123
submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
all 35 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] [email protected] 16 points 1 month ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

For those interested in learning more about Plan 9 and trying it out in a public environment: SDF Public Access UNIX System is hosting their seasonal Plan 9 Boot Camp starting June 20th. Feel free to drop into com and say hello!

[-] pastermil 12 points 1 month ago

You're running Plan9 on real hardware???

How's it faring?

[-] [email protected] 14 points 1 month ago

But of course! Real hardware or bust.

This particular machine has been my daily driver for months now, so I would say it is faring quite well.

[-] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago
[-] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Indeed.

9front comes with two browsers out of the box: abaco and mothra. There is also a port of NetSurf as well as both gopher and gemini browsers.

[-] pastermil 5 points 1 month ago

Nice! I think I'm gonna follow that footstep.

[-] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

something you can't do or any inconvenience on this system?

[-] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

Oh sure, lots of things are "inconvenient" on Plan 9.

Of note for most would-be users: if you rely on a modern web browser like Firefox/Chrome, forget about it. Never going to happen.

It's important to remember that Plan 9 is fundamentally a research operating system; it's not really a "typical" environment by any stretch, and that stems largely from it being entirely network-based and distributed. A single Plan 9 system in isolation can only be so interesting. Using it on a laptop like this can be an entirely different set of problems.

If you'd like some examples of things you may face:

  • booting can be slow

  • can be intimidating to set up for some of the more important features – factotum(4) and secstore(1), new users and directories under /, etc.

  • cwfs is slow

  • hjfs is really slow

  • no multi-monitor support

  • only recently did we get a filesystem that specifically aims to be crash-safe

  • poor documentation, though it's been getting better

  • reading research papers is basically a requirement for understanding the system

  • security is not a priority

For me, though? I genuinely don't need much more than what's available in the base system.

[-] pastermil 4 points 1 month ago

Got all the device driver support?

[-] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

On this machine I have everything except for Bluetooth and the fingerprint reader, neither of which I ever use anyway.

[-] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

Is this for business or personal? Both? Other? I'm wondering about differences in daily interactions when running Plan 9.

[-] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

All? I just use it like any other computer, honestly.

Are there any specific questions you have? I can try my best to explain.

[-] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

What's the most modern web browser you can run?

[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago
[-] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

This is the sexiest plan 9 shot I've seen, insanely cool OS

[-] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago

What is the date and faces thing measuring? lol

[-] [email protected] 11 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

It's an email indicator. See faces(1) for details.

[-] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

The wallpaper is awesome. And everything else looks quite unique, pretty and usable

[-] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago

What display protocol does it use by default?

[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

It uses /dev/draw.

See draw(3) and rio(4) for details.

[-] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago

PNINU? That acronym will never fly

[-] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago
[-] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

Of course. I forgot to leave out the short words

[-] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

sicko-mega Plan 9 posting

[-] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

What is Plan9? Is is an OS... or a kernel... or a set of utilities? I've been sorta interested in it in the past, but have no idea where to start.

[-] [email protected] 11 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Plan 9 is a research operating system developed by Bell Labs as a successor to UNIX.

I would suggest starting somewhere like here to get an idea of what it's about, as well as checking out this video from one of 9front's core contributors.

[-] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

Here is an alternative Piped link(s):

this video

Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.

I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.

[-] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

rio’s color scheme may be modified by editing the .c configuration files and re-compiling:

Note: Someone will mock you for doing this.

What's wrong with the pretty gray background?

[-] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

Nothing at all.

It's purely for my own needs — what worked for Rob Pike's eyes in the '90s doesn't really work for mine when it comes to actually using it every day, so I figured I'd have fun with it while I was changing the colors for the various programs.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

Ah, I didn't know Pike or Thompson were involved with Plan 9 . Does anyome here know why they used the Ed Wood movie for the name?

[-] [email protected] 2 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

I think it really is as simple as our dorks from the Labs liking Ed Wood.

Same reason the mascot is named Glenda.

[-] Steamymoomilk 4 points 1 month ago

Thats super freaking cool!!! I didnt know what plan 9 was until i read the comments and then went to wikipedia and mannn its super epic. Like in 2015 theres videos of a guy porting plan 9 on a raspberry pi!!

[-] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

I have an RPi4 and a 0W that run 9front as diskless terminals thanks to that effort. It works really well!

Richard Miller is one of the OGs; he did the first port of UNIX, and if you look into Plan 9 more you'll see exactly how much of a connection to history it really is.

this post was submitted on 13 Jun 2024
123 points (96.9% liked)

Unixporn

14313 readers
29 users here now

Unixporn

Submit screenshots of all your *NIX desktops, themes, and nifty configurations, or submit anything else that will make themers happy. Maybe a server running on an Amiga, or a Thinkpad signed by Bjarne Stroustrup? Show the world how pretty your computer can be!

Rules

  1. Post On-Topic
  2. No Defaults
  3. Busy Screenshots
  4. Use High-Quality Images
  5. Include a Details Comment
  6. No NSFW
  7. No Racism or use of racist terms

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS