14 DAY TRIAL // PC-BSD, a BSD distribution with the goal to be an easy to install and use desktop operating system based on FreeBSD, is now at version 10.1 RC2 and is ready for testing.
PC-BSD is a project based on FreeBSD, but the differences between the two distributions are quite significant and regular users might have a problem noticing the fact that one is based on the other. The first impression is very important and PC-BSD is definitely the more friendly operating system of the two, which is greatly helped by the fact that it comes with a lot of modern packages, including some of the latest desktop environments.
Even if Linux systems are usually regarded as the exponents of open source, there are distributions that don't rely on the Linux kernel. They are very different, but they follow the same kind of open source policy and gather powerful communities around them.
PC-BSD 10.1 is a major update
The PC-BSD 10.x release was quite interesting and it was very well received by users. It's difficult to make important changes in the same branch, so the need for a 10.1 version is very real. With this in mind, the devs have proposed a new RC for PC-BSD that brings a lot of upgrade packages and many changes.
"The PC-BSD team is pleased to announce the availability of RC2 images for the upcoming PC-BSD 10.1 release. This RC includes many minor bug-fixes from RC2, along with new UEFI support for boot / install."
"PC-BSD is a complete desktop operating system, which has been designed with the 'casual' computer user in mind. It offers the stability and security that only a BSD-based operating system can bring, while at the same time providing a comfortable user experience, allowing you to get the most out of your computing time. With PC-BSD you can spend less time working to fix viruses or spyware and instead have the computer work for you," say the devs in the announcement.
Beside the UEFI capabilities that have been implemented with this release, the KDE is now at version 4.14.2, GNOME 3.12.2 has been added as default (no 3.14 branch for now), and Cinnamon 2.2.16 is available as well.
A complete list of changes and new features can be found in the official announcement. You can download PC-BSD 10.1 RC2 right now from Softpedia. Please keep in mind that this is an installable image and not a Live one.