Is TrueOS like the Ubuntu of the BSD's? Looking for a BSD I can use that is also user friendly for non-technical users that will be using my computer. reddit / BSD ---------------------------------------------------------------------- RenritsReddit · 2017-12-18 14:25 Thanks in advance, pretty new to BSD, came over from Linux. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- rectagonal · 2017-12-18 14:34 TrueOS's relationship wth FreeBSD is not the same as Ubuntu's relationship with Debian. It does however strive for "ease of use" with graphical installers and it strives for a comfortable out of box experience. Though if your mostly concerned about non technical users that will be using/logging-into your computer I would think the desktop environment you select for them would be the biggest issue there making the OS choice moot. But I don't know your exact use case. EDIT: Might be a good idea to try /r/trueos or state more details as to what your looking for. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- tele-caster-blast3r · 2017-12-18 15:06 I have a hard drive with a working FreeBSD os, minus sound...I’ll get there. I’ve tried trueOS, and I didn’t have much luck with it, nor did I like the DE. I hear good things about their app cafe, and I really want to like it, but I can’t get past the DE. Have they gone back to the PC-BSD options of allowing you to choose a DE? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- jsalpha2 · 2017-12-18 15:42 Lumina is the default DE and can be made to look like other DEs. Or you can just install Xfce and log out of Lumina and into Xfce. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- rkoberlin · 2017-12-18 17:05 Lumina has come quite a way within the last year or so. If you haven't tried it, I recommend checking out the 1.4 update. If you really want to make Linux comparisons, FreeBSD would be a minimal Linux installation, while TrueOS would be akin to Ubuntu, Fedora, or another distro that comes ready to use, with little adjustment required. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ben_bai · 2017-12-18 18:00 Yes, TrueOS is the most Ubuntu-like BSD. I always think of it like: Ubuntu -> TrueOS Debian -> FreeBSD ArchLinux -> OpenBSD Slackware -> NetBSD ---------------------------------------------------------------------- bit_of_hope · 2017-12-18 18:19 Don't take this as discouragement from trying BSD, far from it, but I wonder if someone who prefers a non-technical user's OS would appreciate any difference between a user friendly Linux distribution and BSD flavor. If you are an advance user yourself and concerned with regular joes using your machine, you can install a user friendly desktop environment on any major BSD. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- pavetheway91 · 2017-12-18 19:32 > TrueOS is the most Ubuntu-like BSD. Far from it. TrueOS is based on FreeBSD -CURRENT, which is the development branch of the next major FreeBSD release. It should be considered alpha stage software. Ubuntu on the other hand is battle- tested, gives you five-year lifespan and offers additional services such as corporate support, live patching and protection from patent trolls. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Nanosleep · 2017-12-18 20:02 Same as with linux, if you want something user friendly for non- technical users, that decision probably has more to do with your given desktop environment than the particular distro you choose. As long as you have a nice kde/gnome/whatever setup frontended by a pretty display manager, and as long as the user won't really be *maintaining* the system but rather just a user on it, does it really matter what the underlying OS is? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ben_bai · 2017-12-18 20:52 Yes, from the BSD side it's still the most like: Looking for a BSD I can use that is also user friendly for non- technical users that will be using my computer. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- jeremiahs_bullfrog · 2017-12-19 02:14 Ubuntu is cut from Debian Sid packages, which is the development branch of Debian. There's an LTS option, which means they support that package set for longer. If you're on the regular releases, you're essentially running "bleeding edge", so maybe like TrueOS if it was based on STABLE instead of CURRENT. You're not running "battle tested" anything until the first point release of Ubuntu LTS, and even then it's still a bit new. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- jeremiahs_bullfrog · 2017-12-19 02:20 I disagree. If I were to compare, I'd do: * TrueOS - Ubuntu non LTS * FreeBSD - Debian with Arch's AUR * OpenBSD - Alpine Linux * NetBSD - Void Linux ---------------------------------------------------------------------- daemonpenguin · 2017-12-19 02:58 There is a similarity. TrueOS is based on the latest development branch of FreeBSD like Ubuntu's relationship to Debian's Unstable branch. And TrueOS is designed to be more user friendly on the desktop, much like Ubuntu. However, because TrueOS is a rolling release and you're constantly on the cutting edge, things tend to change a lot. It's mostly geared towards admins and developers. If you're looking for a stable experience, like Ubuntu LTS, then I think your best bet might be GhostBSD. GhostBSD is also a desktop OS based on FreeBSD, but it's more geared toward beginners. