Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why DesktopBSD? There's already PC-BSD!

DesktopBSD development started about one year before PC-BSD suddenly appeared, therefore DesktopBSD is definitively no copy and not about rivalry against PC-BSD. It's quite possible that PC-BSD and DesktopBSD can profit from each other in the future.

Another Linux distribution?

BSD is not Linux. You probably want to read "Explaining BSD" from Greg Lehey.

Is DesktopBSD a fork?

DesktopBSD isn't a "fork" - it's a customized FreeBSD installation that mainly consists of the DesktopBSD Tools and a collection of configuration files and software for desktop use. You can install the DesktopBSD tools on "normal" FreeBSD systems too, but you probably have to modify a few configuration files to make them work perfectly. DesktopBSD will be always based on the latest FreeBSD-STABLE release.

Why KDE?

KDE is easy to work with and has many useful features and well-integrated components such as the PIM package (Personal Information Manager). Additionally, KDE is probably easier for people that used Windows before, but this is rather a nice side-effect than a main reason for this choice.
Of course, there are other great desktop environments out there that are in some ways superior to KDE, but we decided to use only KDE so we can have better support for that one and have better integration of the DesktopBSD Tools with that environment.