Re: About to install FreeBSD as a Desktop...
On Saturday 21 September 2002 19:17, Gary W. Swearingen wrote: > > Yes, I prefer mplayer. But there is VLC, Xine and Ogle as well (all in > > ports). > I thought DVD playing required the use of patented mathematics (I know > it's mathematics, even if they call it algorithms or methods or even > software), secret country codes, etc. What's the current situation? > How do the above players manage it? Are they legal in most countries? Xine is quite legal in all countries, but some of it's plugins are not. VLC, mplayer and Ogle breaks CSS, and is possible illegal in the US ... and with the infosoc directive in all EU-countries by 22nd december. That means, by 22nd of december I will become a criminal... civil disobedience is the path I'll choose. Bjarne -- Homepage: http://www.mekanix.dk To Unsubscribe: send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
Re: About to install FreeBSD as a Desktop...
Bjarne Wichmann Petersen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Yes, I prefer mplayer. But there is VLC, Xine and Ogle as well (all in ports). I thought DVD playing required the use of patented mathematics (I know it's mathematics, even if they call it algorithms or methods or even software), secret country codes, etc. What's the current situation? How do the above players manage it? Are they legal in most countries? To Unsubscribe: send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
Re: About to install FreeBSD as a Desktop...
On Saturday 21 September 2002 00:13, MET wrote: > Other than that I just need some > productivity apps, but nothing particularly special. S, what's the > REAL difference between 4.5 and 4.6.2? Well, bugfixes for one thing, but also some added functionality (FBSD keeps improving ;)). Best thing is to run -STABLE (read the FreeBSD Handbook on how to do this), and keep your ports-tree current. So, just install 4.6.2, update to -STABLE, update your portstree, and then install KDE, X and all the other needed stuff. Voila, you've got neat Desktop-computer. ;) > And finally, I've really only used FreeBSD as a work environment so I've > never had the chance to answer this question myself.can I view > DVD's? And if so what program should I use? Yes, I prefer mplayer. But there is VLC, Xine and Ogle as well (all in ports). Bjarne -- Homepage: http://www.mekanix.dk To Unsubscribe: send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
About to install FreeBSD as a Desktop...
So, following up the subject, I'm getting (finally) MY OWN laptop. Not a company owned or school loaned. It's a very nice machine that is shipping with XP Pro and I CANNOT wait to get it off. So here's the problem, do I install FreeBSD 4.5-1 which is what I've been running on my servers for quite some time now. I have no issues with it, it makes me happy. Or do I install 4.6.2 which has been released on CD and everything (as was 4.5). I'd like to use the machine for development (KDE apps and Web) which would naturally require me to run the latest versions of XFree86 and KDE. Other than that I just need some productivity apps, but nothing particularly special. S, what's the REAL difference between 4.5 and 4.6.2? And finally, I've really only used FreeBSD as a work environment so I've never had the chance to answer this question myself.can I view DVD's? And if so what program should I use? ~ Matthew /** Matthew Metnetsky [EMAIL PROTECTED] **/ To Unsubscribe: send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
Re: FreeBSD as a Desktop
On Thursday 25 July 2002 02:23 pm, MET wrote: | There is without a doubt that FreeBSD is an amazing server OS, but how | well does it stand as a desktop, or rather a laptop. To be blunt, I'm | tired of Microsoft and was wondering how feasible it is to run FreeBSD | as my Laptop OS. I will do some searching, but are there good GUI | environments for word processing, C/C++ development, email, ICQ, some | port of AOL Instant Messenger (I can't believe I'm putting this here), | MP3 players/converters, web browsers that actually keep up to date with | the standards, and anything else commonly used ? I think that at this point, FreeBSD with KDE3 is probably better than Windows for the desktop. It still lags on games, though. But if you don't need actual commercial software, OpenOffice has great office programs (it's a sort of branch from StarOffice), ogle plays DVDs, mplayer plays anything that Windows Media Player plays (and future versions will support quicktime-sorenson 1 and realplayer). Flash and realplayer and all that jazz runs under FreeBSD. And if you have a few windows apps you have to use, there's always wine. So, yes, I think it's up to snuff. -- Brian, the man from Babble-On . . . . [EMAIL PROTECTED] (personal) http://www.babbleon.org http://www.eff.org http://www.programming-freedom.org To Unsubscribe: send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
