Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2001 12:17:32 -0600 From: Mike Meyer <mwm@mired.org> To: "Bara Zani" <bara_zani@yahoo.com> Cc: questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: freebsd as a desktop ? Message-ID: <15365.10812.51518.454656@guru.mired.org> In-Reply-To: <23257006@toto.iv>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
Ok, I can't resist sticking my 2 cents in. Bara Zani <bara_zani@yahoo.com> types: > Ok , I am not starting a flame/holy war here !!! You did, but not here. > this is purely out of curiosity , so a reasonable answer is required please FWIW, I've been using Unix systems for desktop work since 1985. They do the job very nicely, but do require the user to think about what they're doing. > so I decided to install freebsd and use it as my desktop client > now here is where I need your help : > I use my desktop for - email , web , mp3 and downloads ... Not hard, with a few caveats. > as for email - I figured I can use fetchmail for multiple accounts and pine > to read/sort in folders - but what happens with attachments ? They get transfered with the mail. If pine can deal with them, it will. If not - well, maybe you should look at a different browser. > as for web - I have tried in vain to enable the java plugin on mozilla can > someone help with that ? If you want proprietary facilities, you'll have to go to the releases from Netscape for Linux, and enable linux compatability. > as for mp3 - what do I use ? I know xmms for Linux but for fbsd ? xmms runs native. Personally, I just use plaympeg, which is one of the ports. > as for other stuff - image viewers ( xv ? ) video files ( mpg, divx , avi ) Xv is available, but there are others that have simpler interfaces. There are also some that are trying to > also can I use star office with freebsd ? The linux binary runs in linux compatability mode. Personally, I prefer the Applix Office package. It feels more like a Unix desktop tool than a transplanted Windows desktop tool. The downside is that it doesn't read MS-proprietary formats as well as star office. > any other personal experience for using freebsd as a desktop and server are > welcomed . Unix is about choice - particularly choices that aren't available on Windows. So you wind up wasting lots of time playing with window managers and etc., instead of configuring screen savers :-). > please email me and not the list and I will summarize , > thanks That's not SOP for this list. Answers should go to both you and the list. <mike -- Mike Meyer <mwm@mired.org> http://www.mired.org/home/mwm/ Q: How do you make the gods laugh? A: Tell them your plans. To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?15365.10812.51518.454656>