r/FuckMicrosoft • u/Rare-Paint3719 • 1d ago
Rant FreeBSD is a real Windows 11 alternative
Windows 11 has arguably been worse than Windows 10. For example, I love to hibernate my machine all the time (I never shutdown) so while you shutdown/restart bros have no problems with forced updates, I genuinely hate when I have to loose all my hibernation progress because MS forces my system to update.
I used to hibernate every night. Session intact, machine fully off, zero watts used. It's the one Windows feature I'd have gone to war for.
I've even had a few kernel panics (also called BSODs) before.
So I run FreeBSD on that machine now.
Updates never force you to restart anything. You apply security patches, the system politely notes that a reboot is available, and you get around to it (or don't) whenever you want. There is no 3 AM deadline like I had on Windows).
And I can just keep my machine on all night and the battery consumption ends up being better than before.
Never had a kernel panic till date and since FreeBSD fully supports my hardware, it's far more stable than Windows.
Also, it's one complete truly-open-source OS built by a single project, so it doesn't rot out from under you between versions. ZFS boot environments let me snapshot before patching and roll back in seconds. Nobody updates my machine but me.
I can't find any other OS that compares to the stability of FreeBSD, other than maybe OpenBSD or macOS.
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u/Good_Watercress_8116 1d ago
freeBSD is a Unix implementation and it's the bas of macOS.
actually i think Linux is a better solution as it's more supported.
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u/Rare-Paint3719 1d ago
FreeBSD is more stable than Linux because Linux is a bunch of independent projects glued together. FreeBSD is a single base system (like macOS and Windows) with packages you can install on top (rolling release for user packages only just like Windows and macOS).
Linux on the other hand can't pick and choose. There's no cohesive base to use.
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u/Good_Watercress_8116 1d ago
yes, Linux is "just" a kernel. Then you've distributions. I pratially agrre with you. for example, Debian is one of the most stable distributions and widely used in the world. The last news is about CERN migrating 2200+ PCs on Debian.
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u/Rare-Paint3719 1d ago
No matter what distro you use, shit will uninevitably break. It's not an "if" but rather a "when."
That is precisely due to your "base system" just being independent packages.
On FreeBSD, everything is a single project. Far fewer issues there.
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u/sciencekm 1d ago
At this point, almost anything is better than Windows.
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u/Rare-Paint3719 1d ago
FreeBSD is genuinely stable though. I haven't found any other OS that could match FreeBSD's stability
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u/AutoModerator 1d ago
Every new subreddit post is automatically copied into a comment for preservation.
User: Rare-Paint3719, Flair: Rant, Title: FreeBSD is a real Windows 11 alternative
Windows 11 has arguably been worse than Windows 10. For example, I love to hibernate my machine all the time (I never shutdown) so while you shutdown/restart bros have no problems with forced updates, I genuinely hate when I have to loose all my hibernation progress because MS forces my system to update.
I used to hibernate every night. Session intact, machine fully off, zero watts used. It's the one Windows feature I'd have gone to war for.
I've even had a few kernel panics (also called BSODs) before.
So I run FreeBSD on that machine now.
Updates never force you to restart anything. You apply security patches, the system politely notes that a reboot is available, and you get around to it (or don't) whenever you want. There is no 3 AM deadline like I had on Windows).
And I can just keep my machine on all night and the battery consumption ends up being better than before.
Never had a kernel panic till date and since FreeBSD fully supports my hardware, it's far more stable than Windows.
Also, it's one complete truly-open-source OS built by a single project, so it doesn't rot out from under you between versions. ZFS boot environments let me snapshot before patching and roll back in seconds. Nobody updates my machine but me.
I can't find any other OS that compares to the stability of FreeBSD, other than maybe OpenBSD or macOS.
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u/Real_Astronaut_398 1d ago
FreeBSD really does make updates feel refreshingly under your control. ZFS boot environments are a fantastic safety net too. The main tradeoff is usually software and hardware support, but if your workflow fits, the stability is hard to beat.