Re: FreeBSD as a Desktop
On Thursday 25 July 2002 06:41 pm, Jeff Jirsa wrote: | On Thu, 25 Jul 2002, Ed Yu wrote: | > 4. Things like right click to change resolution and | > wizards to help setup things, and various other small | > things. But once you get the hang of it, you will | > stick with FreeBSD, trust me. | | This type of thing is what still bothers me, after years of using various | systems... X, by its very nature, is not made to be reconfigured once it's | running. If someone would take the time to make it | 1) easy to configure (linux installers have basically done this) | 2) easy to reconfigure while running (if it exists, I haven't seen it) | X would instantly become more usable. On the other hand, for laptop use you never want to do this. Sometimes under Windows you do to deal with broken applications, but it's always a terrible idea to use any resolution other than the native hardware resolution on an LCD display--the resampling always looks vastly inferior to the native resolution. -- Brian, the man from Babble-On . . . . [EMAIL PROTECTED] (personal) http://www.babbleon.org http://www.eff.org http://www.programming-freedom.org To Unsubscribe: send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
Re: FreeBSD as a Desktop
On Thu, 25 Jul 2002, Ed Yu wrote: > 4. Things like right click to change resolution and > wizards to help setup things, and various other small > things. But once you get the hang of it, you will > stick with FreeBSD, trust me. This type of thing is what still bothers me, after years of using various systems... X, by its very nature, is not made to be reconfigured once it's running. If someone would take the time to make it 1) easy to configure (linux installers have basically done this) 2) easy to reconfigure while running (if it exists, I haven't seen it) X would instantly become more usable. > You can find substitutes for AIM (I know there is one > because I used it before, not Jabber, sorry I don't > remember the name) and Yahoo IM has FreeBSD version. Gaim and Everybuddy work well (read: acceptable as long as AOL/Yahoo/MSN have not changed their protocol in the last week). - Jeff Jirsa To Unsubscribe: send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
Re: FreeBSD as a Desktop
You can usually find substitutes for your applications on Windows. The only thing you would really miss is: 1. Outlook's scheduling support. (I know Evolution but it won't work with other people's Outlook if you don't buy the Connector from Ximian). 2. Games. (Yes, we have games but the popular games like Warcraft 3, etc. won't run) 3. Visual Studio. (If you like to program in this way.) 4. Things like right click to change resolution and wizards to help setup things, and various other small things. But once you get the hang of it, you will stick with FreeBSD, trust me. I run fluxbox (You should run KDE 3.0 or Gnome 2.0 if you are used to Windows) as my window manager. The three applications I use most often are Konsole, Evolution (for email), and Galeon (for web browsing). You can find substitutes for AIM (I know there is one because I used it before, not Jabber, sorry I don't remember the name) and Yahoo IM has FreeBSD version. -ed __ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Health - Feel better, live better http://health.yahoo.com To Unsubscribe: send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
Re: FreeBSD as a Desktop
I'm happy to say that I have been 100% Microsoft Free for the past 2 months. My laptop is a Toshiba Satellite 2715X/DVD. Running FreeBSD 4.6. I have a NetGear FA411 nic and I also use a Linksys wireless card for my home network. I'm a long time subscriber to the CD distribution of FreeBSD. I use KDE 3.0 as my Desktop. I purchased Star Office for Linux from Sun. I can read/save/print/create in Office 2000/98 format as well as StarOffice. One of the best $75.00 (not sure of the exact amount at the moment) I've spent on software in a long time. I use Evolution 1.0.7 for E-mail. I connect via IMap to an Exchange server when I need to. I have also thought about purchasing the Exchange connector from Ximian. I run Linux Netscape 6 and I also use the Konqueror. I run axyftp for my FTP client. I run xmms for streaming audio. I enjoy those shoutcast streams. I use Adobe Acrobat Reader for PDF files. I use shlight to connect to the NT network shares. I use sane to pull images off of my digital camera. I use XChat for IRC. I'm not a developer but I do some web site