For a while now, I have been using Ubuntu Linux on my desktop, and it as worked really well. In fact, I even installed Windows 7 on my media center (replacing Linux) just to stop bothering with configuring my system all the time. Since I started working at Yahoo!, I did not really feel like having to do extra work at home in order for my computer to function properly. Moreover, I did not have much time left to work on FreeBSD, so I simply reinstalled my desktop with Linux, and that has been working well for almost a year now.

But recently I have sort of missed working on FreeBSD, so I decided to give it at try again from a user perspective. Many of the things I feel was lacking is still there. However, the things that were good, are still good. So far, I have been able to install all software that I wanted to install, but I still feel that we need something better on top of ports in order to make it easier for users. Hopefully, some of the initiatives that I have seen on the mailing list will not die any time soon. Apart from ports, many of the common tasks are pretty manual too. Configuring the system should be more straightforward than having to guess and edit what should be in /etc/rc.conf. Though many of the issues I encounter comes from the fact that FreeBSD has a very small userbase, and is simply not prioritized by many companies, there are a lot of things that can be improved irregardless of that. If i start doing any more FreeBSD work, it is most likely to be in the “make-it-less-painful-to-use”-department.