Re: Is GNOME on FreeBSD a good idea? Asking for a friend

Hi Frank,

I'm a Linux user and might be able to help you with some of your
questions, but I'm not a desktop environment expert. I just use a simple
window manager.

Anyway, even in Linux, you can use simple dummy packages to resolve
dependencies.

$ pacman -Qi pulseaudio gvfs | grep Des
Description: Dummy package
Description: Dummy package

GNOME stuff like the file manager needs gvfs for auto-mounting and for
trash and whatever else. This gvfs requires systemd. 

HAL is a good keyword, udev replaces HAL and is part of systemd.

Does your "friend" really want these menu bar-less windows without
window buttons and the other inconveniences of GNOME?

I don't know what has been solved or not solved in FreebSD with regard
to GNOME.

I would recommend a different desktop environment or a simple window
manager and, if necessary, installing one or two GNOME programs without
the entire desktop environment. I actually do that on my Linux computer.

Regards,
Ralf