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PC-BSD
	; PC-BSD 7.1.1 with KDE 4.2.4
Company / developer	PC-BSD Software
OS family	BSD UNIX like
Working state	Current
Source model	Open source
Latest stable release	7.1.1 / 2009-07-06; 4 months ago
Package manager	PBI & FreeBSD Ports/Packages
Supported platforms	x86, x86-64
Kernel type	Monolithic
Default user interface	KDE (Version 4.2.4)
License	BSD license
Website	www.pcbsd.org

PC-BSD is a Unix-like, desktop-oriented operating system based on FreeBSD. It aims to be easy to install by using a graphical installation program, and easy and ready-to-use immediately by providing KDE as the default, pre-installed graphical user interface. PC-BSD provides official binary nVidia and Intel drivers for easy hardware acceleration and an optional 3D desktop interface through Compiz Fusion. PC-BSD also contains a package management system which allows users to graphically install pre-built software packages from a single downloaded executable file, something uncommon on open source operating systems. In August 2006 it was voted the most beginner friendly operating system by OSWeekly.com.^[1]

Since October 10, 2006 PC-BSD has been supported by the enterprise-class hardware solution provider iXsystems.^[1] In November 2007, iXsystems entered into a distribution agreement with Fry's Electronics whereby Fry's Electronics stores nationwide carry boxed copies of PC-BSD version 1.4 (Da Vinci Edition).^[2] In January 2008, iXsystems entered into a similar agreement with Micro Center.^[3]

[edit] History

Version	Release date	FreeBSD codebase
1.0	April 29, 2006	6.0
1.1	May 29, 2006	6.1
1.2	July 12, 2006	6.1
1.3	December 31, 2006	6.1
1.4	September 24, 2007	6.2-STABLE
1.4.1.x	Various	6.3-PRERELEASE
1.5	March 12, 2008	6.3-STABLE
1.5.1	April 23, 2008	6.3-STABLE
7.0	September 16, 2008	7.0-STABLE
7.0.1	October 17, 2008	7.0-STABLE
7.0.2	December 10, 2008	7.1-PRERELEASE
7.1-BETA1	March 6, 2009	7.1-RELEASE
7.1-RC1	March 27, 2009	7.2-PRERELEASE
7.1	April 10, 2009	7.2-PRERELEASE
7.1.1^[4]	July 6, 2009	7.2-STABLE

Since version 7, PC-BSD began following the same numbering system as FreeBSD. PC-BSD exclusively uses KDE, which has been highly customized to support tighter application integration and the PBI package management system. While manual installation of other desktops such as Xfce and GNOME is technically possible, it is not supported, and major functionality is lost when not using PC-BSD's special build of KDE.^[5]

PC-BSD supports x86 and x86-64 architectures.^[6]

[edit] Package management

PC-BSD's package management system takes a different approach to installing software than many other Unix-like operating systems. Instead of using the FreeBSD ports tree directly (although it remains available), PC-BSD uses files with the .pbi filename extension which, when double-clicked, bring up an installation wizard program. An autobuild system tracks the FreeBSD ports collection and generates new PBI's daily. The generated PBI's are maintained at the PC-BSD software repository.

All software packages and dependencies are installed in their own self-contained directories in /Programs. This convention decreases confusion about where binary programs reside, removes the possibility of a package breaking if system libraries are upgraded or changed, and prevents dependency hell. The PC-BSD package manager also takes care of creating categorized links in the KDE menu and on the KDE desktop.

The PC-BSD package management system aims to be similar to that of major operating systems such as Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac OS X, where applications are installed from a single downloaded file with graphical prompts, rather than the traditional package management systems that many Unix-like systems use.

[edit] License

PC-BSD was originally licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL) because the developers were under the impression that applications using the Qt toolkit, which PC-BSD uses for its interface development, must be licensed under the GPL or the QPL. Upon discovering that there was no such restriction in fact, the PC-BSD developers later relicensed the code under a BSD-like license.