maintenance. I'm still looking for a good WYSIWYG web editor but I can kick it old school with vi. I'm a Network Engineer so I use Ethereal a lot. I use APSFilter to print to our network printers and to my printers at home. I use Konsole to do all my telnet/ssh stuff in. I use cu when I need to connect my serial port to the console of any network equipment. It's a great feeling. It hasn't been always easy but I'm happy with my setup. I play MP3's on my laptop but I dont usually rip and encode them on my laptop. I do those at home on my desktop machine. There is a port of the AOL Instant Messenger that a buddy of mine uses. I don't. Ray On Thu, 2002-07-25 at 13:23, MET wrote: > There is without a doubt that FreeBSD is an amazing server OS, but how > well does it stand as a desktop, or rather a laptop. To be blunt, I'm > tired of Microsoft and was wondering how feasible it is to run FreeBSD > as my Laptop OS. I will do some searching, but are there good GUI > environments for word processing, C/C++ development, email, ICQ, some > port of AOL Instant Messenger (I can't believe I'm putting this here), > MP3 players/converters, web browsers that actually keep up to date with > the standards, and anything else commonly used ? > > - Matthew > > > /** > > Matthew Metnetsky > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > **/ > > -- --- Linux is for people who hate Microsoft. BSD is for people who love UNIX. To Unsubscribe: send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
Re: FreeBSD as a Desktop
Mark Rowlands wrote: > On Thu July 25 2002 20:51, Kent Stewart wrote: > >>Jud wrote: >> >>>-Original Message- >>>From: "MET" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >>>To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >>>Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 14:23:10 -0400 >>>Subject: FreeBSD as a Desktop >>> >>>There is without a doubt that FreeBSD is an amazing server OS, but how >>>well does it stand as a desktop, or rather a laptop. To be blunt, I'm >>>tired of Microsoft and was wondering how feasible it is to run FreeBSD >>>as my Laptop OS. I will do some searching, but are there good GUI >>>environments for word processing, C/C++ development, email, ICQ, some >>>port of AOL Instant Messenger (I can't believe I'm putting this here), >>>MP3 players/converters, web browsers that actually keep up to date with >>>the standards, and anything else commonly used ? >>> > > > Something nobody else seems to mentioned. you can run ipfilter or ipfw. As > my laptop gets plugged into a lot of windows environments, running ipfilter > and only opening up what I need when I need it is kind of comforting. I rarely agree 100% with anything. I can always find something wrong. I use FreeBSD because it handles source in a consistent manner, i.e., cvsup and one source (VERY IMPORTANT), and ipfw for a firewall. I could probably use Darren's program but got started on ipfw. What other OS can you exchange email with the developer and get a solution to a problem in 15 minutes. The fix is also available to everyone in the world at the same time. The first bug I found in Windows 98 was 6 months before I had a fix. I beta tested NT and its versions and problems on my systems were fixed before it was released. Kent -- Kent Stewart Richland, WA http://users.owt.com/kstewart/index.html To Unsubscribe: send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
Re: FreeBSD as a Desktop
On Thu July 25 2002 20:51, Kent Stewart wrote: > Jud wrote: > > -Original Message- > > From: "MET" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 14:23:10 -0400 > > Subject: FreeBSD as a Desktop > > > > There is without a doubt that FreeBSD is an amazing server OS, but how > > well does it stand as a desktop, or rather a laptop. To be blunt, I'm > > tired of Microsoft and was wondering how feasible it is to run FreeBSD > > as my Laptop OS. I will do some searching, but are there good GUI > > environments for word processing, C/C++ development, email, ICQ, some > > port of AOL Instant Messenger (I can't believe I'm putting this here), > > MP3 players/converters, web browsers that actually keep up to date with > > the standards, and anything else commonly used ? > Something nobody else seems to mentioned. you can run ipfilter or ipfw. As my laptop gets plugged into a lot of windows environments, running ipfilter and only opening up what I need when I need it is kind of comforting. To Unsubscribe: send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
Re: FreeBSD as a Desktop
