To FreeBSD



## Nicola Mingotti (Feb 28, 2018)

I am very ethusiastic today, so much I could write a poem
If I was good at those things

Yesterday evening I understood how the printing system works !
After many years of using CUPS and undestanding nothing neither in Linux
nor on OSX (i dislike the name macOS, it makes confusion).
Before I was just clicking and pray the right PPD was making some kind
of magics, changing randomly parameters etc.

Following the Handbook I was able, not only to understand how the stuff works, not only to print on a printer I was using before from OSX, but also
on a printer I could never use with OSX !

It was easy at the end ! With wikipedia I checked the port used by `lpd` then I `nmap` my printers to see if they have such ports open. Then I checked what language the printers can understand from the makers homepage: one printer can read Postscript, the other needs PCL. So, after filtering what was to be filtered I was able to send files to both office printers and have print copies back ! ! !

I was so happy I can hardly say, suddenly what was an infernal topic, has become understandable.

I found FreeBSD almost by chance, I wanted to change OS on my BeagleBone Black, Linux is too much a mess, I tried first OpenBSD because I have it on some other servers and it works well but, it lacks USB in BBB so I looked for alternatives, FreeBSD popped up, I tried it and after that it has become my favourite desktop OS !

Documentation is of maximum importance, once somebody undestarnds things he can hack his way out of many problems. And also, have the pleasure to use something he understands. Like and old motorbike, which you could open and undestrand how it works, and change it if you wish !

Thank you to all people who contributed to write the Handbook and manpages they are really important and well done.


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