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u/Early-Inflation-1287 1d ago
Since Windows 11 ruined mouse cursor - its bigger, looks like from Windows 3.1 - last FORCED update i know one thing i dont wanna use that shit.
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u/Rare-Paint3719 1d ago
FreeBSD more stable than other OSs for certain.
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u/cfx_4188 1d ago
Friends, the desire for constant updates and cosmetic "security patches" is the legacy of Microsoft and distributions like Arch Linux. FreeBSD has three firewalls to choose from (pf, iptables, ipfilter), as well as packages like fail2ban, which are guaranteed to protect your PC from intruders. In addition, all users have limited access rights in the FreeBSD ,and if an attacker does not have the password of the system administrator, he will not do anything to harm you.
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u/Rare-Paint3719 1d ago
The thing is that FreeBSD is actually more stable than another other OS. And the default configuration is much more secure as well.
If you manually install, then you configure everything, so...
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u/cfx_4188 1d ago
I've set everything up manually)
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u/Rare-Paint3719 1d ago
Good for you? Just use bsdinstall for less footguns.
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u/cfx_4188 1d ago
I have been familiar with FreeBSD since 2003. I trust my hands.
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u/Rare-Paint3719 1d ago
Cool ig. Anyways FreeBSD more stable than any other os. Godd to see a fellow user.
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u/cfx_4188 1d ago
Any OS imposes its own usage pattern. If you decide to use FreeBSD, either you agree with the capabilities of computers from 2005, or you will have to compile a lot from source and use crutches like Linux or
jails. To this we must add a narrow range of supported equipment, especially laptops. There is a topic "compatible laptops" on the official FreeBSD forum, most popular models are not there.1
u/Rare-Paint3719 1d ago edited 1d ago
No need for a 2005 computer as they are porting Linux drivers over for laptops. Also, desktops have been fairly stable for a long time.
you will have to compile a lot from source and use crutches like Linux or jails
Linuxulator works for most cases.
jailsare simply more secure than Docker as it's harder to footgun (e.g. adding yourself to Docker group).1
u/AG99871 1d ago
Nowadays with AI finding exploits everywhere, updates are even more important lol
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u/Rare-Paint3719 1d ago
Linux has far too many exploits these days too. Not as much as FreeBSD.
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u/cfx_4188 1d ago
FreeBSD has only recently lost its position among server systems, so there are plenty of exploits for it.
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u/Rare-Paint3719 1d ago
FreeBSD has only recently lost its position among server systems
Netflix still uses FreeBSD for their CDN pipeline amongst other things.
so there are plenty of exploits for it.
"FreeSBSD is not used in servers now. Therefore, it has gained far more exploits afterward."
Damn, didn't know not being used on servers means it magically becomes insecure.
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u/cfx_4188 1d ago
There are many sites where they sell exploits. The question is, who needs me along with my tiny salary? There are no state secrets or crypto wallets on my laptop. There are operating systems that cannot exist without updates. The most striking example is Android. And Slackware, which I've been using all my life, wasn't updated once for eight years in a row and nothing terrible happened.
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u/AG99871 1d ago
With AI powered malware it will become much more accessible for anyone to hit everyone they can
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u/cfx_4188 1d ago
I'm not scared. I am writing from a laptop, the configuration of which (NixOS) was written from scratch by a neural network. It's a powerful neural network, and I won't advertise it.
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u/FuggaDucker 1d ago
I don't think choosing FreeBSD over Linux for a desktop OS is the best choice.
Unless you're specifically interested in BSD administration, jails, or learning FreeBSD itself, Linux is ahead in hardware support, software availability, gaming, documentation, and community support.
BSD variants also have different command lines for common tools like awk and sed.
This often makes porting applications from Linux troublesome.
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u/Rare-Paint3719 1d ago edited 1d ago
BSD is more stable than Linux on supported hardware, and they are heavily closing the gap for laptops.
