Brilliant and very useful for FreeBSD, IMHO

[John Martinez]

On Sunday, April 6, 2003, at 06:46  PM, Greg 'groggy' Lehey wrote:

>
> I don't think eye candy is the FreeBSD way.  I also don't see any good
> reason to have a special "FreeBSD" GUI.  It just means One More Thing
> To Learn.
>
> FWIW, there was a contest for a FreeBSD GUI a few years back, when we
> had pretty much nothing.  Nobody competed, so we dropped the issue.

I can see why.

A unified desktop with the other UNIX and UNIX-like operating systems 
is a good thing, to an extent. I'm glad it's pretty much settled on the 
two big ones, even though there are many others out there for the 
minimalists.

>> Or else, why would somebody choose DesktopBSD over one of the many
>> desktop Linux distributions?
>
> Because it's easier to use?  More reliable?  Faster?

Those are great points. Points that should be made when selling FreeBSD 
as a desktop OS, if that's what people want.

> If you think it can't be easier to use than Linux if it has the same
> GUI, you're looking in the wrong place.

I'm not looking for a GUI in FreeBSD. I know the greatness of FreeBSD. 
I use it every day.

I'm content with using KDE on a FreeBSD desktop, where needed. But what 
about somebody who can't configure X11 if their life depended on it? 
Right now, the uninitiated shy away and go to Linux for their 
"alternative" to the big one from Redmond. It's mainly because the GUI 
starts up at the beginning.

>> I prefer BSD myself, and that's one of the reasons I went with a Mac
>> with OS X.
>
> This is probably a good way to go if you like eye candy.
>

And a whole bunch of other reasons besides.

I'm not saying that FreeBSD doesn't make a good desktop. I'm just 
saying that certain aspects of it need to be changed in order for it to 
get broader acceptance. If the FreeBSD powers don't want that, then so 
be it. I'll still continue to use it (and its cousins) because I prefer 
it to Linux for many of my applications and needs.

-john