Something GNU New

While I don't think OpenBSD will be my everyday driver anytime soon, it is quickly becoming my favorite OS. It's simple, clean, and well documented. Because it's one system, not a collection of many different programs like a Linux distribution, it has a very uncomplicated and intuitive feel. The man pages tell you what you need to know in a very concise way, so you don't have to go searching the internet for answers every five minutes. Connecting to WiFi from the command line, for example, is incredibly easy compared to Arch or Debian - all the information you need is in the website's FAQ. OpenBSD is also free from the odious systemd, GNU core-utils, glibc, gcc, and other bloat.

Currently, I'm using OpenBSD as a minimalist desktop, running bare-metal on an old laptop using suckless software with lynx as my browser. It's a distraction free environment that has everything I actually need for the tasks I want to do and nothing more.

But being a crusty troglodyte isn't all you can do with it. OpenBSD is frequently considered the most secure OS currently available. The guys who develop it also make a lot of other security stuff you already use like OpenSSH and LibreSSL. Its firewall, PF, is used pretty much everywhere by the sound of it. So, setting up some kind of server you want to keep the bad guys out of on OpenBSD is a cool idea. Also, the mascot rocks and is probably the number one reason I looked into it in the first place.

SouthEast LinuxFest

Don't mess with the ducks

Lindowstosh?

I installed Linux Mint on an old 2008 hand-me-down Macbook (thanks, grandma!), then I used the Chicago 95 theme to make it look like oldschool Windows. It took me longer than I would have liked to figure out how to get this thing to recognize a bootable usb drive. If you happen to be in the same situation, here's how you do it.

As for how it runs, it's not too bad. It has 2GBs of RAM and a dual core which handles programs like Firefox and LibreOffice just fine. The disk drive doesn't work anymore, and that seems to be a common issue with these laptops, but that's really no big deal. The missing right click is bothersome and hotkey alternatives are sometimes unresponsive. But the real problem is that the battery died and the Chinese replacements are a scam and don't work at all. Pair that with the magnetic power adapter and you have frequent unexpected shutdowns. If it weren't for that, I might have used this as my main laptop.