[TUHS] Re: FreeBSD kernel not OK? (was: What do you currently use for your primary OS at home?)

[segaloco via TUHS <tuhs@tuhs.org>]

On Friday, March 8th, 2024 at 3:18 PM, Greg 'groggy' Lehey <grog@lemis.com> wrote:

> On Thursday, 7 March 2024 at 19:42:59 -0800, Larry McVoy wrote:
> 
> > On Thu, Mar 07, 2024 at 08:15:43PM -0500, Jeffry R. Abramson wrote:
> > 
> > > On Thu, 2024-03-07 at 13:08 +0000, Ben Kallus wrote:
> > 
> > FreeBSD and me got reconnected when Netflix wanted to hire me a
> > while back. While the kernel may be OK (it's not, ask me how I
> > know, I walked the code)
> 
> 
> OK, I'm asking. I've been there too, and I don't see any obvious and
> serious deficiencies.
> 
> > FreeBSD is stuck in the 1980s. Raise your hand if you have
> > installed FreeBSD in the last 20 years.
> 
> 
> /me raises.
> 
> > That "UI" for partitioning the disks, so arcane. The whole install
> > experience is awful.
> 
> 
> Agreed, some of the installation tools could do with improvement. But
> how often do you install FreeBSD? As I have already noted, I've been
> using it for 25 years or so, and in the early days I held classes on
> installing FreeBSD. By about 2000 they seemed a little pointless. In
> general, once it's there, it's there. You seem to be emphasizing the
> wrong part of the system.
> 
> > SunOS was a bug fixed BSD, so I really loved BSD. But BSD is so
> > dead it is not even funny. Linux is light years ahead. Here is an
> > example from more than 20 years ago. I was installing RedHat Linux
> > and the machine I was installing on didn't have a mouse. The
> > installer was graphical and it was just easier to tab through the
> > options than go find a mouse.
> 
> 
> Again, installation. How about using the system? And why should
> you need a mouse to install software?
> 
> Greg
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It's been a few years since I installed a Linux distro, but FreeBSD's installation process feels much more succinct, and agreed installation isn't something you'd be doing all the time.  In a production environment, I'd rather have the thing scripted anyway, copy VMs, what have you.

There's also something to be said for "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".  Different strokes for different folks, if you're coming to UNIX from a Windows world, the graphical install processes of many Linux distros are probably right up your alley, but if you're a minimalist, it can feel like a bit much.  I'd be much more concerned if I'm installing systems so often by hand that the quality of the installer is the make or break....

- Matt G.