Hello there,

I’m new here.

I spent the last 2 weeks installing nearly every major Linux distortion on my laptop, one after another, gentoo included. Throughout the process I’ve learnt of the many hardware compatibility/driver issues, alongside Optimus support(currently using Nvidia). Come to think of it, I sorta learned Linux in 2 weeks..

I think I’ve gotten sick of Linux. My reason for originally ditching windows was based around the bloatware and heaviness of the os, alongside my use of it. I don’t use a lot of propriety software, nothing against it, just never had a need to use it. I also find it a personal challenge to do more with less resources.

Linux is overwhelming considering the sheer number of distros out there. It’s a mess. I’ve grown to learn that I prefer not to use Systemd, runit and openrc feels more manageable, I enjoy compiling from source, I like having dependencies automatically downloaded at times, I dislike DEs and prefer WMs, dislike the Linux community (immature) and lastly, I enjoy using the command line more than anything. Open SUSE left me longing for a more barebones distro, which led to my downward journey into gentoo. Gentoo was fun, but empty. I’ve been curious about BSD, FreeBSD actually, but I really wouldn’t mind anyone responding. User perspectives are valuable. Read a few things, watched a few videos, and came to realize BSD’s philosophy is really in line with my being, or at least I think I will be at peace once I use BSD.

My only question is in relation to the running of software in BSD. It seems to be an all rounded system. How different is it from Linux? How compatible are Linux softwares/games with BSD. I play only 1 game (factorio), I think I love it more than an operating system, would be nice to know if precompiled binaries, and shells are compatible on BSD.

Would really appreciate a response.

Before you desert Linux, take a look at AntiX, Tiny Core &/or SliTaz.

BSD uses GNU software, just as Linux does, they have their own repos.

I prefer OpenBSD as it is the least bloated when installed, but not all hardware works on it.

1 members found this post helpful.

The BSDs are a family of Unix-like operating systems. While their genesis came from the Berkeley Software Distribution of Unix, the major projects are all divergent. Applications must be ported to or between the various BSDs. There is no single "BSD" system.
With Linux, there is a shared Linux kernel, with each distribution layering on all of the drivers, utilities, libraries, and "scaffolding" to create each distribution's OS environment. The BSDs are each complete systems with kernels, libraries, utilities, and drivers as a cohesive whole.[1]

In both Linux and BSD systems, admins install additional software from third parties, as needed.Each of the major BSDs offer application installation from pre-compiled binary packages. But each package is specific to its own BSD -- these are separate operating systems.

The BSD projects are open source, and there is sharing of functional concepts as well as code. But each BSD implementation is different. For example, a FreeBSD hardware driver will not deploy on an OpenBSD system, or vice-versa, without significant effort by a kernel developer.

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[1] There are some BSD systems which are similar in structure to Linux distributions. They are typically a prepackaging of one of the major BSDs with additional software. GhostBSD and TruOS are examples of what could be called "FreeBSD distributions."

3 members found this post helpful.

Slackware is my version of Linux; I like it a lot. I like and run OpenBSD. OpenBSD is robust, secure, and comes with second to none documentation.

+1 for TrueOS if you are looking for something for the desktop.

I prefer OpenBSD however for it's clarity of design and exceptional emphasis on leaving the user in full control.

form my search and looking into trying (free) BSD distro's finding their isn't as much support either way, with apps and how to's. Linux has more apps and help. so I stayed with Linux.

I think you should consider applying for the next Guinness World Records issue then ^^

1 members found this post helpful.

Making fun of people is counter productive. I suggest that you try a few BSDs in a virtual machine, Zvoid.

When you say you found Gentoo "empty", how much did you actually install? The Gentoo philosophy is to install the very minimum you need for a running system (kernel, shell, utilities and package manager) and leave it to the user to flesh it out with suitable applications. They believe that providing default apps limits choice, since it is always less of an effort for the user to stick with the default than to install something else.

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FreeBSD has very good documentation as well as a very good forum.

OpenBSD has excellent documentation, FAQ, howtos, & support via Daemon Forums.

NetBSD has good documentation too, again with support via Daemon Forums.

Other BSDs maybe not so good.

You do need to be more hands on in general with the BSDs though.

1 members found this post helpful.

I would suggest starting with FreeBSD and working your way through the Free BSD Handbook; it is one of the finest pieces of documentation that I've encountered.

Even though are some differences among the different BSDs (OpenBSD is more GUI-oriented, TruOS is definitely desktop-oriented, and so on), that will give you an excellent foundation in BSD basics.

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OpenBSD certainly *can be* GUI-oriented, it depends on what you want to install. With the base install in OpenBSD you can choose to install x or not. Like FreeBSD OpenBSD can be perfectly used as a server without a GUI.

It does not look promising: https://forums.factorio.com/viewtopi...=27183#p174131

Precompiled binaries run natively on the platforms they're compiled for. As this is a proprietary game your only hope is if you can get it running on FreeBSD under Linux binary compatibility layer: https://www.freebsd.org/doc/handbook...c-install.html

I've not had the same experience with NetBSD docs, many I've seen were outdated / unmaintained.

And I have to stress that there is no "support", official or otherwise, for the 'BSDs via daemonforums.org. It's a general *BSD web forum.
Seems like a vague assertion. I have no experience of the FreeBSD derivatives, but in my experience DragonFly BSD is an excellent OS.

I was talking documentation.

(My experiences with other BSDs documentation wasn't so good.)

Daemon Forums have specific forums dedicated to the major three BSDs.

Daemonforums consists of users helping each other. It is not a support arm of any of the BSDs.