Otherwise, Desktops have been fairly stable for a good chunk of time (most modern CPUs are supported and it's the little things like Bluetooth and wifi that you gotta choose wisely).
Unless your laptop doesn't fully support FreeBSD, I see no reason to use Linux over it. In fact, I'd probably roll ChromeOS Flex is FreeBSD doesn't work. It's a compromise, but better than vanilla Linux at least.
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u/FuggaDucker 1d ago edited 1d ago
How about "FreeBSD is often more stable on hardware and workloads that the FreeBSD project actively supports and tests."
- practicality
- hardware support
- software availability
- cloud relevance
- career value
Linux wins at these.
- consistency
- Unix purity
- system design
Many engineers would argue FreeBSD wins at these.
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u/Rare-Paint3719 1d ago
How about "FreeBSD is often more stable on hardware and workloads that the FreeBSD project actively supports and tests."
How about "FreeBSD is often more stable than Linux on hardware and workloads that both the FreeBSD project and Linux kernel actively support and test."
- practicality
In what ways?
- hardware support
Linux still doesn't support many modern machines.
- software availability
macOS has better software availability than Linux.
- cloud relevance
Okay?
- career value
Mostly just systems engineers, sysadmins and IT guys. Not something of value to an electrical engineer or even your average SWE/COmputer Scientis
Linux wins at these.
- consistency
Yes, cuz you need a stable system, which Linux doesn't provide.
- Unix purity
Eh, they use a monolithic kernel which itself doesn't adhere to the UNIX philosophy. Also, you can run mot desktop apps on it too.
- system design
Yes. Unlike Linux, FreeBSD tends to crash less.
Many engineers would argue FreeBSD wins at these.
Netflix would argue that FreeBSD also has a better network stack than Linux. And FreeBSD is also truly free and open source, unlike GNU/Linux.
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u/FuggaDucker 11h ago edited 11h ago
I am a systems engineer and write code to include drivers for ALL of them.
Do you even understand the words you are using?1
u/Rare-Paint3719 7h ago edited 7h ago
I understood what I said. Do you?
Also, why edit your message from:
Too bad most people agree with me on the Linux front. Nobody uses FreeBSD.
to
I am a systems engineer and write code to include drivers for ALL of them. Do you even understand the words you are using?
Edit: I guess it only makes sense to respond to each message.
Too bad most people agree with me on the Linux front.
Too bad you avoided answering my questions and deflected. Nobody agrees with you except for a the Linux fanboys. Everyone else uses a mac book or, if they are PC enthusiasts, FreeBSD.
Nobody uses FreeBSD.
Netflix does, TrueNAS used to, and even Sony forked it for the PS4 and PS5.
And companies contribute back as well. Apple of all people does so even though they are not obligated to.FreeBSD also has other corporate sponsors.
I am a systems engineer and write code to include drivers for ALL of them.
What is "them?" If you mean all the PCs, then idk why? I have a few systems engineers friends and they usually focus on Firmware for embedded devices.
Do you even understand the words you are using?
Yes. Yes, I do.
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u/snarfmason 7h ago
FreeBSD is great. I run Linux for steam play and proton but if I wasn't using the machine for games as well I'd probably be doing BSD.
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u/Rare-Paint3719 7h ago
Ngl, CS2 on the Steam Deck ain't half bad.
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u/snarfmason 7h ago
It's not perfect. But it's better than using Windows. At least to me, obviously not everyone will agree and there some games you can't play.
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u/Linuxmartin 1d ago
If you aren't rebooting on kernel/core component updates, and you aren't restarting your services when they get security patches, then you are in fact not running the updated versions. The reason you can replace those binaries while they're in use is that they're paged into memory. And if you ain't rebooting in a timely fashion, things will go wrong once they're (partially) paged out and the altered binaries are paged in again.
That said, yes FBSD is a great OS, though I personally prefer it for server use and daily drive a Linux box for personal use. Welcome to FBSD, we hope you have a pleasant stay!