\n\tDuring the past week, FreeBSD has hit its 9.0 release and PC-BSD followed soon after with its FreeBSD-based 9.0 release.
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\n\tFreeBSD takes the tried and tested method of having a text-based installer. Although this release contained a new installer called bsdinstall, it is very similar to the older sysinstall process.
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\n\tThis will be the only time I will say that I prefer the FreeBSD install to the PC-BSD installer, but ASCII art Beastie is a winner over PC-BSD’s boot screen that follows.
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\n\tScreenshots: Chris Duckett/TechRepublic
\n\tCaptions: Chris Duckett/TechRepublic
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\n\tThe lack of ASCII art makes the PC-BSD installation media boot loader much less interesting. But this is remedied once the installation is complete.
\n\tWelcome to the FreeBSD text installer. I hope blue is a thing for you, because you are about to see a lot of it.
\n\tBy contrast, the PC-BSD installer shows a beautiful X-based process. This is still BSD, but not as you remember it.
\n\tHere’s an added bonus from PC-BSD. Since it is FreeBSD based, there is no trouble to installing FreeBSD server from the same installation media.
\n\tThis is how FreeBSD displays which distribution components to install.
\n\tBy contrast, PC-BSD presents it in a better manner (oddly reminiscent of old Linux installers) and provides much more software to install. Installing an X server and desktop environment must be completed post-installation with FreeBSD.
\n\tIt’s blue, again.
\n\tPC-BSD allows a selection of ZFS filesystem.
\n\tFreeBSD allows a selection of which services to start from within the installer.
\n\tPC-BSD moves user creation into the installer, and it’s not bad except for the fact that the installer demands a Full Name of the user.
\n\tText installer or not, watching a progress bar slowly tick over is boring in anyone’s language.
\n\tDespite the pretty colours, watching a graphical progress bar is equally boring.
Some would say that it is a long way from software engineering to journalism, others would correctly argue that it is a mere 10 metres according to the floor plan. During his first five years with CBS Interactive, Chris started his journalistic adventure in 2006 as the Editor of Builder AU after originally joining the company as a programmer. Leaving CBS Interactive in 2010 to follow his deep desire to study the snowdrifts and culinary delights of Canada, Chris based himself in Vancouver and paid for his new snowboarding and poutine cravings as a programmer for a lifestyle gaming startup. Chris returns to CBS in 2011 as the Editor of TechRepublic Australia determined to meld together his programming and journalistic tendencies once and for all.
