The way I see it, a capable workstation needs at least one of each of the standard apps: a capable browser, an office suite, an e-mail client, games, an FTP utility, audio apps, and a compression tool. All are included for free by default in a FreeBSD CD set. There are options for browsers, with Netscape and Mozilla being the most common. My experience with Mozilla was excellent. I wouldn't need another option. For productivity, there is the ever present and rapidly-advancing StarOffice suite. The source code of Star Office 6 is available for download at openoffice.org and works extremely well as an office suite. For e-mail, if you haven't begun using a web-based e-mail yet, look no further than Evolution from Ximian. Again, you can obtain the source code from ftp.ximian.com. There are more games than you can shake a stick at included in Gnome and KDE, and gFTP is a great FTP client that looks exactly like my WS_FTP on Windows. XMMS is an excellent audio player comparable to WinAmp that worked like a charm. Though I neglected to rip a CD, I know that grip is included in most distributions of GNOME. If that isn't enough, compression is built right into the system! In a nutshell, not once in the time that I played with FreeBSD did I find myself at a loss for an application.
Overall
FreeBSD was an experience I don't regret. If you're a Windows user and you're interested in trying something new, I'd have to recommend a standard distribution of Linux first. But if you're a Linux user not sure of which distribution to use, consider FreeBSD as an alternative. Its stability alone is noticeable over Linux, as well as the way it handles tough loads on the system resources. Another benefit is the extremely detailed online handbook that serves as complete documentation of the OS. Although I feel strangely compelled to use FreeBSD, I think I'll feel more strongly in a year or two with the next major release, version 5. FreeBSD, in my estimation, though entirely useable, is better suited as a workstation for a moderate to experienced Unix user who knows how to truly employ the benefits it offers, a high end graphics development center or some other super-stressed computer, or as a server OS - which is truly what it was intended to be. In the meantime, though, I'm keeping my options open.
About the Author
Adam Scheinberg is a Systems Administrator for the US Naval Sea Systems Command. He uses Windows XP, Red Hat Linux 7.2, and the BeOS at home, and Windows NT/2000 and Novell NetWare 5.1 at work. Adam can be reached on sethadam1@hotmail.com
- "Which *BSD is right for me?"
- "Installation"
- "Configuring the X Server"
- "Interlude: Some UNIX For Newbies"
- "FreeBSD at First Glance"
- "Applications and Conclusion"
