DesktopBSD

DesktopBSD

DesktopBSD default desktop
Company / developer	DesktopBSD Team [1]
OS family	Unix-like
Working state	Current
Source model	Open source
Latest stable release	1.7 / September 7, 2009; 2 years ago (2009-09-07)[2]
Package manager	FreeBSD Ports
Supported platforms	IA-32 and x86-64
Kernel type	Monolithic
Default user interface	KDE 3.5[2]
License	Several: From FreeBSD: BSD license Artwork collection, logos: Creative Commons CC BY-NC 2.0 Austria[3] From KDE: GNU General Public License and others[4]
Official website	http://desktopbsd.net

DesktopBSD is a Unix-derivative, desktop-oriented operating system based on FreeBSD. Its goal is to combine the stability of FreeBSD with the ease-of-use of KDE, which is the default graphical user interface.

History and development

DesktopBSD is essentially a customized installation of FreeBSD and is not a fork of FreeBSD. DesktopBSD is always based on FreeBSD's latest stable branch but incorporates certain customized, pre-installed software such as KDE and DesktopBSD utilities and configuration files.

A common misconception about DesktopBSD is that it is intended as a rival to PC-BSD as a BSD-based desktop distribution, since they are similar in structure and goals. However, the DesktopBSD project was started approximately one year before the PC-BSD project, despite the fact that the first PC-BSD release came out before DesktopBSD's. Neither the DesktopBSD nor PC-BSD projects intend to rival each other and are completely independent projects with distinctive features and intended outcomes: e.g., DesktopBSD uses ports and packages for additional software installation, whereas PC-BSD introduced PBIs.

The current release is 1.7 which was made available on September 7, 2009. The release announcement stated "This is the last and final release of the DesktopBSD project" because the lead developer could no longer contribute the time required to maintain it.^[5] As of May 2010 development of DesktopBSD has been restarted under new leadership.

Features

• Graphical installer allowing to partition disks and create users
• Graphical tool for managing, installing and updating software using FreeBSD ports system
• Graphical management of network interfaces and mounting/unmounting drives

1.7 Release

The 1.7 Release includes

• Live-DVD feature - try the system before installing it
• FreeBSD 7.2 as stable and secure base system
• KDE 3.5.10 as mature and easy-to-use desktop environment
• OpenOffice.org 3.1.1 as feature-rich office suite
• Pre-installed Java SE 6 environment
• X.Org release 7.4 with extensive graphics support
• Large number of enhancements and fixes
• Support for GRUB as a boot menu (i386 only) and a graphical configuration tool
• Boot splash image management

On 7 September 2009 DesktopBSD 1.7 was made available on the project site.^[6]

See also

Free software portal

• Comparison of BSD operating systems
• FreeBSD

References

1. ^ "DesktopBSD Team Members". desktopbsd.net. http://desktopbsd.net/wiki/doku.php?id=team:team. Retrieved 2010-04-01. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "DistroWatch: DesktopBSD". distrowatch.com. http://distrowatch.com/desktopbsd. Retrieved 2011-10-18. 
3. ^ "DesktopBSD Artwork Collection". desktopbsd.net. http://desktopbsd.net/index.php?id=76. Retrieved 2008-03-20. 
4. ^ "KDE Licensing Policy". KDE TechBase. http://techbase.kde.org/index.php?title=Policies/Licensing_Policy. Retrieved 2010-04-01. 
5. ^ "DesktopBSD 1.7 available". desktopbsd.net. 2009-09-07. http://desktopbsd.net/index.php?id=43&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=41&cHash=b6ad95fd57. Retrieved 2009-09-27. 
6. ^ "DesktopBSD 1.7 release notes". desktopbsd.net. 2009-09-07. http://desktopbsd.net/index.php?id=94. Retrieved 2011-10-18. 

External links

• DesktopBSD homepage, wiki and developer blog
• DesktopBSD 1.0 release notes
• BSDTalk Interview with Peter Hofer (DesktopBSD developer/mp3)
• DesktopBSD flyer Info from AllBSD.de (pdf/English)
• Using DesktopBSD Dru Lavigne