Introduction
Recently I moved from Linux and Qubes OS to FreeBSD as my main desktop Operating System. An Operating System is a system of programs that helps you operate and work with your computer. So far the experience has been great. I do feel happy within this environment and see it as a professional growth opportunity. This is a short review of my experience with FreeBSD and how I expect to grow as a Unix-like user.
Review
There’s little use in installing an Operating System by itself. However, there's great opportunity in taking that OS and customizing it into a work-environment that augments your productivity. In practice, using FreeBSD or Linux as a Desktop OS may not be too different in a graphical way from using MS Windows as a Desktop, but they do offer a growth opportunity if turned into a personalised work-environment that augments your productivity with customized tools. Open Source licensed software also makes it easier to work with these programs in the future even if interest in them diminishes over time.
FreeBSD offers you hundreds of Open Source apps and tools, a powerful CLI interface that helps you automate tasks and their main system development and support is driven by an Internet community of users-developers and not necessarily depends directly on a business. A Unix-like system by design helps you interconnect these tools so they work together to help you produce new tools that solve problems. This system is also published with Open Source software licenses that allow you, help you and motivate you to participate in their development, even in an indirect way as a power user and community member.
As a user, you may contribute to the FreeBSD project in many different ways like creating documentation, providing support by answering questions in forums or simply by writing tutorials, guides and articles online. Of course, all of this is also possible for MS Windows, however Windows development is first driven by business interest and user interest second. Windows is designed to work best with proprietary software and file formats which may or may not be available in the future.
At home, I customized my FreeBSD desktop with i3wm and tcsh shell. Through this desktop I browse the web, write and work on personal software projects. My desktop also serves Virtual Machines and resources throughout my home network. This system includes automation shell scripts and UI customizations that do improve my productivity. I’ve been configuring and improving these tools for many years on Linux and now FreeBSD.
Online, I set up a VPS Server to host a Syncthing server and it is possible to run many more web sites and app projects. And those same tools I develop for my desktop work on my online server. With FreeBSD I automate my daily tasks, work on my hobbies and help others in an efficient and economical way.
Conclusion
Open Source software and Unix-like OSs like FreeBSD offer many advantages like automation, software customization and make it easy to work with it even if interest diminishes over time. Personally I choose FreeBSD and Linux for desktops and Internet servers. I do run Apple, Google and Microsoft Devices but I don’t aspire to use these devices as my primary devices in the future. Day by day I see how today it is easier than ever to run FreeBSD or Linux as a daily driver device. Hopefully, it'll be further improved in the future.
