# What have you learned from using FreeBSD?



## sossego (Mar 18, 2012)

And what are you learning now?

Editing Makefiles. 
Setting up a system.
Architecture limits.


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## DemoDoG (Mar 18, 2012)

*A*void flash-based websites


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## bsduser35325 (Mar 18, 2012)

Setting up the base system and installing software using pkg_add.
How to add users.
How to use vi.
t'Is a lot more simple than Linux.
How to mount partitions.

Off Topic. Why is flash considered bad? Do you mean sites that are entire flash based? What are your alternatives for YouTube? I've tried HTML5 its not as fast.


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## Lorem-Ipsum (Mar 18, 2012)

That linux is not as UNIX like as it could be.
That FreeBSD's organisation (in terms of /usr/local ) is awesome and very convenient.
That building everything from source takes longer than I thought it would... :e
That I can't stand the c-shell.


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## drhowarddrfine (Mar 18, 2012)

bsduser35325 said:
			
		

> Off Topic. Why is flash considered bad?


Heavyweight plugin needed to run it. Doesn't work everywhere. Won't run on mobile well, if at all. Proprietary to Adobe so you rely on Adobe to keep it up to date (which they don't). 


> What are your alternatives for YouTube? I've tried HTML5 its not as fast.


Google will eventually switch everything to HTML5 audio/video. Browsers are just now coming up to speed with those elements. If you have hardware acceleration turned on, it's just as fast as Flash. Not all browsers have that.


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## UNIXgod (Mar 19, 2012)

bsduser35325 said:
			
		

> Off Topic. Why is flash considered bad? Do you mean sites that are entire flash based? What are your alternatives for YouTube? I've tried HTML5 its not as fast.



Years ago it was something that was difficult to set up or didn't work at all. When it worked it was limited to youtube videos. Games and rich media no doubt would never work due to adobe not supporting FreeBSD.( I'm assuming that this may have changed).

Binary blobs tends to break the core conventions of open source ideals and the hacker ethic. Flash cookies used for tracking and data mining are outside the browser and therefor cannot be controlled from within browser without installing a addon.

Adobe products have been known to to have some very bad security flaws which they are slow to fix. Even adobe reader can execute code (js if I am correct) which opens up the door for trojans and other "bad things" where executable code should stay far away from or user interactive in allowing the executable from their "trusted" source. Maybe they didn't learn from M$ issues over the years where an application level exploit can propagate from a user opening what would seem like a friendly and useful document.

(Disclosure: I purchased Macromedia stock years ago during the bubble. It was later converted to Adobe. I advised my parents to buy apple. Looking back I should have taken my own advice)

For the OP:

I believe the most important thing I have ever learned from our community (as well as how this OS is designed) is to take the time to learn the standards because knowledge is ALWAYS portable. Reading man pages is essential for every one on unix system. If and when you fail... try and try again. It is essential to ones own self-actualization to fail at least once. Consider the first time you may have set up x11 or a web server. The process motivated by determination is amazing when you think of the things you may have learned comes back ten fold and you will carry that knowledge with you for the rest of your life.


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## fluca1978 (Mar 19, 2012)

I learned that documentation is a must, and since there are people spending time to write it, I must spend time to read it too.
I learned that the system must have a sense, and should not be an assembly of scripts, programs and configuration files placed somewhere. Each thing has a place and an aim.
I learned how much important is to separate the base from the rest of the system.
I appreciated the community, that is going to take decisions for the best of the OS and not to stop claiming someone.


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## throAU (Mar 19, 2012)

What have I learned?  Well just this last week actually:

iscsi-target is pretty non-production ready (performance not so good)
istgt has basically zero documentation on configuration format (in english anyway).


There are plenty of "tutorials" for istgt which basically say "replace contents of file with this" without explaining any of the configuration file options.

Yay.


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## DemoDoG (Mar 19, 2012)

bsduser35325 said:
			
		

> Setting up the base system and installing software using pkg_add.
> How to add users.
> How to use vi.
> t'Is a lot more simple than Linux.
> ...



