Has anyone tried other open Operating Systems?

Anikom15 · 2009-08-03 19:27:29

Such as BSD and OpenSolaris? I was wondering how other open OS compare to Linux.

dakor · 2009-08-03 22:06:18

They all fall short. Don't waste your time.

ataraxia · 2009-08-03 22:09:39

I'd expect many regulars here have run many OSs, since Arch tends to be a "last stop" for many experienced users. Me, I've run all the BSDs, Solaris from 8 on, HP-UX, and Mac OS X. Honestly, none of them are as nice as some kind of Linux on servers, and only OS X is a reasonable competitor on the desktop.

fukawi2 · 2009-08-03 23:08:03

I've played with FreeBSD and Nexenta. I installed FreeBSD on an old server for the experience, got stuck with trying to build/install additional packages and didn't have the time to learn how to properly

Nexenta I stuck in a VM to have a play with. I was pretty impressed with it over the few hours I played, but there were some differences that made me stick with Linux. I probably would be willing to learn the differences if I had a reason to, but I don't have any reason too at the moment with the "support gap" between Open Solaris and Linux.

.:B:. · 2009-08-03 23:47:31

I did an installathon with FreeBSD & OpenBSD, but never looked at them after that. I have Windows on my desktop too, does that count? It really needs some attention, been neglecting it for too long.

Arm-the-Homeless · 2009-08-04 01:34:47

I've tried FreeBSD and ReactOS (in a VM).

Diaz · 2009-08-04 02:44:36

I booted Haiku once, found it a really great project, but never looked at it again...

edit: fixed typo

Last edited by Diaz (2009-08-05 01:41:42)

sand_man · 2009-08-04 03:12:17

Diaz wrote:

I booted Hayku once, found it a really great project, but never looked at it again...

you mean Haiku? I tried it once too. It seems to have potential but at the moment it seems kinda useless to me.

Allan · 2009-08-04 03:28:13

sand_man wrote:

Diaz wrote:
I booted Hayku once, found it a really great project, but never looked at it again...
you mean Haiku? I tried it once too. It seems to have potential but at the moment it seems kinda useless to me.

BeOS remake... meh.

I quite like Syllable as something different to play with. Has a lot of programs ported to it these days so is quite usable.

neowolf · 2009-08-04 03:32:48

I don't really like flaunting the "Arch is a last stop" mentality, yet it does often hold true. I've used lots of OSes open and otherwise. I truly love BeOS, I've had great times with Ubuntu and Gentoo alike, I have a hard time imagining leaving Arch on my main desktop. I want Haiku to rock so badly being a BeOS refugee, but Archlinux does so much right for me, so much more than just about anything else.

fukawi2 · 2009-08-04 04:15:08

B wrote:

I have Windows on my desktop too, does that count?

Who Opened the Windows?

Borosai · 2009-08-04 06:02:02

Aside from Linux and Windows, I have briefly tested ReactOS and FreeDOS, and used OpenSolaris for a few days (all in VirtualBox). I can't say I'm interested in using any of them right now. It would be ideal to have two systems: one for Arch and one for NetBSD (which I haven't used yet, but I will).

mikesd · 2009-08-04 07:33:49

I use OpenSolaris for its ZFS filesystem. As others have mentioned Nexenta looked interesting but in the end I went with OpenSolaris instead.

Have played with the BSDs and quite like the idea of having one central community.

Have a couple of Macs running OS X and currently running Windows 7 at work. I like OS X more than Windows but I'm at the stage where, in non Linux OSs, sooner or later I need to be able to do something that I can't easily do but could do easily on Linux. For example something as simple as looking inside an iso image is a pain in windows relying on 3rd party software whereas it's easy on Linux using the loop device.

One of the more interesting OSs I have played with is MenuetOS.

Isengrin · 2009-08-04 07:40:02

Just OpenSolaris. Didn't catch the trick, tough.

SpeedVin · 2009-08-04 07:55:22

I was trying FreeBSD and it was fine but it can't connct to my Internet becouse I got Integrate network card.
Now I got Realtek Network Card and It's seems to I will got net connection with dhcp
I was trying NetBSD too.
It was good but when I needed Sound System I search for OSS and I didin't find in pkgsrc tree ;(

jdhore · 2009-08-04 08:47:07

I've tried OpenSolaris, FreeBSD, and a bunch of the hybrids like Debian/kFreeBSD and Nexenta. I'll offer a quick roundup of the 2 that the OP was interested in though:

FreeBSD - Damn Stable, Damn Secure, not very customizable, a bitch to update, a bitch to install and not really optimal for a Desktop/laptop system. Also, the hardware support is extremely sub-par.

OpenSolaris - Great filesystem, pretty speedy, nice for a desktop, however, it's all let down by the horrible package manager that makes Yum look good and the fact that there are only about 2000 packages in the repos and making your own packages is about as difficult as making your own RPM SPEC file (a lot harder than writing a PKGBUILD).

Pyntux · 2009-08-04 10:06:53

What about ReactOS, is it good or what?