I agree with everyone else that FreeBSD is a perfectly fine desktop OS. (I run it on my laptop. So fast and steady.) Just wanted to add that Opera is the best web browser I've ever used. It's worth paying them the $35 fee to disable banners & fully register it. (If, like me, you use a web browser all day for everything.) The other good tip is to save all your Windows fonts, and read the FreeBSD manual about how to use TrueType fonts, anti-aliased. It really is a wonderful thing. Then there's a setting (I forget now) you can use so that Opera uses these anti-aliased TrueType fonts. Very beautiful. And will let you see all websites as they were designed for the Windows majority. To Unsubscribe: send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
Re: FreeBSD as a Desktop
Jud wrote: > > -Original Message- > From: "MET" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 14:23:10 -0400 > Subject: FreeBSD as a Desktop > > There is without a doubt that FreeBSD is an amazing server OS, but how > well does it stand as a desktop, or rather a laptop. To be blunt, I'm > tired of Microsoft and was wondering how feasible it is to run FreeBSD > as my Laptop OS. I will do some searching, but are there good GUI > environments for word processing, C/C++ development, email, ICQ, some > port of AOL Instant Messenger (I can't believe I'm putting this here), > MP3 players/converters, web browsers that actually keep up to date with > the standards, and anything else commonly used ? You may find that having a dual boot is the only satisfactory solution. I have because it isn't the browsers that cause the problems. It is the web pages. For example, one of the sites that I use for a reference is http://www.llanera.com/musica/instrumentos.html. The URL has some musical instruments that many of us have never heard about. If you visit with Internet Explorer, you can see them. If you visit using anything else, you can't. There are many sites like this but Llanera.com was the first one to come to mind. I trust the full blown messengers so well that I have them on a sacrificial system. The rest are hidden behind a natd'ed firewall. The document processors aren't there. For example, if you want DTP, you need something like Adobe PageMaker and I don't have a version that will run on FreeBSD. It is fully functional on Macs and Windows. I am using a version of Kword to print text from FreeBSD. A letter to someone important is printed on XP or W2K using WordPerfect. If I don't trust a site, I connect using KDE-3's Kongueror on FreeBSD. It is on a system behind me as I type this. I just swing around and enter the URL. YMMV Kent > > - Matthew > > > /** > > Matthew Metnetsky > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > **/ > > See http://www.freebsd.org/ports/index.html . > > Regarding running on your laptop, see > > http://www.freebsd.org/releases/4.6R/hardware-i386.html > > Yes, that's a bit cryptic, but these pages will > give you some answers, and allow you to ask more > specific questions. > > HTH, > > Jud > > > > To Unsubscribe: send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message > > . > > -- Kent Stewart Richland, WA http://users.owt.com/kstewart/index.html To Unsubscribe: send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
Re: FreeBSD as a Desktop
- Response ~ You can allmost do the same thing on FreeBSD as Windows just not the crazy support windows has. Your common stuff like Office, AIM, ICQ, C/C++ programming, etc. Can all be done on FreeBSD just as well as Windows. > - Original Message - > From: "Jud" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Thursday, July 25, 2002 1:27 PM > Subject: Re: FreeBSD as a Desktop > > > > > -Original Message- > From: "MET" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 14:23:10 -0400 > Subject: FreeBSD as a Desktop > > There is without a doubt that FreeBSD is an amazing server OS, but how > well does it stand as a desktop, or rather a laptop. To be blunt, I'm > tired of Microsoft and was wondering how feasible it is to run FreeBSD > as my Laptop OS. I will do some searching, but are there good GUI > environments for word processing, C/C++ development, email, ICQ, some > port of AOL Instant Messenger (I can't believe I'm putting this here), > MP3 players/converters, web browsers that actually keep up to date with > the standards, and anything else commonly used ? > > - Matthew > > > /** > > Matthew Metnetsky > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > **/ > > See http://www.freebsd.org/ports/index.html . > > Regarding running on your laptop, see > > http://www.freebsd.org/releases/4.6R/hardware-i386.html > > Yes, that's a bit cryptic, but these pages will > give you some answers, and allow you to ask more > specific questions. > > HTH, > > Jud > > > > To Unsubscribe: send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message > > To Unsubscribe: send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
