this post was submitted on 13 Jun 2024
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Unixporn

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Submit screenshots of all your *NIX desktops, themes, and nifty configurations, or submit anything else that will make themers happy. Maybe a server running on an Amiga, or a Thinkpad signed by Bjarne Stroustrup? Show the world how pretty your computer can be!

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submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 
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[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

something you can't do or any inconvenience on this system?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Oh sure, lots of things are "inconvenient" on Plan 9.

Of note for most would-be users: if you rely on a modern web browser like Firefox/Chrome, forget about it. Never going to happen.

It's important to remember that Plan 9 is fundamentally a research operating system; it's not really a "typical" environment by any stretch, and that stems largely from it being entirely network-based and distributed. A single Plan 9 system in isolation can only be so interesting. Using it on a laptop like this can be an entirely different set of problems.

If you'd like some examples of things you may face:

  • booting can be slow

  • can be intimidating to set up for some of the more important features – factotum(4) and secstore(1), new users and directories under /, etc.

  • cwfs is slow

  • hjfs is really slow

  • no multi-monitor support

  • only recently did we get a filesystem that specifically aims to be crash-safe

  • poor documentation, though it's been getting better

  • reading research papers is basically a requirement for understanding the system

  • security is not a priority

For me, though? I genuinely don't need much more than what's available in the base system.