I didn't mean that flash is bad, just that there is no native driver on FreeBSD and I don't feel like installing a whole linuxdist on my system just to get it running. 
I am very glad that HTLM5 is taking over more and more - it works very good on Youtube for me so now I really don't need flash, facebook works fine as it is too. Same goes for Java, I never install that on FreeBSD anymore...


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## break19 (Mar 27, 2012)

I've learned that ZFS is awesome on FreeBSD, too.


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## nekoexmachina (Mar 27, 2012)

*A*wk.
*B*ack up your data.
*C*sh is great.
*D*esktop metaphora sucks.
*E*dit it with vim!
*F*sck. Or not, with ZFS.
*G*make is worse than BSD-make.
*H*ack up and shut.^W^W^W^W
*H*EADS UP. Some important news in mail.
*I*'m the master of my system. The only master.
*J*ava is bad.
*K*sh does the job. (From obsd actually..)
*L*ua is great.
*M*akefiles could be easy to edit.
*N*ethack is a great game.
*O*ptions in kernel could actually be changed without pain.
*P*orts and packages. Port it and package it. 
*Q*. Vacant.
*R*un security audit from time to time.
*S*sh. Sssssh! 
*T*mux. Awesome, better than Screen.
*U*pdate when necessary.
*V*i. Powerful. Simple. Not emacs.
*W*. Vacant.
*X*.org 
*Y*. Vacant.
*Z*fs rocks. When your machine could run it nicely.


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## ManaHime (Mar 27, 2012)

One thing that I have learned on FreeBSD that will make me stay here and never look back at my years of Windows/Linux: ZFS :e


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## ring_zero (Mar 28, 2012)

What I have learned:

Watching QT4 compile is like watching paint dry, even on a fast machine.  Graphics card manufacturers suck.  How much easier sysctl is to use, as opposed to wading through ACPI scripts on Linux.  ZFS owns.  Things get loaded into memory a little differently.  FreeBSD is definitely good for desktop use, despite what others are saying.  Having an entire base system included with the kernel is a REALLY good thing.  Choose config options for ports wisely, you may wind up building everything but the kitchen sink.  *H*ow awesome this community is i.e, readiness to help, professionalism (most of the time :e), and just the sheer amount of collective knowledge here.

What I am learning now:

How to cope with the loss of KMS.  How to get the most out of AIGLX.  The FreeBSD kernel, and how to interact with it programmatically.  Makefiles, advanced shell scripting, the subtle differences between C on FreeBSD vs. Windows or even Linux.


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## sossego (Mar 30, 2012)

ring_zero said:
			
		

> What I have learned:
> 
> Watching QT4 compile is like watching paint dry, even on a fast machine.



 I had painted for a few years. There are roof paints that must be thinned with a special additive or they will dry within minutes upon contact with air. The base of the paint matters. Is it latex, oil, epoxy, etc? Is it tempura or acrylic? What type of oil are you using? Are you using an egg tempura? The last two questions are specific to painting as applied to creative arts.

Temperature and humidity affect the drying time of any paint. 
What material was painted? Was it treated? Did the person properly prepare the surface area?

What is the viscosity of the paint? What methods were used to apply the paint to the surface and with what equipment?

To which level of curing are you referring? Surface tack at zero or the entire layer to have become the plastic coating that paint is- for the most part?


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## ring_zero (Mar 31, 2012)

> I had painted for a few years. There are roof paints that must be thinned with a special additive or they will dry within minutes upon contact with air. The base of the paint matters. Is it latex, oil, epoxy, etc? Is it tempura or acrylic? What type of oil are you using? Are you using an egg tempura? The last two questions are specific to painting as applied to creative arts.
> 
> Temperature and humidity affect the drying time of any paint.
> What material was painted? Was it treated? Did the person properly prepare the surface area?
> ...



Nice.  That made me smile.  

It's a figure of speech, but I have seen acrylic exterior paint take quite a while, I do not paint myself per se, but a relative uses walnut oil based oil paints as an artistic outlet. As to the degree of dryness, I would think that surface tack at zero would be sufficient.  

And before anyone ends up painting a bikeshed , I will retract the off the cuff "like watching paint dry..." statement, and say that watching qt4 compile is like watching grass grow.


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## UNIXgod (Mar 31, 2012)

ring_zero said:
			
		

> watching qt4 compile is like watching grass grow.



But it keeps on spinning and spinning and ...


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## jrd1 (Apr 9, 2012)

Technologically wise, I have learned more about the innermost workings of Unix than I would have had I used Linux or some other *nix system. 

Examples: compilation from source, customizing software for a particular architecture to obtain peak binary performance, building and using custom kernels, building kernel modules, etc.

And, what is more, and perhaps most important, is that it can be a straightforward process (thanks to the well written FreeBSD Handbook). Case in point - try compiling and using a custom kernel in any version of Linux.

In fact, I am probably a better Linux user because of FreeBSD, (but, thankfully I don't use Linux).


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## tmp (Apr 13, 2012)

How to use pkg_add which is in many respects similar to Debian GNU/Linux's apt-get install.

How to use vi as I am a GNU Emacs person. To be honest, I enjoy elements from both but prefer Emacs.

So far, I have had a very rocky start using FreeBSD. I can see some potential benefits to running FreeBSD on my machines, but for now I'm running Debian GNU/Linux for personal and professional use.


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## nekoexmachina (Apr 17, 2012)

Also huge levelup on English knowledge goes for me.


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## silicium (May 4, 2012)

Build servers for home (NAS, www, sendmail), routers for lab (customized nanoBSD/BSDRP).
Avoid FreeBSD for music as there is no MIDI driver for onboard sound chips.


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## bluetick (May 4, 2012)

There is *always* something new to learn.


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## saxon3049 (May 7, 2012)

bluetick said:
			
		

> There is *always* someting new to learn.



Do you mind if I use that as a motto /signature?


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## qsecofr (May 9, 2012)

*M*ore than I thought there was to know. I just hope I can retain some of these things learned.


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## Cthulhux (May 29, 2012)

(Once I had understood how to set up a working FreeBSD) I have learned how to make new ports, update existing ones and how the ports tree works. Enough for now.


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## Gruelius (Jun 1, 2012)

*U*sing linux is bloody easy! *H*aha.


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## ctaranotte (Jun 1, 2012)

I have learned to connect with the Tao, to harmoniously cultivate my body and my mind and to rely upon Inner Alchemy practices.

I have also learned that some ports are evil, real evil, pure evil.


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## hitest (Jun 3, 2012)

I have learned that when I fail it is usually an oversight on my part; a thorough rereading of the Hand Book is the key to success.  FreeBSD has enabled me to be a better problem solver.


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## Deleted member 30996 (Jun 5, 2012)

I've learned I love to watch screen after screen of text scroll by for hours on end as I'm compiling ports after a fresh build.


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## jb_fvwm2 (Jun 5, 2012)

Trihexagonal said:
			
		

> I've learned I love to watch screen after screen of text scroll by for hours on end as I'm compiling ports after a fresh build.


In some cases (Multiple tty's or...) one can use sysutils/ttyload for a pretty graph to monitor the process.


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## Deleted member 30996 (Jun 5, 2012)

jb_fvwm2 said:
			
		

> In some cases (Multiple tty's or...) one can use sysutils/ttyload for a pretty graph to monitor the process.



Thanks, I'm checking ttyload out now. 

I like to monitor what's going on with my machines and in addition to gkrellm usually keep a small terminal open running pftop at the bottom of the screen, and maybe top too depending on what I'm doing. I just got a new 20" LED monitor so I've got plenty of screen space for it now. 

I always keep pftop running on my pfSense box with the monitor facing out toward the room so I can keep and eye on it too.


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## Bunyan (Jun 5, 2012)

Building additional kernel modules in FreeBSD is simple and easy unlike Linux, which is black magic.


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## anomie (Jun 5, 2012)

sossego said:
			
		

> What have you learned from using FreeBSD?



I've learned that simplicity, elegance, and beauty are conspicuously found together again and again. 

I've also learned that you'd better have a vetted backout plan (whether it's DRAC, ILOM, or a strategic at(1) job) if you're making packet filtering changes on a remote system.


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