From the outer reaches of deep space to the miniscule nucleus of an atom, the developers of PC-BSD make it clear that the scope and possibilities of PC-BSD are endless. Following the release of the Hubble Edition, iXsystems eagerly announces the release of PC-BSD® 9.0: Isotope Edition.
PC-BSD is a stable, secure, and user-oriented desktop operating system based on FreeBSD. Kris Moore, founder and lead developer of the PC-BSD Project, states that “PC-BSD 9.0 marks an important step in the series. Users are now given the flexibility and power of running the desktop of their choice, fully integrated with the PC-BSD tool library and PBI package management system.”
At first glance, PC-BSD 9.0 Isotope Edition offers more available desktop choices. In this latest version, many open source Window managers (GNOME, LXDE, XFCE, and KDE) are fully supported. More users can run their preferred desktop while still being able to enjoy all the features and advantages that PC-BSD offers.
New enhancements have also been added, including an updated PBI (Push-Button Installer) system. PBIs are self-contained applications that allow users to easily install programs without deleting or overwriting important data. Isotope’s 8.x predecessor allowed users to easily download, install, and update applications. The new PBI system makes significant improvements by efficiently organizing PBI dependencies without unnecessary duplication.
As always, updating new versions of software will not interfere with previously working ones, and now disk space is also conserved. The new AppCafe, replacing the Software Manager, provides an easy way to obtain and manage applications from a graphical user interface, and works across all supported desktops.
PC-BSD 9.0 has truly innovated the BSD world and proved to me that their system is easy for anybody to use, while still containing the core aspects of one of the most stable operating systems,” says Mark Shaw, Systems Administrator and Web Developer at Card’s Computers, Inc. “It really is a beautiful system and I love the AppCafe. This is probably one of the biggest achievements the PC-BSD team has made in making it easy for people to install software.
PC-BSD 9.0 also includes full integration of ZFS v28 thanks to the FreeBSD® Project. ZFS (Zettabyte File System) is an open source 128-bit file system that provides triple-redundancy storage without a RAID controller, automatically restores corrupted files from redundancies, and allows users to incrementally back up a snapshot of the filesystem to a remote ZFS volume.
More new features offered include:
- Enhanced Life Preserver, which allows users to back up their system with greater ease.
- New Update Manager that automatically checks for updates.
- Ability to update to the next major point release without reinstalling.
- Control Panel configurations can now be saved across desktops.
- Touchscreen drivers are now available. Users can download, run, and operate PC-BSD without ever touching a keyboard.
- Wireless configuration profiles are added to the system; users can quickly view and connect to available connections.
“It has been a long time since I have been truly impressed with an operating system and PC-BSD just absolutely nailed it with PC-BSD 9.0 Isotope Edition. All of the rough corners from 8.0 Hubble Edition have been polished off, and the GUI is second to none. Installation is simple and flawless, and ZFS works beautifully. I can (and will) install 9.0 to a 3TB drive, and I am looking forward to finally having a dedicated PC-BSD system,” remarks Al Fairclough, a retired Photo Imaging Consultant.
For more information on PC-BSD, or to download the new PC-BSD 9.0 Isotope Edition, please visit http://pcbsd.org. It is also available for retail sale at http://www.freebsdmall.com on DVD.
About PC-BSD
PC-BSD is a fully functional, user-friendly desktop operating system based on FreeBSD. It runs on the latest FreeBSD version 9.0 with a desktop interface of the user’s choice and graphical system installer. Its PBI system, developed for PC-BSD and also available on FreeBSD, allows users to download and install their applications in a self-extracting and self-installing format.
About iXsystems
iXsystems® is the all-around FreeBSD company that builds FreeBSD-certified servers and storage solutions, oversees FreeNAS development, and is the corporate sponsor of the PC-BSD Project. iXsystems is an employee-owned and operated, open source-centric, customer focused organization, dedicated to providing the highest quality built-to-order enterprise rackmount server solutions, pre-configured server appliances, and scalable storage solutions to our customers around the globe.
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