openbox

[fox]

I decided I wanted to have a desktop other than Unity to use occasionally, and after my problems with KDE Plasma installed within vanilla Ubuntu, I went the other way for something minimal. I always liked openbox in Crunchbang and later in Bunsenlabs (still on my distrohopping laptop), but these use a customized version of openbox. I once tried to install vanilla openbox in Ubuntu, and was horrified as to how bare it was compared to the Crunchbang version. But that was years ago when I was a total neophyte. I still might be a pretty unsophisticated Linux user, but this time I was able to figure out how to customize vanilla openbox to the point that it is almost as usable as in CB and Bunsenlabs. I would be happy to do a talk on this in the future if members are interested. (But not before Bob's talk on TrueOS!!!)

[bobf]

Then you're not going to like my answer, Mike; my presentation consists of "I installed it, it didn't find my wifi, there's been no support for it instituted since FreeBSD 8.2-RELEASE - I'm done." (We're now at version 12.0-RELEASE, some 4 years later.)

I can install simple, plain-Jane distros like elementaryOS, SparkyLinux, et al, much less the heavy hitters, and if there's no support already there, there's a wellspring of information on how to enable it, with the entire Linux community helping. "The 'BSDs" have always been a more server-oriented, CLI-based entity - witness the absolute security of OpenBSD, which identified two - count 'em, 2! - bugs in its lifetime, both of which were patched, and which provides an impregnable product-to-beat foundation - in an open-source offering.

Until you incorporate a desktop onto it, at which point, all bets are off.

I could wax poetic about USB wifi dongles, which I have, using it strictly Ethernet, maybe try to find a compatible wifi card... I am thoroughly fatigued with an exercise that simply does nothing to dispel the "not ready for primetime" tarring (*nix joke! <^8#) that "the great unwashed" confer upon Linux et al. I guarantee you that the technology in the BSDs is cutting-edge, but if I have to put up with this crap, what chance does the casual computerist have?

And it didn't stop at installation, either. Among the things I do to a Linux installation is implementing Adobe Flash & Java into Firefox, from the command line. (It's what I do...) I spent over an hour attempting to do as I would in Linux, to be completely thwarted. I could not find the locale into which Firefox was installed, so attempting to link add-ons into it was completely unsuccessful, and I know some consider it safer not to use either or both, but that's again not the point. I am also conversant with "jails", but if I can't do it as "root", how the hell is it done at all?!

Is it just me, or should they be renaming the company to "One"?! <^8# ("The One TrueOS?!")

Not from my perspective, kiddies. I'd rather be relegated to Unity for all eternity...

Perhaps someone else has a laptop with supported hardware that also doesn't care about Firefox add-ons that might like to take a shot at it? 'Cuz there's got to be some love out there SOMEWHERE for TrueOS, wouldn't'cha think?

[fox]

TrueOS just released a new version. Maybe this fixed the wifi issue.

[bobf]

Interesting <ahem!> 'developments'...! <^8# TrueOS has released a new snapshot, but it is still based on FreeBSD 12.0-CURRENT, which is not the same as 11.0-RELEASE. The two release versions of FreeBSD available are 11.0-RELEASE and 10.3-RELEASE, making 12.0-CURRENT the analog of Debian Unstable - Not Yet Ready For PrimeTime...

Good to play with, but probably not suitable for production environments. And I will try it, but...