Re: FreeBSD as a Desktop
On Thu, 2002-07-25 at 11:23, MET wrote: > There is without a doubt that FreeBSD is an amazing server OS, but how > well does it stand as a desktop, or rather a laptop. To be blunt, I'm > tired of Microsoft and was wondering how feasible it is to run FreeBSD > as my Laptop OS. I will do some searching, but are there good GUI > environments for word processing, C/C++ development, email, ICQ, some > port of AOL Instant Messenger (I can't believe I'm putting this here), > MP3 players/converters, web browsers that actually keep up to date with > the standards, and anything else commonly used ? Matthew: All of the above. Gnome and KDE for the desktop, WordPerfect/Abiword/StarOffice/OpenOffice for your productivity apps, Evolution or other for email/pim, LICQ for ICQ and there are apps for AIM, MP# players/converters galore, Galeon/Mozilla/Netscape/Opera for your browsing pleasure.. All of these and more available in ports. And I might say most of it came from the Linux World... --karl To Unsubscribe: send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
Re: FreeBSD as a Desktop
Yeah, it works great, I use it for a desktop. I too was tired of Windows so I decided to switch. For wordprocessing StarOffice / OpenOffice is out there (be warned though it takes a while to make) they work great. For programing I don't use an IDE, personally I'm a vi guy (I use vim and gvim) they work well for what I do. Some people use emacs, it's a preference thing. Email and web surfing can be done with mozilla. ICQ and AIM can be handled with gabber or gaim or some other ones out there. For mp3 players there are a lot out there in the ports colleciton. I use xmms and wmusic to dock it in WindowMaker. I'm quite pleased with FreeBSD as a desktop. It boots faster, shuts down faster. And I can use it for a test bed (I do web development). Probably the best thing so far is that it hasn't crashed too often, I think once or twice. And you can always rebuild the things that break :) So there's my little spiel on it. MET wrote: > There is without a doubt that FreeBSD is an amazing server OS, but how > well does it stand as a desktop, or rather a laptop. To be blunt, I'm > tired of Microsoft and was wondering how feasible it is to run FreeBSD > as my Laptop OS. I will do some searching, but are there good GUI > environments for word processing, C/C++ development, email, ICQ, some > port of AOL Instant Messenger (I can't believe I'm putting this here), > MP3 players/converters, web browsers that actually keep up to date with > the standards, and anything else commonly used ? > > - Matthew > > > /** > > Matthew Metnetsky > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > **/ > > -- -Jason Porter "Real programmers are secure enough to write readable code, which they then self-righteously refuse to explain." To Unsubscribe: send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
Re: FreeBSD as a Desktop
-Original Message- From: "MET" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 14:23:10 -0400 Subject: FreeBSD as a Desktop There is without a doubt that FreeBSD is an amazing server OS, but how well does it stand as a desktop, or rather a laptop. To be blunt, I'm tired of Microsoft and was wondering how feasible it is to run FreeBSD as my Laptop OS. I will do some searching, but are there good GUI environments for word processing, C/C++ development, email, ICQ, some port of AOL Instant Messenger (I can't believe I'm putting this here), MP3 players/converters, web browsers that actually keep up to date with the standards, and anything else commonly used ? - Matthew /** Matthew Metnetsky [EMAIL PROTECTED] **/ See http://www.freebsd.org/ports/index.html . Regarding running on your laptop, see http://www.freebsd.org/releases/4.6R/hardware-i386.html Yes, that's a bit cryptic, but these pages will give you some answers, and allow you to ask more specific questions. HTH, Jud To Unsubscribe: send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
FreeBSD as a Desktop
Title: Message There is without a doubt that FreeBSD is an amazing server OS, but how well does it stand as a desktop, or rather a laptop. To be blunt, I'm tired of Microsoft and was wondering how feasible it is to run FreeBSD as my Laptop OS. I will do some searching, but are there good GUI environments for word processing, C/C++ development, email, ICQ, some port of AOL Instant Messenger (I can't believe I'm putting this here), MP3 players/converters, web browsers that actually keep up to date with the standards, and anything else commonly used ? - Matthew /** Matthew Metnetsky [EMAIL PROTECTED] **/
