Difference between revisions of "Introduction"
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* [[PC-BSD's Goals and Features]] | * [[PC-BSD's Goals and Features]] | ||
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* [[PC-BSD Releases]] | * [[PC-BSD Releases]] | ||
Revision as of 10:58, 15 August 2012
| Introduction |
Welcome to PC-BSD!
PC-BSD[1] began in 2005 when Kris Moore presented the first beta version of a FreeBSD[2] operating system pre-configured for desktop use. Since then, PC-BSD has matured into a polished, feature-rich, free-of-charge, open source operating system that meets the desktop needs of the beginner to the advanced user alike.
PC-BSD is essentially a customized installation of FreeBSD, not a forked derivative. Since the underlying FreeBSD system has been kept intact, you have a fully functional FreeBSD system under the hood. PC-BSD provides a graphical installer, a graphical package management system, and dozens of graphical utilities that make PC-BSD suitable for desktop use. As a user of PC-BSD, you don’t have to worry about configuring a FreeBSD system for desktop use; instead you can simply install and start using it.
The main difference between PC-BSD and FreeBSD is that PC-BSD is geared towards desktop use, while FreeBSD has been created with server use in mind. Other differences include:
- PC-BSD pre-configures at least one desktop manager during installation
- PC-BSD is installed by a graphical installer rather than a text based installer
- the PC-BSD installer supports additional features such as configuring ZFS and encryption during installation
- PC-BSD provides a graphical software management system
- PC-BSD provides a Control Panel of graphical utilities for configuring the system
- PC-BSD’s rc.conf and sysctl.conf have been tweaked for a desktop environment
- PC-BSD comes pre-configured with a number of automatic scripts to perform tasks such as connecting digital cameras or USB memory sticks
PC-BSD started off as an independent project, but since October, 2006 PC-BSD is (financially) backed and supported by the enterprise-class hardware solutions provider iXsystems[3].
The rest of this section discusses:
References
