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TrueOS Lumina Desktop Environment user experience overview Part 1

Your enjoyment of TrueOS and the default Lumina desktop environment is largely dependent on your experience with FreeBSD, and your tolerance for different work environments. Windows and macOS users will find the experience jarring especially when it comes to performing tasks they are accustomed to doing in a certain way. Even Linux users might find TrueOS uncomfortable, though veteran Linux users who had used early Mandriva, Knoppix, and Debian releases will be more open-minded.






If you stick to the command line interface, you will notice differences between TrueOS with Lumina and FreeBSD 11. If you work primarily on the desktop, then Lumina has a few traits similar to Enlightenment (E17) or a standalone IceWM install.

Aesthetics and customization

Users who like making minute changes to their desktop environment will definitely start work on changing Luminas appearance. Even serious users who dont generally change icon and window defaults will probably end up making changes. As always, its a matter of taste and preference.




For the most part, the desktop settings can easily be changed directly, but you can go one step further by editing the text configuration files using the Theme Editor.

Performance and graphics

The default Lumina desktop environment has a low overhead, but on my Zotac ZBOX Nano with an Intel Celeron, Intel HD chip, and 8 GB of RAM, there were brief pixel artifacts and shadowing when I dragged windows and applications. Moreover, observant users will probably notice a brief lag when performing tasks - its hard to tell whether its due more to FreeBSD or TrueOS Lumina.

Note: I run FreeBSD 11 with either Xfce or MATE on modest hardware and work mostly on the terminal for tasks, so performance is hard to assess and making comparisons would be inaccurate. Linux distributions on the same hardware, however, shrug off all tasks I perform daily with no impact on desktop user experience.


According to the System Monitor Lumina Plugin, basic tasks such as running Firefox, Chromium, and file managers never really pushes TrueOS. Basic photo editing, taking screen captures, and transferring files to my NAS only trigger a slight bump, though playback of media using VLC registered a considerable amount of resources.


Continued in TrueOS + Lumina Desktop Environment User Experience Part 2

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TrueOS Lumina Desktop Environment user experience overview Part 2

Continued from TrueOS + Lumina Desktop Environment User Experience Part 1

Insight File Manager and available file managers

Insight File Manager is clearly designed for FreeBSD. Unlike a stock install of FreeBSD 10/11, TrueOS is set up to detect mounted locations automatically, and users can go ahead and launch Insight for file management tasks.

Users coming from Linux accustomed to file managers that come with KDE, Gnome, and Cinnamon can install ports of PCMANFM, Thunar, Dolphin, Caja, and Nautilus. However, note that functionality is slightly different. PCMANFM, for example, doesnt have the same reliability and features in TrueOS Lumina as it does on a Linux system. For Windows shares, the TrueOS handbook only lists Dolphin, Nautilus, and Thunar. Surprisingly, Insight File Manager cant access network shares, so if youre on a mixed network environment youll have to install one of the recommended file managers or stick to the command line.


There were a few hiccups when accessing my WD My Cloud on TrueOS. I was a bit surprised that I could write to the folders on my My Cloud even without authentication. After mounting the SMB shares, moving, copying, and deleting files worked fine, but the preinstalled VLC stuttered and struggled a bit when playing back media. Scrubbing through an episode of MacGyver (1985) or Spider-Man (1967) was as not as smooth as I would like. Again, I wasnt sure if this was due to the VLC port, the hardware, or FreeBSD itself.

Productivity, multimedia, and general user experience

As with E17, you can right-click anywhere and access the main applications menu at any time. The Desktop Plugins included with Lumina are few but useful, and thankfully not as numerous or as processor-intensive as KDEs widgets. For users who prefer background music while working, the Audio Player desktop plugin is clean and simple. The Note Pad and System Dashboard desktop plugins also deserve mention.

If youre new to FreeBSD or coming from Linux distributions, then remember that you dont have to use the preinstalled applications and install a more familiar port. Shutter, Shotwell, Chromium, and all the usual suspects are available from TrueOS AppCafe.

The standalone Lumina Screenshot is more than enough if you only occasionally take screen captures. Captures can be edited immediately using Photonic.

TrueOS includes VLC, which arguably pretty much addresses most multimedia issues.

Issues

After a few weeks of use, TrueOS with Lumina started showing signs of usability problems. Initially, I was looking forward to ironing out and writing about desktop issues here at Unsolicited But Offered. However, after several instances regarding software updates and software management using AppCafe, TrueOS became unusable, and frustrating considering that my stock FreeBSD 11 install had no problems.




I was hesitant about recording the issues, considering that they were unique to Lumina, and may not occur with other users. Im fully aware of FreeBSDs reputation for stability, but my TrueOS install was clearly more unstable than even a poorly built Linux distribution. Eventually, I gave up on it, focusing instead on FreeBSD 11 with stock Xfce.


For users who plan to try out TrueOS, be prepared for sound, mixer, graphics, and update and software management issues. Booting and file sharing should have no problems. I briefly experienced issues with Wi-Fi and Ethernet with Wi-Fi oddly working and Ethernet failing, but the issues were easily addressed, (albeit not as intuitively) using the Lumina Network Manager.



In addition, additional steps are required for mounting smartphones and tablets using the GUI Mount Tray. Users coming from FreeBSD 11 should take note that TrueOS behaves differently, particularly when it comes to software management and configuration.

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