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We know the dominance of Windows and the “alternative mac OS,” as perceived by the world. Yet a there is a fringe population that uses BSD or Linux. I use Fedora or Ubuntu-based operating systems on a daily basis. When I started using Linux, I briefly heard whispers of BSD on forums and articles. Finally, after becoming moderately confident in my understanding of the command-line, I ventured into the BSD realms. I downloaded the major and minor BSD variants. Yet I could not install the OS to a Lenovo SL500, due to bootloader issues. So I left BSD off to the side and deepened my understanding of Linux.
However, a few months later I needed to completely clean some hard drives, so I purchased the PartedMagic iso. I burned the iso to a USB drive successfully. I booted the Lenovo from the Partedmagic thumb drive, and flawlessly erased the SATA drive.
My first attempt for BSD installation was True OS. True OS installed easily, but the only available DE is Lumina. It is a homebrew project by the developers. Overall, I could navigate and use the operating system on the Lenovo. However, the DE felt like an unfinished product, and there were no other DEs available. It is true I can choose XFCE from their App Cafe, however it seemed rather redundant. Why install Ubuntu Gnome, and then have XFCE installed? I firmly believe that secondary DE sessions lack the core skills of any primary DE. So I scrapped the idea of using True OS – perhaps, in time, Lumina might become refined.
I created a bootable GhostBSD thumb drive and I began to see the attractiveness of BSD. I choose the MATE desktop since I am well versed with the DE.
TrueOS and GhostBSD are based off FreeBSD. FreeBSD is the most popular version of BSD. I easily updated the system and began installing the programs I use. At home, the laptop worked well. I had no problems with it. However, the laptop was difficult in a work setting. The BSD laptop would connect to any open WiFi. However it was difficult to manipulate the network manager to choose the correct WiFi Connection when it left my house. You could change the settings via the command line. Eventually I replaced GhostBSD with Lubuntu. The laptop is now used by my kids for school work.
I have a bittersweet taste using BSD. I wanted to like BSD, but I could not get over the little inadequacies. As a result I will not be using BSD in the future.
A BSD criticism is that Linux is just a kernel, but BSD is the whole operating system. I can understand this viewpoint to a certain degree. Linux is just a kernel, but companies like Red Hat, Canonical and SUSE fill in the rest of the OS immaculately for the common user. The BSD community does not offer a nicely packaged whole OS, at least on two different FreeBSD variants. If it offered a true alternative to Linux, then I would be writing this paper on a BSD workstation and not a Korora OS laptop.
If you truly want a positive BSD experience, I suggest using GhostBSD. TrueOS will be a great project once Lumina DE is matured.