Post · bonfire.cafe

@stefano@mastodon.bsd.cafe · 3 months ago

Edit: this is a positive, pro Open Source post, not a "us" against "them". When an Open Source project makes progress, is a progress for all the Open Source world.

FreeBSD 15.0 will allow users to install KDE Desktop directly from the installer. This is great news. I'm reading the comments on various news sites: “It’s too late”, or “What’s the point? No one uses it”. Or even “We already have Linux, we don’t need another OS”.

I may sound repetitive, but I really don’t understand why, in the Open Source world, people aren’t happy to have more alternatives to consider. Whether it's social networks, operating systems, or software in general, many seem to get stuck on the most popular solution and almost ideologically reject alternatives.
Fear of change?
Maybe - which is why progress is welcome, because once they see what other solutions are capable of, I’m sure they'll start to give them a chance.

Just yesterday I was talking about this with a colleague, but I’ll write about it in another post.

Time for my coffee.

#FreeBSD #OSS #OpenSource

wing

@wing@social.feather.onl replied · 3 months ago

@stefano Wholeheartedly agree! I've been a long time linux user but I've been looking at FreeBSD over the last few months with interest and while looking into various aspects of it I've come across a odd number of forum threads/reddit posts/etc of linux people with similar attitudes all saying the exact things about the *BSDs that windows users were saying about linux not too long ago 😐 You'd think the open source community wouldn't end up like this

Ángel

@angel@triptico.com replied · 3 months ago

I just don't get why people say things like these.

Monocultures are bad; biodiversity is good.

Steven G. Harms

@sgharms@techhub.social replied · 3 months ago

@stefano

Lived long enough to see apple almost sold for scrap, used to mitigate antitrust and then grow to serve as a counter to MSFT.

And then both coke and Pepsi decided to put AI in your OS forever.

We need Dr Pepper and rc cola and Squirt and maybe Fanta too.

/dev/loop0

@loop0@freeradical.zone replied · 3 months ago

@stefano you have to consider that most of those comments are just trolls that probably don't even use FOSS. I've been using Linux on desktop for 20+ years, but that's just because it is what I'm more comfortable with, and it just works for me. But I have zero beef with BSDs, and if anything, I want it to be better and improved. There's space for everybody. To me, people who make those kinds of comments just don't get it. It is the consumer mindset that you talked about in the past.

vermaden

@vermaden@mastodon.bsd.cafe replied · 3 months ago

@stefano

Whenever I hear such bullshit I reply them with this:

Its pointless to have Linux anyway when there are better desktop alternatives such as macOS or Windows.

From the other news - I have been using FreeBSD on my personal desktop/laptop since 20 YEARS - and I plan to do it for the rest of my life - because it just has a lot more useful features for me then Linux/macOS/Windows even combined together.

Not to even mention its a lot more simple/sane/sensible ...

I am more then OK with using (if I have to) Slack/Webex/Teams in the browser where they work perfectly fine.

Thomas Strömberg

@thomrstrom@triangletoot.party replied · 3 months ago

@stefano I agree completely, and used this post as an excuse to donate to the FreeBSD Foundation again. Platform diversity is not only critical for security purposes, but also for innovation - because you never know what combination of properties or behaviors will spark the next big thought in computing.

Thank you for sharing.

Peter Tribble

@ptribble@mastodon.social replied · 3 months ago

@stefano We had exactly those same naysaying from (certain parts of) the Linux community 20 years ago when OpenSolaris launched. Things never change.

Anita Lewis

@ajlewis2@social.vivaldi.net replied · 3 months ago

@stefano
"FreeBSD 15.0 will allow users to install KDE Desktop directly from the installer."

I'll definitely try it out.

Ninad Pundalik

@ni_nad@mastodon.social replied · 3 months ago

@stefano time for me to install fbsd again, thanks! With the ongoing work to support oci containers via podman too, it's a great combo!

Pete Orrall

@peteorrall@mastodon.bsd.cafe replied · 3 months ago

@stefano This is great news and certainly an improvement to both open source and FreeBSD.

While *I* would have preferred #xfce over #kde in the installer (because I am an XFCE user) that's not the point. The point being the FreeBSD team, based on user survey results, is *listening.*

To the people who leave comments like "it's too late" or "we already have Linux" then the point has been missed. What's great about #opensource is the plethora of choices. With #FreeBSD 15 offering #KDE, it means the quality of choices just improved.

Stefano Marinelli

@stefano@mastodon.bsd.cafe replied · 3 months ago

@peteorrall i agree. one of the great things about joining the BSD Conferences is that you understand how they're working and that they are listening.

Pete Orrall

@peteorrall@mastodon.bsd.cafe replied · 3 months ago

@stefano The BSDs are excellent operating systems and have great communities, FreeBSD in particular (because I have the most familiarity with it). Based on survey results and discussions, people want better a better desktop/laptop experience (myself included). It's great to see the team taking the feedback seriously and actively developing change.

2006 was my first interaction with FreeBSD and I really enjoyed it and it's only gotten better with each release. I've long said that if something were to happen to Debian, then I'd switch to it.

Nils M Holm

@AverageDog@mastodon.social replied · 3 months ago

@stefano
I am using #FreeBSD as my main operating system since version 1.1.5. It runs on my workplace computer, on my laptop, and on my raspis. I use it for writing books, and I am browsing the web on it right now. Thanks to the FreeBSD developers for their great work over the decades!

Gemma ⭐️🔰🇺🇸 🇵🇭 🎐

@gcvsa@mstdn.plus replied · 3 months ago

@stefano I think the problem with BSD is that it just really doesn't have much benefit for the average end-user, compared with Linux. The BSD license is very attractive for companies looking to build proprietary systems and software on top of the BSD base. The GPL is designed to ensure that companies who build on top of free software reveal their source code, to limit the end-user's exposure to lock-in and orphan software. This is not a matter of ideology; it's a matter of practicality.

subnetspider

@subnetspider@mastodon.bsd.cafe replied · 3 months ago

@stefano Let them whine, because you can't make someone happy who only seeks drama and hates joy. If they can't allow others to be happy, ignore them.

subnetspider

@subnetspider@mastodon.bsd.cafe replied · 3 months ago

@stefano Anyway, it's been years since I last used KDE on any OS. The last time I did so was on a FreeBSD 13 laptop. Can't wait for 15.0-RELEASE to try it out once more. 😁

David Chisnall (*Now with 50% more sarcasm!*)

@david_chisnall@infosec.exchange replied · 3 months ago

@stefano

20 years ago, those exact same people would have been saying ‘why use Linux, Windows works great!’ Or ‘Linux is fine on the server, but just get a Mac or Windows machine if you want a usable desktop’.

The Linux fanboy community now is indistinguishable from the Windows fanboy community back when I first used Linux.