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- cweimann · 2017-12-19 03:18 We would be glad to hear which BSD you think is MORE Ubuntu like. Saying TrueOS isn't doesn't help the OP at all. If you think TrueOS isn't in that slot then tell us what you think is. I think the statement "TrueOS is the most Ubuntu-like BSD." is perfectly accurate. That sentence doesn't say it is equivalent. Just most like of the BSDs. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- RenritsReddit · 2017-12-19 07:39 I more like BSD as a philosophical thing. I'm into open-source/free software, but I like permissive licenses like BSD/MIT more than GPL. It's what initially got me looking into the BSDs. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 9degrees · 2017-12-19 13:50 I really like what TrueOS is trying to accomplish in the BSD space, but it's a bit quirky for my tastes right now. GhostBSD may be more comfortable for a user coming from Linux and/or not comfortable using the command line for updates and other settings such as wifi. There is also less chance of breakage after updates on GhostBSD—an issue many TrueOS users have experienced in the past, though, TrueOS now has a stable update branch which should hopefully minimize breaking stuff. If you can, try them in a virtual machine to get a feel for what you want. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- galiji · 2017-12-19 15:48 I don't think it matters which BSD version you decide on provided that you have their DE configured and explained to them. I set my old man up with a NetBSD laptop running Xfce. Granted, he only uses it to surf the web and email. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ben_bai · 2017-12-19 17:46 Exactly. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MaskedCoward · 2017-12-21 14:31 It doesn't look like it. https://forums.freebsd.org/threads/63746/ You're probably better served by just installing FreeBSD and then pkg install xorg pkg install [ DE-or-WM-of-your-choice ] It's really not difficult to get a FreeBSD desktop set up, if your hardware is supported. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- RenritsReddit · 2017-12-22 22:38 So if I wanted XFCE I'd just type in this? >pkg install xfce or this for Lumina? >pkg install lumina ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MaskedCoward · 2017-12-22 23:02 Yes. Then, unless you install a display manager (I don't), create ~/.xinitrc with, for example if xfce: # xfce exec ck-launch-session startxfce4 I don't know what the entry would be for lumina, but pkg has handy little messages after install that typically provide instructions on what configuration needs to be done. It's not necessarily "so easy anyone could do it," but FreeBSD has made good progress on desktop use over the last couple of years. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- RenritsReddit · 2017-12-22 23:14 What's a display manager? Sorry. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MaskedCoward · 2017-12-22 23:23 Basically a login screen when you first boot up. Often with Linux it's automatically installed. If starting an x session from the command line isn't something you're comfortable with, I would suggest checking out the handbook section about installing graphical desktops. Don't get discouraged, there's nothing *hard* about it, just some things to get familiar with. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- wsenn · 2017-12-23 23:58 Lumina looks nothing like Ubuntu's Unity or Gnome, or KDE, or .... Sheesh, everyone who's saying - yes, it is just like Ubuntu - either have never used Ubuntu, or have never used TrueOS. If however, you're talking about the installer, uh, ok, it's pretty easy to install. If you want a usable BSD for desktop use, FreeBSD is prolly where you wanna go with whatever Desktop you like. (me, I prefer XFCE or KDE Plasma, but there are plenty to choose from including Lumina, which is promising, but no where near as mature as the usual Gnome, KDE Plasma, or even XFCE). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- xMrIs · 2017-12-24 10:23 I don't think that fBSD supports Polaris. The gfx page says that Volcanic Islands "Not supported". I m using the latest drm-next-kmod on my Kaveri R7 gfx (older than Polaris) and still no gfx accelerator. the ONLY BSD that works fine is the Dragofly BSD, just to gibe an idea : (glxgears fps on my system) GhostBSD/FreeBSD : 835 fps Ubuntu: 4035 fps DragonflyBSD: 4400 fps