Future of FreeBSD: Software Store?

[Polytropon]

On Mon, 19 Nov 2018 17:46:02 +0000, MikaelNikolaev via freebsd-questions wrote:
> I am interested in running FreeBSD as a distraction-free productivity
> OS in the near future, however I was wondering if there was a text-only
> software "store" included?.

Yes. It is called "The Ports Collection" and consists of several
1000s of software products ported to FreeBSD. You can build them
from source or use pre-compiled (binary) packages which is very
convenient. The interface to do this is the command line tool "pkg".
To install something, for example, you run

	# pkg install foo

as root to install the "foo" software. If you have installed the
ports tree locally, you can also use "make <subcommand>" to search
for specific software, for example:

	# cd /usr/ports
	# make search name="foo"
	# make search key="foo"

To obtain the ports tree, the "portsnap" program is the easiest way.
It _can_ be used to install software from source, but it can also
serve as a source of information for further use with "pkg".



> I believe the biggest issue with FreeBSD, is that it seems very
> difficult to install new software onto it or otherwise learn the
> ins and outs of the OS.

I don't think so. Instead of searching the web, manually downloading
arbitrary stuff, or using the "curl | sudo bash" approach, and still
ending up with something that doesn't really work on your system
(because it was constructed to work on a similar, but slightly
different system), FreeBSD's "pkg" is one of the easiest ways to
install software. It keeps track of required dependencies, and you
can even use it to keep your software up to date - no need to enter
each program manually and rely on its own updating mechanism.



> I believe everything should be easily accessible within the OS
> itself, instead of having to browse for links and commands on
> an Ubuntu or even Windows 10 machine.

Definitely true. This is what "pkg" is for. You'll also find
locally installed documentation ("man pkg"), as well as sub-manuals
for the pkg subcommands (for example, "man pkg-install").



> I believe a lot of good can come from an easy-to-use, text-only
> and productivity focused OS and I hope FreeBSD will be that in
> the future!.

On servers, this is what many sysadmins are doing for decades.
And FreeBSD can also make an excellent desktop, for work, or at
home, for programming, for gaming, for audio/video editing...
At least for me, FreeBSD has been that system for many years. ;-)



> Many people nowadays are distracted by social media and the
> sheer amount of 'things to do' that they forget about the
> meaningful things in life and getting actual work done.

This is a problem in work environments where physical presence
is valued more than getting actual work done. "Work smart, not
hard" often doesn't pay. A quick solution for social media
distraction is to block the few big relevant providers, because
without Internet access, social media doesn't work - and this
approach is totally OS-agnostic. :-)

The "things to do" problem, in my opinion, is based on the
wrong use of means of communication: Asynchonous communication
such as email is misunderstood as synchronous and immediate
communication; inboxes are flooded with nonsense (like "mail
to all" settings), and people often cannot understand how to
use email in an efficient way where their work could benefit
from. On the other hand, you have social media, messenger
services, paper memos, and workers are bombarded with "things
to do". Those who cannot assign priorities, "scan & sort", or
those who have a PHB infront of them who urges them to read
everything because it _might_ be possible something important
is buried in the endless chain of top-postings of course cannot
be very productive...



-- 
Polytropon
Magdeburg, Germany
Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0
Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ...