Is it sort of like OpenBSD? I liked their manpages and their built in server thing (httpd). or is it completely different...
This was especially notable at BSD-wide events like BSDCan, AsiaBSDCon, EuroBSDCon etc.
OpenBSD supports suspend to disk, whereas FreeBSD does not. (Is this being changed as part of this laptop project?)
OpenBSD has always supported graphics, sound and other desktop things in the default kernel, without having to tinker with kernel config or loadable kernel modules. FreeBSD? http://cr.yp.to/unix/feedme.html
Also, on OpenBSD, the basic X is part of the base system, in the xenocara repository, and it basically just works, straight from the default installer:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenocara
OpenBSD actually does NOT support loadable kernel modules at all, and you're strongly discouraged from running a customer kernel, too. This has a side effect that both graphics and sound works out of the box, since deviation from defaults is discouraged, and if it didn't work by default, it'd not be recommended in the first place.
On FreeBSD, even the most basic X stuff is part of the Ports tree, which basically implies that most installations wouldn't have it, and it's often far less integrated, and requires way more tinkering, than xenocara on OpenBSD. For example, when you know most of your installations wouldn't have X, would you have graphics and sound support in the default kernel, or would that require further tinkering of the kernel config and/or LKM?
(On both systems, you still install KDE and GNOME from ports/packages, if needed, it's only the lightweight basic X and WM stuff that's part of OpenBSD base xenocara.)
So, even though FreeBSD is faster and more popular in many ways, to most people's surprise, OpenBSD actually has better laptop support.
That was definitely true five years ago. At this year's FreeBSD developer summit in Ottawa I saw more Framework laptops than Apple laptops.
For example, I installed FreeBSD on an old laptop and had to fiddle with building Xorg to get a GUI. Same laptop on OpenBSD just worked after running the installer.
Ports tree in general is a great way to install third-party software, but not necessarily for Xorg.
You still install KDE or GNOME through ports/packages on both systems, but X being more tightly integrated with the base system has benefits in reducing complexity for the rest of the components.
Man pages are just as good, and the Manual is a bit more comprehensive.
Whichever man page I read, they always cite specific standards. They also tend to follow the de facto standards, judging by the breadth of software in their ports tree (which more often than not, is actually full of Linuxisms).
I can't wait until the experience is good enough that I can stay on it.
Last time I was able to do that was with netbooks, and even those were mostly OEM specific distros without updates, if we wanted to actually have 100% supported hardware.
If you want a powerful development/work environment - and you do like what and how Linux provides here - use Linux - but as I was not satisfied with what/how Linux provided I looked somewhere else and I landed in FreeBSD.
Here are some of the reasons and conclusions I came to after using FreeBSD (and also Linux/AIX/HP-UX/Solaris in various jobs) for about 20 years.
Here:
If you're not the type of person who wants to run FreeBSD as a workstation, none of this will matter to you.
I last ran it about two decades ago, so it's been a while.
Linux does not play nice with batteries.
Very rough notes – things were rushed (squeezing as much as possible into the end of a Friday afternoon):
https://www.reddit.com/r/freebsd/comments/1mey64f/hp_elitebo...
https://fosdem.org/2025/schedule/event/fosdem-2025-6390-wake...
Also pretty impressive because Aymeric started as a GSoC contributor and is now sponsored to work on BSD by the foundation.
I'm really happy BSD is getting support, but they literally waited until hardware for the deprecated standard to cease to exist before implementing the new support.
That's not a short amount of time.
Hopefully the initial BSD implementation is better than Windows did.
- https://vermaden.wordpress.com/2022/04/14/freebsd-13-1-on-th...
.. and recently moved to FrankenPad T25 that is based on T480 (because keyboard):
- https://vermaden.wordpress.com/2025/06/26/freebsd-14-3-on-fr...
I do everything on FreeBSD including work.