I used Open Solaris and FreeBsd in VirtualBox, but, I don`t really count that, I can`t see the sistem with full usage of hardware...

esh · 2009-08-04 10:37:44

Sadly, I tend to agree with dakor. If you want a reasonable modern desktop, you really want Linux or Windows. The most friendly useable BSD is PC-BSD in my experience which is based upon FreeBSD. FreeBSD in itself is fast and compact but is weighed down by menacing package systems and lack of hardware support. It also can't run VMWare which is a large downer as a server operating system for many. There are alternatives for virtualisation of course, but not so much in the business sector. However, I heartily recommend FreeBSD as a file server if you need one (assuming your RAID cards support it). OpenSolaris, if/when you can get it to install, seems fairly reasonable to begin with, but is decidedly not lightweight, and I found it somewhat sluggish. It feels like glueing a desktop UI onto what is traditionally a server operating sytem. I'm not really sure what it's trying to be anymore. I also question its future somewhat. It's a curiosity for me, but nothing more.

ReactOS is very impressive given what it sets out to do, and actually what it can achieve. Sure, it's trying to be Windows, but even if you don't like Windows, you have to admire the feats they have accomplished to even get this far. At the very least, worth trying in a VM just to see what it can do.

Last I tried Syllable it would not boot at all. This was a couple years ago though.

sand_man · 2009-08-04 11:26:17

mikesd wrote:

I use OpenSolaris for its ZFS filesystem.

What's so good about it? I mean what does it do for you that other filesystems can't?

Confuseling · 2009-08-04 12:00:54

http://nixos.org/nixos/

NixOS looks like an interesting proof of concept; its crazy package management seems to have the potential to do much the same as the 'snapshots' that ZFS is famed for (and quite a lot more...)

Last edited by Confuseling (2009-08-04 12:04:23)

fukawi2 · 2009-08-04 12:44:25

sand_man wrote:

mikesd wrote:
I use OpenSolaris for its ZFS filesystem.
What's so good about it? I mean what does it do for you that other filesystems can't?

Snapshots for one.

Anikom15 · 2009-08-04 16:54:16

What about FreeDOS? I use to use MS-DOS, as you can tell by my icon.

dunc · 2009-08-04 17:37:26

I've been putting off trying OpenSolaris and maybe one of the BSDs for weeks. ZFS just looks awesome.

neowolf wrote:

I want Haiku to rock so badly being a BeOS refugee, but Archlinux does so much right for me, so much more than just about anything else.

As an AmigaOS refugee, the idea of taking the best bits of both it and MacOS has always appealed to me. But it's just not ready for everyday use. Not unlike AROS, which I have installed here hosted under Linux; I haven't had the nerve to install it natively yet.

I must take a look at Syllable again. It was in a similar state last time I tried it, but that must be a couple of years ago now.

linkmaster03 · 2009-08-04 18:17:44

mikesd wrote:

One of the more interesting OSs I have played with is MenuetOS.

MenuetOS looks really cool. Thanks for mentioning it! I'll definitely be watching it.

sand_man · 2009-08-04 23:21:15

fukawi2 wrote:

sand_man wrote:
mikesd wrote:
I use OpenSolaris for its ZFS filesystem.
What's so good about it? I mean what does it do for you that other filesystems can't?
Snapshots for one.

LVM can do that with any filesystem no?

Anyway, I just Syllable last night very briefly. It's pretty cool for a lightweight solution. Kind of like a cross between openbox and xfce. Would be a nice OS for a lowend netbook.

btw, NixOS looks very cool.

Last edited by sand_man (2009-08-04 23:25:04)

Arch Linux

#1 2009-08-03 19:27:29

Has anyone tried other open Operating Systems?

#2 2009-08-03 22:06:18

Re: Has anyone tried other open Operating Systems?

#3 2009-08-03 22:09:39

Re: Has anyone tried other open Operating Systems?

#4 2009-08-03 23:08:03

Re: Has anyone tried other open Operating Systems?

#5 2009-08-03 23:47:31

Re: Has anyone tried other open Operating Systems?

#6 2009-08-04 01:34:47

Re: Has anyone tried other open Operating Systems?

#7 2009-08-04 02:44:36

Re: Has anyone tried other open Operating Systems?

#8 2009-08-04 03:12:17

Re: Has anyone tried other open Operating Systems?

#9 2009-08-04 03:28:13

Re: Has anyone tried other open Operating Systems?

#10 2009-08-04 03:32:48

Re: Has anyone tried other open Operating Systems?

#11 2009-08-04 04:15:08

Re: Has anyone tried other open Operating Systems?

#12 2009-08-04 06:02:02

Re: Has anyone tried other open Operating Systems?

#13 2009-08-04 07:33:49

Re: Has anyone tried other open Operating Systems?

#14 2009-08-04 07:40:02

Re: Has anyone tried other open Operating Systems?

#15 2009-08-04 07:55:22

Re: Has anyone tried other open Operating Systems?

#16 2009-08-04 08:47:07

Re: Has anyone tried other open Operating Systems?

#17 2009-08-04 10:06:53

Re: Has anyone tried other open Operating Systems?

#18 2009-08-04 10:37:44

Re: Has anyone tried other open Operating Systems?

#19 2009-08-04 11:26:17

Re: Has anyone tried other open Operating Systems?

#20 2009-08-04 12:00:54

Re: Has anyone tried other open Operating Systems?

#21 2009-08-04 12:44:25

Re: Has anyone tried other open Operating Systems?

#22 2009-08-04 16:54:16

Re: Has anyone tried other open Operating Systems?

#23 2009-08-04 17:37:26

Re: Has anyone tried other open Operating Systems?

#24 2009-08-04 18:17:44

Re: Has anyone tried other open Operating Systems?

#25 2009-08-04 23:21:15

Re: Has anyone tried other open Operating Systems?

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