FreeBSD Foundation Executive Director Tries Daily Driving FreeBSD on Laptop
phoronix.com38 points by Bender 2 hours ago
38 points by Bender 2 hours ago
I'll never understand why people think this looks human:
What Made This Time Different
This time, I didn't just install FreeBSD.
I created a system for learning and success.
Clear goal: FreeBSD as my daily driver
Daily habit: 10 minutes minimum
Accountability: post the journey on Linkedin
> This time, I didn't just install FreeBSD
Well, rms has never installed Linux so that's a step forward.
Linux isn't his thing. But he also didn't install GNU.
It's a funny video but his stance is quite principled, as he refuses to use any non-free software even if it's horribly inconvenient. Which is the exact opposite of what we have here.
Oh my god this lady should be running a pet shop. She's had this role since 2005 and is only now dogfooding the software for 10 minutes a day? Stunning and brave.
Imagine Linus Torvalds or Theo from OpenBSD using Windows out of convenience. Unthinkable.
CEO of Take-Two Interactive (Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption 2, Borderlands, NBA2K) doesn't play any games.
https://fortune.com/2026/05/06/ceo-take-two-interactive-soft...
It's possible she used it on a server. But yeah...
I knew people running FreeBSD on the desktop back in 2003. If it was good enough for them then... Could they not scrounge up enough cash for a Thinkpad in the last 20 years?
I tried FreeBSD on tower pc in 2003, it's not that it was completely unusable it but compared to Linux it was like night and day. Now it's still not perfect, more like midnight and evening.
this. I have been running FreeBSD for over a decade, but not on my laptop.
Really setting the bar low there aintcha? If Torvald's Linux use is the benchmark then we're doomed. Aren't there ample quotes from him by now where he basically says he only cares about coding and doesn't have strong opinions about GUIs? Is Theo any better in that aspect?
Not to interrupt the predictable HN hates women train but
>she noted in the past every time she tried running FreeBSD on laptops [...]
It's very explicit that she has in fact tried this in the past. She's not some diversity hire, either. She's a former embedded firmware developer at IBM, IIRC.
Have you ever tried running FreeBSD on a laptop? I have. Unless you're using it plugged in at all times and never take it anywhere it has not historically been a very pleasant experience, hence this recent push to bring it into parity with Linux from the 2010s.
Do you still need to run a Linux VM to get WiFi working? The last time I tried FreeBSD on a laptop, that was a thing. It’s just never been all that focused on laptop/mobile use. I’ve used it as a desktop (okay) and as a server (wonderful). But laptop/daily driver use has just never been a focus. Especially if you are running on a battery or wifi - it’s certainly usable as a desktop/workstation with Ethernet.
I don’t entirely fault FreeBSD for this either - it’s not where they see their niche. So, when you have comparatively limited engineering resources, they shouldn’t be wasting them on areas where their users don’t need them. I personally think that dogfooding your own OS makes for a better OS, but there are already decent laptop OS options.
Focusing on server deployments that don’t need much in terms of graphics or consumer wifi chip support isn’t that big of deal to me.
> when you have comparatively limited engineering resources, they shouldn’t be wasting them on areas where their users don’t need them
Or they could support one laptop well, and the CEO uses that and not a sexy MacBook because it looks cool.
> Not to interrupt the predictable HN hates women train but
Oh rubbish.
When you're the head of something, you're paid to use their products if not for anything but image purposes.
Do you think the head of GM drives around in a Mustang?
the head of something
Note that "FreeBSD Foundation" != "FreeBSD Project".
Obviously they're connected, but the FreeBSD Foundation supports the FreeBSD Project; they don't direct it. Governance of the FreeBSD Project vests in the FreeBSD core team, which is elected by FreeBSD developers; and as a FreeBSD developer I'm far more concerned with what OS members of the core team run than I am with what OS members of the Foundation run.
>Oh rubbish.
Nah, it's not rubbish. The comments on just about any article featuring a woman in a tech leadership position are always the same here.
>When you're the head of something, you're paid to use their products if not for anything but image purposes.
Again you conveniently leave out the "on a laptop" qualifier.
10 minutes a day is about all I could tolerate of BSD on a laptop too.
> Again you conveniently leave out the "on a laptop" qualifier.
If your hangup really is "Unless you're using it plugged in at all times" well, she is the Executive Director.
I'm sure they can pay an intern to follow her around at all times with a really long extension cord.
As a long time FreeBSD user, the Foundation has really failed to impress me in recent years. I lost faith in them back in 2018 during the "code of conduct" fiasco, when they wasted Foundation funds on a consultant for a code of conduct that nobody really asked for. Haven't donated since -- instead I redirected my donations to the OpenBSD project, which while less practical in many scenarios, is a technically superior product in my eyes.
That said, I am glad to see them focusing their efforts on something useful, like laptop compatibility. Regardless, this is a really dumb post. 10 minutes a day is not "daily driving."
Ten minutes a day is a daily driver? Short commute!
how is this not the most embarrassing thing ever?
With ~zero unix experience (I was moving from BeOS), I ran FreeBSD full time as a chemistry grad student from 2003-2009, on a Dell XPS, and mostly had no problems. What's changed?
(I'm interested in leaving linux and going to FreeBSD)
Well the problem is not a lot. It's pretty much like being in 2009 still. Which is fine if you didn't adopt a huge amount of technology changes since.
I mean I quite like the todo list that comes with my phone and computer and syncs flawlessly between the two of them. Ships with none of that shit.
This is horrifying on so many levels even if you don't already know how the story ends.
Why is she leading the FreeBSD foundation? Can't they find someone etter suited and more technically inclined?
I mean I am happy if they kept FreeBSD to be Server focused. I have been using a Mac / Windows and deploying on Linux and FreeBSD, i don't see why both the consumer and the server / enterprise has to have the same OS stack all the time.
What a joke. When the Executive Director of your Foundation doesn't use your product its a red flag.
Tried “a daily driver for at least 10 minutes a day”.
lol. That’s not the definition of a daily driver. Thats something I really don’t want to do, like pushups.
whats more embarassing is the shit tier presentation slop. "This time I didnt just install FreeBSD. I create a system for learning and success".
Anyone who wrote this has no business with FreeBSD or open source.
As soon as I saw the title I immediately knew what the comment section would look like (and rightfully so).