Some of the topics I covered:
- Unlock Laptop with Phone
- Conferencing and Meetings
- Netflix Signal Telegram
- Network Management with network.sh
- FreeBSD Power Management
- FreeBSD Suspend/Resume
- Oldschool Gaming on FreeBSD
- Minecraft Server in FreeBSD Jails Container
- Secure Containerized Browser
- Print on FreeBSD
- Scan on FreeBSD
- Sensible Firefox Setup
- Operate Android Device on FreeBSD
- FreeBSD Alongside Windows
To just name a few ... because I am slowly closing to 200 of these FreeBSD related articles.
% ls ~/misc/verblog/POSTS | wc -l
175
TIL. It looks really nice!
I also have the original ThinkPad T25 ... but its I just passed 2 years time of searching for ANSI US keyboard for it ... they are just like ghosts.
Can you clarify by what this means? Does that mean running Android in an emulator or something else? Thanks
- https://vermaden.wordpress.com/2024/10/29/operate-android-de...
freebsd-version -kru ; uname -aKU
pkg repos -el | sort -f
pkg repos -e | grep url
I'm not familiar with the meaning of T14, sorry.
Does the Wi-Fi hardware use iwlwifi(4)?
A kernel panic when waking from sleep might relate to the graphics driver.
~ freebsd-version -kru
14.3-RELEASE
14.3-RELEASE
14.3-RELEASE-p1
~ uname -aKU
FreeBSD t14 14.3-RELEASE FreeBSD 14.3-RELEASE releng/14.3-n271432-8c9ce319fef7 GENERIC amd64 1403000 1403000
~ pkg repos -el | sort -f
FreeBSD
FreeBSD-kmods
~ pkg repos -e | grep url
url : "pkg+https://pkg.FreeBSD.org/FreeBSD:14:amd64/quarterly",
url : "pkg+https://pkg.FreeBSD.org/FreeBSD:14:amd64/kmods_quarterly_3",
~ sysctl net.wlan.devices
net.wlan.devices: iwlwifi0
~ pciconf -vl | grep -B4 VGA
vgapci0@pci0:0:2:0: class=0x030000 rev=0x0c hdr=0x00 vendor=0x8086 device=0x46a6 subvendor=0x17aa subdevice=0x22e8
vendor = 'Intel Corporation'
device = 'Alder Lake-P GT2 [Iris Xe Graphics]'
class = display
subclass = VGA
~ kldstat | grep i915
15 1 0xffffffff838f1000 1e0228 i915kms.ko
EDIT: just started reading Ch. 10 on Kernel Debugging[1], will try some things and see if I can extract any useful information. The handbook is so great.
[1] https://docs.freebsd.org/en/books/developers-handbook/kernel...
They probably are telling you the model of laptop; ThinkPad T14
Who the hell needs this crap? S3 used to be just perfect.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/InstantGo
> [...] a Microsoft specification for Windows 8 (and later) hardware and software that aims to bring smartphone-type power management capabilities to the PC platform [...] allows the operating system to continue performing background tasks, such as updating content from apps, when a device is not being used [...]
We've all needed this like a big fucking kick in the groin. "Modern standby" my ass.
Microsoft has great firmware engineers, but the functionality they design, and then mandate, so that Windows can have its rotten tentacles into the guts of the firmware, is absolutely disgusting. Technically well implemented, but the goal is usually terrible.
This is the real challenge with "general purpose hardware". A good product is distinguished by attention to detail.
... but in the end of the day what more can You do?
I would say 'vote with your wallet' ... but that also does not work anymore.
Take a look at laptop keyboard layouts [1] ... does not matter if MNT, Framework, KDE, ThinkPad, ... whatever - does not matter - NO ONE make 7-row keyboards in laptops anymore ... we are fucked :[
[1] https://vermaden.wordpress.com/2022/02/07/epitaph-to-laptops...
False. S0iX is not bullshit.
> S3 suspend/resume worked just fine.
Not for me.
On Linux there's been some effort:
https://www.linaro.org/blog/linux-on-snapdragon-x-elite/
Ed: hn discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44699393
zfs and boot encryption make it perfect.
Laptop Support and Usability (LSU): July 2025 report from the FreeBSD Foundation