PC-BSD 9 Live DVD feedback
Hello there,
I'd like to switch from Debian to FreeBSD, therefore as soon as I learned that
there was a new version of PC-BSD available, I rushed to try it. However, it
seems I'm still not enough of a Unix guru to make even PC-BSD work. I'll forget
about it for another couple of years (my last attempt to install PC-BSD was at
version 8).
Here are the stumbling blocks I found, in case you are interested in feedback
from novice users:
- Live ISOs are huge: they are time-consuming for users to download and
demand expensive bandwidth from the PC-BSD project
- no keyboard configuration in the wizard
- choice of window manager is confusing (users may not know the difference
between them)
- no feedback abuut the network system
- no PC-BSD Handbook
- poor feedback from GUI tools
As soon as I booted the Live DVD, I realized why the ISO is so big: there are
several window managers to choose from, and I guess that each window manager
comes with its stock applications that demand space. Is having several window
managers necessary? I mean necessary, not desirable. There are more important
choice to offer to users, namely the keyboard layout (I know about `setxkbmap',
but I'm talking as an novice).
KDE setup is buggy: starting the default Web browser gives way to a column of
error messages. Gnome has a KDE menu in its Application drawer: is that
intentional? If KDE is the window manager of choice for the project, then stick
to it as the default choice.
Where is the PC-BSD Handbook? I couldn't connect to the Internet, so I tried to
RTFM, but no manual was in sight. Maybe it is assumed that users will have a
backup PC when trying the Live DVD?
Where is feedback about the network? Feedback about whether the network card
and other hardware has been detected or not should be mandatory. Ubuntu Live CD
always loads a network applet in the task bar. I went to the configuration
applet and apparently the wireless card was detected, but after that... nothing.
Why applets, both on KDE and GNOME, besides departing from the mainstream
captions for buttons (e.g. "Save" instead of "Apply"), don't give users feedback
when you apply settings? Mainstream applications grey out the "Apply" button
when settings have been saved, then enable them again as soon as you change
something. Feedback is King.
This are my 2 cents. No intention to be dismissive or whining, just too tired
to write polite English.
Keep up with the good work.
Hello there,
I'd like to switch from Debian to FreeBSD, therefore as soon as I learned that
there was a new version of PC-BSD available, I rushed to try it. However, it
seems I'm still not enough of a Unix guru to make even PC-BSD work. I'll forget
about it for another couple of years (my last attempt to install PC-BSD was at
version 8).
Here are the stumbling blocks I found, in case you are interested in feedback
from novice users:
- Live ISOs are huge: they are time-consuming for users to download and
demand expensive bandwidth from the PC-BSD project
- no keyboard configuration in the wizard
- choice of window manager is confusing (users may not know the difference
between them)
- no feedback abuut the network system
- no PC-BSD Handbook
- poor feedback from GUI tools
As soon as I booted the Live DVD, I realized why the ISO is so big: there are
several window managers to choose from, and I guess that each window manager
comes with its stock applications that demand space. Is having several window
managers necessary? I mean necessary, not desirable. There are more important
choice to offer to users, namely the keyboard layout (I know about `setxkbmap',
but I'm talking as an novice).
KDE setup is buggy: starting the default Web browser gives way to a column of
error messages. Gnome has a KDE menu in its Application drawer: is that
intentional? If KDE is the window manager of choice for the project, then stick
to it as the default choice.
Where is the PC-BSD Handbook? I couldn't connect to the Internet, so I tried to
RTFM, but no manual was in sight. Maybe it is assumed that users will have a
backup PC when trying the Live DVD?
Where is feedback about the network? Feedback about whether the network card
and other hardware has been detected or not should be mandatory. Ubuntu Live CD
always loads a network applet in the task bar. I went to the configuration
applet and apparently the wireless card was detected, but after that... nothing.
Why applets, both on KDE and GNOME, besides departing from the mainstream
captions for buttons (e.g. "Save" instead of "Apply"), don't give users feedback
when you apply settings? Mainstream applications grey out the "Apply" button
when settings have been saved, then enable them again as soon as you change
something. Feedback is King.
These are my 2 cents. No intention to be dismissive or whining, just too tired
to write polite English.
Keep up with the good work.
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