I’m planning on switching to FreeBSD as my primary operating system in the coming weeks. Don’t worry, I will continue to update this blog.
Even though I created this blog, LinuxPhoto, last June, I haven’t really used or learned Linux all that much in this time. I will continue to use my Linux laptop for editing and posting photos on this site, but I am planning to use FreeBSD as my primary OS indefinitely. I actually have been using either my Windows 10 laptop or my MacBook Pro most of the time. I think forcing myself to learn one of these professional operating systems (e.g., FreeBSD, Linux) by using it as my primary computer will greatly help my understanding of the way these operating systems work. Initially, I will use my FreeBSD laptop to do all the basic stuff I do on a daily basis: browsing the web, listening to music, and editing office documents. Later on, I might decide to learn some more advanced features of FreeBSD.
To help me with all of this, today I got a book from Amazon titled Absolute FreeBSD, 3rd Edition: The Complete Guide to FreeBSD:
It’s written by Michael W. Lucas, who I saw had a number of reviews commending his writing style on Amazon. Before purchasing, I read the introductory material, and I can attest to the quality of his writing. I also own another book on No Starch Press, Automate the Boring Stuff With Python, which I haven’t yet read, but I did at least enjoy the design and writing style (of what little I did read). Seeing that the third edition of this book on FreeBSD was just released in October 2018 and that version 12.0 of FreeBSD is slated for release on December 11, 2018, was enough to tell me now is the time to switch.
What is FreeBSD, and why am I interested in switching to it as my main OS? First, if you want to know what it is, I suggest reading the Wikipedia article on FreeBSD. To answer the second question, I would just say that FreeBSD is the operating system I have always been most attracted to for some reason. It always seemed more advanced than Linux, and I liked the name and the BSD Daemon (devil mascot). When it was time for me to find a new web host the answer was simple: one that uses FreeBSD. I, therefore, use pair Networks to host this website and many others; they are one of the first web hosts and offer FreeBSD as a hosting option.
The intended purpose for this blog is to show people that Linux is a viable alternative to managing and editing photos. That is not going to change. I still think Linux is probably better than FreeBSD for managing and editing photos because of the larger number of applications available for Linux (for example, Corel AfterShot Pro 3, what I use to edit my digital photos, is available for Linux, but not FreeBSD). I also think people are more inclined to switch to Linux than FreeBSD, because most people haven’t even heard of FreeBSD, and it is a more advanced operating system that requires more technical knowledge.
In conclusion, I am excited to switch to FreeBSD as my primary OS and hope to learn much about the way these professional operating systems work. Probably by the time the next LTS version of Ubuntu is released (most likely April 2020), I hope to also become more knowledgeable in Linux. I will continue to use Linux to post photos to this site, and I still believe it is a good alternative to Mac or Windows for managing and editing photos.